Prince Frederik and Princess Mary
Denmark’s popular Australian-born Crown Princess Mary will become queen on Sunday after her husband Crown Prince Frederik ascends to the throne.
The gorgeous 51-year-old is recognized for modernizing the Danish monarchy and is one of its most popular members.
In her annual New Year’s Eve speech, Queen Margrethe II surprised Danes by announcing her intention to abdicate after 52 years on the throne, citing her age (83) and health difficulties.
When the future queen, Mary Donaldson, married into the royal family, she brought a breath of fresh air to the monarchy and captivated Danes.
“Some people think my husband is a bit in my shadow because I’m very much in the spotlight and I have a lot of engagements”, she stated in Prince Frederik’s authorized biography published in 2017.
“But he’ll never be in my shadow, and I’ll never be in his shadow, because he reflects light on me”, she went on to say.
Mary, who was born on February 5, 1972, in Hobart, Tasmania, was working as an advertising executive in Australia when she met Frederik, then 34, while out with friends at Sydney’s Slip Inn bar during the Summer Olympics in 2000.
He was the crown prince of Denmark, and his circle of associates included other European royals, including his younger brother Prince Joachim and cousin Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark, which she only discovered later.
“The first time we met, we shook hands”, she revealed several years ago in an interview.
“I had no idea he was the Prince of Denmark. After about half an hour, someone approached me and asked, ‘Do you know who these people are?'”, she continued.
In the meantime, Frederik told the daily Kristeligt Dagblad that meeting Mary was not only a rush of love, but also the feeling of having met my soulmate.
Following a secret long-distance courtship and multiple under-the-radar encounters, the pair became officially engaged in October 2003 and married in Copenhagen Cathedral on May 14, 2004.
They now have four children: Prince Christian, 18, who will replace his father as king one day, Princess Isabella, 16, and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, 13 years old.
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