May 14, 2024 marks 20 years to the day since Mary Donaldson said "I do" to then-Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and joined the Danish monarchy in the process.
In honour of the couple's 20th wedding anniversary, we're looking back on their nuptials; from the moment they announced their plans to tie the knot, to their first dance at the reception.
Keep reading for all the stunning photos and hidden details from Queen Mary and King Frederik of Denmark's wedding day in 2004.
It was a sunny day in Copenhagen, Denmark when the world learned the Danish royal family were planning the wedding of the century.
Crown Prince Frederik and Australian-born Mary Donaldson were engaged and couldn't have been more excited for their impending nuptials, which were set for May the following year.
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Showing off her engagement ring to photographers at a press conference at Fredensborg Palace with her husband-to-be, Mary immediately endeared herself to the Danish public by speaking their language. Literally.
"The day when Frederik proposed to me privately, it was very real, it was completly 'normal'… if you experience a situation like that as normal at all," Mary later said in an interview for Danish newspaper Politiken.
After the interview, the couple took to the balcony of Christian IX's palace at Amalienborg Square with Frederik's parents, Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik, to wave to well-wishers thrilled by the news of their upcoming royal wedding.
Mary told Politiken of that moment, "it was just so overwhelming. People cheered the Queen, Prince Henrik and Frederik and then also me, because he has chosen me and we have chosen each other."
Months of whirlwind wedding planning followed as their May 14, 2004 nuptials approached.
Just days before the ceremony, Mary cemented her place as a soon-to-be princess when she accompanied Frederik to a celebratory dinner at Christiansborg Palace wearing a tiara for the first time.
She wore the jewels of the Danish Ruby Parure, which were loaned to her by her future mother-in-law Queen Margrethe, and reflected the colours of the Danish flag.
Just three days later, she emerged on the steps of the Copenhagen Cathedral to cheers of joy from the waiting crowd as she arrived for her wedding to Frederik.
It was a bright and cold day, with an average temperature of just 9 degrees celcius, so the 32-year-old wore a sleeved gown by Danish designer Uffe Frank.
It was made of an ivory duchess satin and the skirt was lined with 31 metres of tulle. The skirt featured alternating lace panels, which were revealed as she walked down the aisle, followed by a six-metre train.
Mary's veil was first worn in 1905 by Princess Margareta of Sweden, who married into the Danish royal family, and was later worn by Mary's mother-in-law, Queen Margrethe II.
Mary was the first non-royal bride to wear the heirloom, which was pinned to a diamond tiara was gifted to her for the wedding from her new parents-in-law.
In 2011, the tiara was adapted by jeweller Marianne Dulong to include pearls. It can be worn with both the all-diamond or diamond-and-pearl configurations.
Marianne Dulong also created Mary's wedding earrings, which featured antique diamonds surrounding a South Sea pearl pendant.
The bride arrived with her father, John Donaldson, who is of Scottish descent. He wore a traditional kilt to walk his daughter down the aisle, beaming every step of the way.
Mary wanted her Australian heritage represented on her wedding day, so her bridal bouquet included a flowing trail of eucalyptus, roses, and a sprig of myrtle from Fredensborg Palace.
After the wedding Mary's bouquet was laid on the grave of her late mother, Henrietta, in Scotland.
Mary tragically lost her mother years before the wedding, so she was unable to be there on the day her daughter became a princess.
Henrietta died from complications following heart surgery in 1997. Mary was just 25 at the time.
In honour of her late mother's memory, Mary reportedly had Henrietta's wedding ring stitched inside the lining of her wedding gown's bodice, close to her heart.
Not only was the world gripped by Mary's breathtaking Uffe Frank gown, hearts immediately melted when the cameras turned to her husband-to-be, who was standing at the altar.
Tears welled in Prince Frederik's eyes as he watched his bride walking towards him. By Frederik's side was his brother Prince Joachim – who handed him a tissue.
Their parents, Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik, sat in the front row and the crowd was filled with members of other royal families from around Europe.
Frederik wore his Danish Navy military uniform for the special occasion, complete with his many medals.
The bride, too, became emotional during the ceremony and was seen wiping away tears as the Bishop of Copenhagen, Erik Norman Svendsen, conducted the service.
Svendsen told the couple to "enjoy the day" and to be "happy you have found each other".
The hour-long service was held according to Lutheran tradition and the cathedral was decorated beautifully with red and pink roses and candles for the occasion.
Prince Frederik and Mary's guest list featured royals from across Europe and beyond.
High-profile guests included the King and Queen of Sweden, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, the King and Queen of Norway, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, The Queen of Spain, then-Crown Prince Felipe of Spain, and Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex from the UK.
Mary's bridesmaids included her sisters, Patricia Bailey and Jane Alison Stephens, and her friend, Amber Petty.
They wore pink and red dresses with their hair styled sleek buns, similar to Mary's own updo.
In a memoir penned years later, Petty revealed that the bride was surprisingly calm on the day of her mammoth royal wedding.
"I found Mary sitting alone drinking tea. Everything was so calm – as though it were any other morning," she wrote of the hours before the nuptials in her book Is Not A Love Song.
After saying "I do", Frederik walked his bride back down the aisle and out into the sunlight, where the Danish people cheered for the new princess.
She had gone into Copenhagen Cathedral as Miss Mary Donaldson and emerged as Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark and the future Queen of the European nation.
They were saluted by marine officers armed with swords and Mary beamed at her new husband as they took their first steps as man and wife.
Though Mary probably wasn't thinking about it at the time, she had just cemented her place as the first Australian-born royal who would one day become a European Queen.
The couple then hopped into a a horse-drawn carriage which drove them through Copenhagen and on to the royal palace, Amalienborg.
The streets were lined with an estimated 100,000 Danes, Australians and other royal fans happily waving Danish and Australian flags and wishing the couple all the best.
"It was big, it was really big. There was a mix of Australian and Danish flags," Mary recalled of that day for her 50th birthday in 2022.
"I was not just accepted for who I am but my background was also accepted, and where I come from. And they took it into their hearts."
Even as the massive crowds shouted well-wishes, Mary and Frederik couldn't stop laughing and smiling at one another, giddy from their nuptials.
The newlyweds then made their first official appearance as husband and wife on the balcony Amalienborg Palace.
It was truly a family affair as they were joined by Denmark's Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik, and Mary's father, John.
But it was when Frederik and Mary took a moment to themselves on the balcony that the crowd below really erupted.
The newly minted Danish Crown couple shared several kisses on that historic day, much to the delight of the millions of people who ended up watching the TV coverage.
Mary planted a tender peck on her husband's cheek as he waved to his subjects...