Everything you need to know about Prince Frederik and Princess Mary of Denmark

Prince Frederik's wife will be the first Australian-born queen of a European monarchy

Danish Crown Prince Frederik and Danish Crown Princess Mary arrive at Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen. Picture: Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix via AP

On New Year’s Eve, Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II, Europe's longest-serving monarch, announced that she would abdicate on January 14 after 52 years on the throne.

The 83-year-old queen revealed the news on live TV during her traditional New Year's Eve speech.

The surprise announcement means her son, Crown Prince Frederik will become King Frederik X while his wife will become Queen Consort of Denmark and the first Australian-born queen of a European monarchy.

The coronation will take place on Sunday and is expected to be a low-key affair with a proclamation ceremony at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen. The couple will then be announced by Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and appear before the public.

Here’s what you need to know about Prince Frederik and his wife, Mary before they are officially crowned the King and Queen Consort of Denmark.

Prince Frederik 

 

F Queen Margrethe, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary at Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark. Picture: Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Crown Prince Frederik was born on May 26, 1968, as the first child of Margrethe and her husband, Prince Henrik, who died in 2018. His younger brother, Prince Joachim, was born in 1969.

The 55-year-old is an athlete, decorated military officer and a rock music fan.

Shy and reserved as a child, Frederik felt uneasy about the idea of ascending the throne, and the intense attention and scrutiny that come with it. In a 1996 interview with Berlingske Tidende, the crown prince said that in his teens he sometimes wondered whether he could escape his fate.

“I thought it was too uncomfortable,” Frederik said. “You knew you were going to be so public, so known, so accessible to everyone and so depicted. I didn’t like that.” 

Frederik, who in addition to Danish speaks English, French and German, graduated from Aarhus University with a master’s degree in political science. His studies included two semesters at Harvard University.

Crown Prince Frederik and his Australian-born wife Crown Princess Mary in July 2004. Picture: AP Photo / Polfoto, Lars Skaaning

A keen sportsman, Frederik has participated in six marathons, one Ironman triathlon and a dog-sled expedition in northern Greenland. For several years he was Denmark’s member of the International Olympic Committee.

He received military training in several branches of Denmark’s armed forces including as a frogman in an elite naval unit. Frederik got the nickname “Pingo” because of an episode when his wetsuit was filled with water and he waddled like a penguin, he said in a 2010 interview with Danish public broadcaster DR.

He learned about diplomacy during postings at the Danish Embassy in Paris and at Denmark’s United Nations mission in New York. Like Britain’s King Charles III, he has shown a special interest in climate change and other environmental issues.

Like many of his contemporaries in Europe’s royal houses, Frederik found his spouse outside the aristocracy. He met Australian-born Mary Donaldson in a bar during the Sydney Olympics in 2000. They married four years later.

When Frederik turned 50, Mary praised her husband in a witty and romantic speech in fluent Danish.

“You have always pushed the boundaries, and you have insisted on shaping the world around you to fit the person and have not allowed the structures in that world to define you,” Mary said.

Mary Donaldson 

Crown Princess Mary kisses her new husband Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik on the balcony of the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Friday May 14, 2004. Picture: AP Photo/POLFOTO, Peter Hove Olesen 

Australian-born Mary Donaldson will become queen of Denmark on Sunday when her husband, Crown Prince Frederik, ascends the throne.

According to Reuters, the former real estate manager has been recognised as one of the world’s most sophisticated and well-dressed people.

Donaldson, now Crown Princess Mary, met the prince at the Ship Inn pub in Sydney during the 2000 Summer Olympics held in the city — but she had no idea who he was. At the time, she was working as an advertising executive. “The first time we met, we shook hands and I didn’t know he was the crown prince of Denmark. An hour or so later someone came up to me and said, ‘Do you know who these people are?’” she said in 2003. The Prince simply introduced himself as “Fred”.

Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik kisses the hand of his fiancee Mary Donaldson of Australia as they appear on the balcony of the Christian IX palace in October, 2003. Picture: Photo/Heribert Proepper

Mary was with her housemate and Frederik was with his brother Prince Joachim, his cousin Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark, the now King of Spain, Felipe VI and Princess Martha of Norway. As the story goes, the group were having a debate around the topic of male chest hair.

Mary (51) was born in Hobart to Scottish parents. Her father was a maths professor, and her mother was an executive assistant at the University of Tasmania. She is one of four children and studied commerce and law at university.

After their initial meeting in Sydney, Frederik and Mary had a long-distance relationship before he invited her to move to Copenhagen and they got engaged in October 2003.

Donaldson moved to Denmark, where the couple married in 2004.

They have four children: Prince Christian, 18; Princess Isabella, 16; and 13-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.

Once Margrethe has abdicated, Christian will take over the title of crown prince and become first in line to succeed his father and Mary will become queen of Denmark. 

Her unlikely journey from the island of Tasmania to become the world’s first Australian-born queen on the other side of the world has captivated Danes and Australians alike.