Crown Princess Mary is celebrating her 50th birthday – and the country is celebrating her. The Australian moved to the other end of the world in 2002 for love.
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark celebrates her 50th birthday on Saturday (February 5th). The Australian quickly grew into her role as the wife of Crown Prince Frederik (53), the future King of the Danes. Since the wedding in 2004 at the latest, she has been doing this dutifully, stylishly, scandal-free and – in comparison to many other commoners who married into royal families – without any recognizable mental stress.
Scots Down Under
Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, as she was born, was born on February 5, 1972, in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, the youngest of four children. Her parents are from Scotland, from where they emigrated shortly after their marriage in 1963. Mary’s father, John Dalgleish Donaldson (80), is a professor of applied mathematics, as on the royal family’s website read, her mother was an assistant to the Vice Chancellor of the University of Tasmania. Henrietta Clark Donaldson died on November 20, 1997. Since 2001, Mary’s father has been remarried.
Mary studied law and economics at the University of Tasmania. After the sudden death of her mother, she traveled the world with her backpack. She then worked as a PR and marketing expert in Melbourne and Sydney.
Love engaged married
Mary and Frederik met in a bar in Sydney, Australia, on the fringes of the 2000 Summer Olympics. Frederik was accompanied by the then prince and today’s king Felipe of Spain (54). Frederik’s brother Prince Joachim (52), Prince Nikolaos of Greece (52) and Princess Märtha Louise of Norway (50) are said to have been there.
Mary and Frederik kept the relationship a secret for a long time. In 2002 she then moved via Paris, France, to the other side of the world to Copenhagen. The engagement was officially announced in 2003. The wedding ceremony took place on May 14, 2004 in the Lutheran Cathedral of Copenhagen. The wedding was celebrated at Fredensborg Palace.
After that, her new life began as a member of the Danish royal family, one of the oldest monarchies in the world. And that took some getting used to, like her in an interview with the “Financial Times” (“FT”) narrated.
“It was clear very early on that there were expectations of what to wear and how to dress appropriately for an event,” said the Crown Princess, who is now used to wearing light blue moiré sashes, silver stars, white crosses and white crosses on official occasions to wear the diamond-studded badge of the Order of the Elephant. “It was pretty intimidating for me. I was a t-shirt-and-shorts girl and I was known to go barefoot,” Mary continued. She has long since found her very own, self-confident style when it comes to royal outfits.
A big family
The wife of the heir to the throne has long since fulfilled her most important task. Mary and Frederik had four children: The next heir to the throne, Prince Christian Valdemar Henri John of Denmark, was born on October 15, 2005 in Copenhagen.
A year and a half later, his sister, Princess Isabella Henrietta Ingrid Margrethe of Denmark, was born in April 2007. And as a big royal surprise, the twins, Prince Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander and Princess Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda of Denmark, followed in January 2011.
Mary is first and foremost a mother of four children, according to her self-image, and it was good for her that she herself came from a large family. Also, according to Danish magazine Her & Nu, in the forthcoming book Mary – HKH, Crown Princess Mary says: “Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine are raised safely and lovingly and learn to be proud of who they are so that they are fit for life as royals.” The photo book tells her eventful story from Australian lawyer to Danish crown princess in pictures and short interviews.
With a view to the next generation in the royal family, the Crown Princess also spoke to “FT” about concerns related to today. “We have two teenagers living in the house and the teenage years are very upsetting and vulnerable. They’re the years when you make mistakes and mistakes are important. Hopefully you learn from them and get on the right track. So I hope that continuing to give them the freedom and space to make those mistakes and go through those years of discovery.”
Already a powerful woman
Crown Princess Mary has been appointed “Head of the Reich” by Queen Margrethe (81). In this capacity, she can already fulfill the Queen’s duties as head of state if the Queen is unable to do so, for example when she is abroad. At the beginning of October 2019, “in the presence of the Council of State, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the government, the Crown Princess signed the necessary declaration on compliance with the Basic Law”, it said in the announcement of this historic appointment. Actually, only members of the royal family who are in line to the Danish throne hold this position.
“I have a lot of respect for her skills and her good way of taking on the task. I’m really lucky to have a daughter-in-law like her. I can see that she has the potential,” saves the queen according to the Danish daily newspaper “Berlinske” not with praise.
But Mary also raves in the “FT” interview: “I can do Queen Elizabeth [95, seit 70 Jahren auf dem britischen Thron, Red.] and my own mother-in-law, the Queen of Denmark, for her lifelong commitment and dedication to serving her country and her people.”
Birthday gifts – and for the public
During her birthday week, Crown Princess Mary received many gifts before the actual anniversary. Among other things, she was allowed to break ground for the new “Mary’s Australian Garden” at Copenhagen Zoo at a ceremony on Thursday. Pictures and videos from the event where Mary was accompanied by her twins, shows the palace on Instagram. The area with animals from their Australian homeland such as kangaroos and wombats, which has existed since 2006, is to be supplemented by an aviary. Among other things, Mary is the patron of the zoo.
The special exhibition “Mary and the Crown Princesses” was also opened at the beginning of the week. The exhibition focuses on the current Crown Princess and her four predecessors. You can see Pictures, paintings, jewellery, clothing and correspondence used to arrange royal marriages in the past.
A third major gift is a new hospital for children, adolescents and pregnant women, due to open in four years, which will bear the Crown Princess’ name, “Mary Elizabeth’s Hospital”. To this she said in the finest Danish: “I am touched and proud that the hospital will bear my name.”
In the evening there will be a separate live birthday show on television. “We are looking forward to a very special evening that reflects the big heart of the Crown Princess and her strong commitment to the weak in society and in the world. And last but not least, her courage to break new ground,” revealed the TV-2 editor Henriette Ladegaard-Pedersen in advance about the planned program in honor of a courageous Australian.