Everything we know about the new queen of Denmark, Crown Princess Mary

While Queen Margaret II will no longer be monarch of Denmark, her son, Crown Prince Frederick, will ascend to the throne. Meanwhile, his wife, Crown Princess Mary, will become the new queen of Denmark. However, just days before the Danish coronation, many people are wondering more about the first queen of a European monarchy born in Australia.

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark surprisingly announced her abdication in her traditional New Year's Eve speech earlier this month. In the televised speech, she explained that her decision came after back surgery she underwent in February 2023. Her eldest son will succeed the throne on January 14, 52 years to the day she became queen after the death of his father, King Frederick IX. in 1972.

The future king of Denmark, whose full name is Frederik André Henrik Christian, has been married to his wife since 2004. They share four children: Prince Christian, 18, Princess Elizabeth, 16 and 13. The twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.

Before their relationship, Crown Princess Mary led a successful career outside the monarchy. Since her chance meeting with Crown Prince Frederik in a pub, she has become a strong advocate for various social issues, including participating in anti-bullying campaigns, advocating for immigrants, and expressing her support for LGBTQ+ rights. .

The princess has not only worked with many charities and organizations, but has also been recognized on numerous occasions as one of the most stylish people in the world.

Here you will find everything you need to know about Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark

Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, was born Mary Elizabeth Donaldson on 5 February 1972 at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Battery Point, Hobart, the capital of Tasmania. She is the youngest of four children of Scottish parents, Henrietta (née Horne) and John Dalgleish Donaldson. Her mother served as executive assistant to the chancellor of the University of Tasmania, while her father was a mathematics professor. Henrietta died in November 1997 after complications from heart surgery. In 2001, her father married British author and novelist Susan Elizabeth Donaldson (née Horwood).

At age two, Mary's family moved from Australia to Texas when her father began working as an applied mathematics professor at NASA's Lyndon B Johnson Space Center in Houston. She then returned to Tasmania, where she continued her primary and secondary education. From 1990 to 1994, Ella Mary studied at the University of Tasmania, where she graduated with a combined Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws. She then enrolled in a postgraduate program and completed her certificates in advertising from the Advertising Federation of Australia and direct marketing from the Australian Direct Marketing Association.

Following her education, Mary embarked on a career in advertising and worked for several Australian and global advertising agencies. In Melbourne, she was promoted from trainee to account executive at DDB Needham, a global marketing communications network. After her mother died, she moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, and began working as an account manager at Rapp Collins Worldwide. However, she soon after returned to Australia and worked various jobs as an account manager.

The future kings of Denmark met for the first time in 2000. They met at the Slip Inn in Sydney, where Crown Prince Frederik was visiting with his brother, Prince Joachim, and other members of the European nobility during the year. 2000. Summer Olympic Games. At the time, Mary was working at real estate company Belle Property as a sales director.

The couple was reportedly introduced through a mutual friend; Prince Philip of Spain, who was traveling with Crown Prince Frederick and who knew the sister of Mary's roommate. Frederik and Mary felt an instant connection and began a long-distance relationship shortly after meeting, with Frederik making discreet visits to Australia. The couple managed to keep their relationship out of the spotlight, until the Danish weekly Billed Bladet he named Mary as Frederik's girlfriend.

In 2002, Mary was teaching English at a business school in Paris. When it was time for her to move permanently to Denmark, she began working for Microsoft Business Solutions as a consultant on business development, marketing and communications projects.

On 24 September 2003, the Danish court announced that Queen Margaret II intended to consent to their marriage at a Council of State meeting the following month. In October of that year, Frederik and Mary became officially engaged. She reportedly proposed with an engagement ring that featured a 1.5-carat emerald-cut diamond and two emerald-cut rubies, invoking the color of Denmark's flag.

Their wedding took place on May 14, 2004 at the Church of Our Lady of Copenhagen, the city's cathedral. Before her nuptials, Mary was granted Danish citizenship and she had converted from Presbyterianism to the Lutheran Church of Denmark. Mary's two sisters, Jane and Patricia, served as bridesmaids, while Frederick's younger brother, Prince Joachim, was her best man.

The future Crown Princess wore a wedding dress made by Danish fashion designer Uffe Frank, while her veil was previously worn by Crown Princess Margareta of Sweden in 1905 and her daughter Ingrid in 1935. The veil, made of Irish lace, It was even worn by her. her mother-in-law during her wedding to French diplomat Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, in 1967. Mary was the first and only person not born into the royal family to wear the veil, while her tiara was a gift from Queen Margaret II.

On her wedding day, Mary received the title Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess of Denmark. The event was celebrated by the public as a “fairytale” union between a member of the royal family and a commoner.

Their first child, Prince Christian Valdemar Henri John, was born on October 15, 2005 in Copenhagen, followed by Princess Isabella Henrietta Ingrid Margrethe on April 21, 2007. The Crown Princess gave birth to twins, Prince Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander and Princess Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda. on January 8, 2011.

In September 2007, she created her own charity, The Mary Foundation, which focuses on initiatives such as anti-bullying, advocacy for survivors of domestic violence, and combating loneliness.

To mark International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia in 2016, Mary gave a speech on LGBTQ+ rights in Copenhagen. During her speech, she called for an end to discrimination, oppression and violence against people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. Two years later, she gave another speech on LGBTQ+ rights at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

That same year, he became the first member of the royal family to attend the Danish Rainbow Awards, an annual awards ceremony organized by Rainbow Business Denmark to honor people and organizations who are creating better living conditions for the community. LGBTQ+. She attended subsequent awards ceremonies in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, she served as a patron of WorldPride Copenhagen, carrying out numerous engagements in connection with the event and even delivering the closing speech for the week-long celebrations in August.

Mary's fashion and style sense was recognized by vanity fair in 2010, when she was named to their International Best Dressed List. She has appeared in several fashion magazines, including Vogue Australia and German Vogue.

During a Council of State in October 2019, her mother-in-law requested to appoint Maria rigsforstander, a person who functions as regent when the monarch is unable to perform her royal duties. Having sworn to uphold the Danish Constitution, Maria became the first person not born into the royal family to assume the position of rigsforstander since Queen Ingrid of Sweden in 1972.

Following Crown Prince Frederick's accession to the throne on January 14, her husband will assume the new title of King of Denmark, while Mary will henceforth be known as Queen of Denmark. The Danish Royal House has confirmed that her eldest son, Prince Christian, will also receive the title change to Crown Prince Christian.