They are the new sovereigns of the ancient Viking kingdom since January. After the abdication of Queen Margrethe, Frederick and Mary ascended to the highest echelon of Denmark’s hierarchy, a time to recall how a chance encounter at the Sydney Olympics would forever change the life of a young Australian.
Without a drop of royal blood, Mary never dreamed of living in a palace, let alone marrying a prince, nor did she ever imagine herself in the role of a queen, even in her most fanciful dreams! But life takes many turns, and today, Mary, born in Australia, on the opposite side of her new home, is the consort queen of King Frederick X. The new Danish sovereigns have an unusual story, born out of a chance encounter. If this meeting had not occurred, the queen would likely still be living in Tasmania, where she was born, and could well have continued her career in advertising because that was her job at the Young & Rubicam agency in Sydney when she met Margrethe II’s son. With degrees in Law, Commerce, and Laws, Mary could also have been working in a law firm, but her destiny was different. The truth is, she never lost her connection to her blood family, and last December, even before her mother-in-law announced her abdication, Mary was in Australia for a family vacation and, it’s known, bid farewell to hers, still a princess.
She didn’t know he was a prince
In distant Australia, Mary Donaldson’s life did not adhere to protocol, and she was far from knowing who was who in the courts of Europe. When she met Frederick, she had no idea he was a prince and that, being the eldest son and heir to the head of state of Denmark, his future involved sitting on the throne.
Young Mary meets Frederick at the Sydney Olympics. And on that day when she goes out with friends, joining another group, she falls in love with a young, somewhat shy man from northern Europe, without knowing who he is. The encounter happens through one of the cousins of the current King of Spain: Bruno Gómez-Acebo, son of Infanta Pilar, who organized the outing with Prince Frederick of Denmark and his friends — who, in turn, brought along other friends. They all met at the Slip Inn, a famous bar, and amidst all the gathering, there was Mary, who began talking to Frederick, seated beside her, as naturally as spontaneously. Those who witnessed this first encounter remember that they continued to talk into the night. It’s not known how he revealed his identity to her and whether he told her at that meeting, but there was immediately a great attraction, as told by the couple’s friends. Frederick recalls in an interview, “She was fantastic, and to start with, everything was very secretive, but charming.” The passion between the two continued, even while still separated and with several secret trips made. The romance lasted thirteen months without the press discovering it. Frederick, being a prince, could not move to Australia, so it had to be Mary who changed her life and left everything behind — family, friends, and work — to start from scratch an existence for which she had not been educated or prepared.
The groom’s tears
After several months of preparation for the role of princess and learning a new language, Mary becomes a royal fiancée, and the wedding is announced by Queen Margrethe. The prince’s love story moved the Danes, for whom the idea of personal happiness is an individual achievement — but which was, in this case, widely shared by the whole nation.
The wedding (2004) was a true popular celebration, and even today, many remember the groom at the altar, crying as he sees the bride arriving arm in arm with her father. Prepared to contain his emotions, according to the tradition of monarchies, Frederick showed himself, that day, more than a prince, a passionate man.
Mary’s love story, even though she was a commoner and a foreigner, and Frederick’s, for whom destiny was already determined, enchanted the Danish people, and there were not even controversies with their arrival at court, as happened, for example, in neighboring Norway when Haakon married Mette-Marit, a young mother, commoner, and with a past connected to drugs.
From the union of the then crown prince with Mary Donaldson, four children were born: Prince Christian (2005), now number one in the line of succession to the throne, Isabella (2007), and twins Vincent and Josephine (2011).
“I was ignorant of that part of your life”
The couple proves to be one of the most stable in European royalty. At Frederick’s 50th birthday party in May 2018, Mary makes a revelation that is, in essence, an important testimony of her emotions — when she was not yet a princess — at that banquet held at Christiansborg Palace and with a heavy royal audience. “At that time,” referring to her first New Year’s Eve in Denmark, “I was ignorant of that part of your life. You left the room, just as I knew you, and returned in full dress uniform. Suddenly, it was a whole other image of you, unprecedented to me. Profoundly impressive and intimidating. But your eyes and your smile were the same, whether in full dress or not. That takes a certain courage, and I am so glad we dared to love each other, not for a time, but for a lifetime,” she said. Frederick, just like on the wedding day, couldn’t contain his emotion, and his eyes filled with tears.
A cover and a “bomb”
It was with great perplexity that the Danes and the world saw the cover of “Lecturas” in November 2023, with the headline Genoveva and Frederick of Denmark together, guaranteeing the Spanish magazine that he spent the night at the aristocrat’s apartment. Genoveva Casanova denied everything, but the royal house, faithful to the motto never complain, never explain, did not react. The truth is that this cover, which had the effect of a bomb, went around the four corners of the planet, giving rise to all kinds of speculations, including the couple’s divorce. Curiously, almost two months after the alleged betrayal of the prince, Queen Margrethe announces her abdication, leading the heir couple to the throne. And what we saw on January 14th was thousands of Danes in the streets of Copenhagen cheering the new kings, who, moved, held hands and kissed for the joy of those watching.
From this date, Frederick and Mary begin a new stage in their lives. The new reign begins under the sign of shared joy, but the challenges ahead are great. The Danish crown, dating back to the 9th century, is the oldest in Europe, but, as we know, Margrethe II wanted to leave a personal mark after 52 years of reign, and she is the first head of state to abdicate in 900 years.
The Danish royal house, related to almost all the royalty of the Old Continent, has opened itself to change. Today, as yesterday, the new king does not forget the past he inherits but paves the way to show that his dynasty is not distant, and much of that image has been achieved thanks to Mary.
The new queen now has, more than ever, the mission of representing the country and educating the children for the role that awaits them: to serve. Frederick and Mary renew the monarchy without destroying its aura, giving it a contemporary touch while maintaining a sense of continuity. That is what the Danes expect from their new kings: an identification that only enhances their charisma.
By Alberto Miranda
