Denmark has a new Queen in Mary, the former Crown Princess. A widely beloved member of the Danish Royal Family, Queen Mary of Denmark has proven herself to be more than capable of being King Frederik X’s consort. In this post, we’re going to give an introduction to this incredible woman.
Please be aware that Queen Mary will be referred to by different names throughout this post, but we are referring to the same person.
A Future Queen Is Born
Mary Elizabeth Donaldson was born on February 5 1972, as the youngest daughter and child of John Dalgleish Donaldson and his first wife, Henrietta Clark Horne. She has three older siblings: elder sisters Jane and Patricia and older brother John Stuart Donaldson.
John Snr and Henrietta are Scottish and moved to Tasmania, Australia in November 1963. John is a mathematics professor, and Henrietta was an executive assistant.
Mary and her three siblings were born and raised in Tasmania, growing up with Australian accents.
At school, Mary was involved in sports and other extracurricular activities, including music, which included flute, clarinet and piano.
Losing A Mother And Gaining A Stepmother
Henrietta Donaldson died on 20 November 1997 after suffering complications from heart surgery. Mary would give her eldest daughter, Princess Isabella, Henrietta, a middle name as a tribute to her late mother.
In 2001, John Snr remarried. His second wife is British author Susan Moody. Queen Mary of Denmark has three stepbrothers (not half-brothers) through her stepmother.
The Future Queen Mary Of Denmark Meets The Future King Frederik X
In 2000 while working and living in Sydney during the Olympic Games, Mary was at the Slip Inn with a friend who introduced to a bunch of people, including Felipe, the future King of Spain, Prince Joachim, Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark and of course, Crown Prince Frederik.
Felipe was friendly with Mary’s housemate.
Upon shaking hands, Mary didn’t know Frederik was the Crown Prince of Denmark until after their first meeting. The couple then started a long-distance relationship with Frederik flying to Australia regularly and Mary to Denmark.
In 2003, Frederik proposed a ring with stones in the colours of the Danish flag.
Mary Elizabeth Donaldson Becomes Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess Of Denmark
Mary and Frederik married on the 14th of May 2004 at Copenhagen Cathedral. The bride was walked down the aisle by her father, John Snr. Her sisters, Jane and Patricia and her best friend, Amber Petty, were bridesmaids.
Frederik’s then-preteen nephew, Nikolai (then Prince Nikolai), was a pageboy.
Four Children
In early 2005, it was announced that the Crown Princess was pregnant with her first child. On October 15 2005, she gave birth to a son. As their son was the future king, Mary and Frederik were given two choices: Christian or Frederik. This is an old Danish tradition of having kings alternate between names.
The Crown Prince couple chose Christian.
In 2007, on April 21, the couple welcomed a second child, a daughter, Princess Isabella. Isabella’s name was unusual for a Danish princess but welcomed as she was named after Isabella of Austria.
Mary’s final pregnancy was in 2010. She gave birth on January 8 2011, to fraternal twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.
Furthermore, all the children’s names were announced at their christenings. Josephine’s name caused confusion because Mary pronounced it “Josephina” with the Danish flourish.
Work
Queen Mary of Denmark has worked in the fields of LGBT rights, humanitarian aid, research and science support, sport, the fashion industry, culture, and social and health. She also founded The Mary Foundation.
Namesake And Godchildren
Finally, Mary has two royal godchildren. One is her nephew, Henrik (formerly Prince Henrik), and the other is Princess Estelle of Sweden, who has the secondary name, Mary.
