Who is this Mary who will be the new Queen of Denmark? Royal News reports.
The future Queen Mary of Denmark was born on 5 February 1972 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Mary was the youngest daughter of John Dalgleish Donaldson and his first wife Henrietta Clark Horne. She has two sisters, Jane Stevens and Patricia Bailey, and a brother, John Stewart Donaldson. Mary’s mother died on 20 November 1997 and her father married Susan Elizabeth Horwood in 2001.
Mary attended the first two grades at Clear Lake City Elementary School in Houston, Texas, where her father was working at the time. In 1975, her family returned to Australia and Mary attended school in Sandy Bay until 1977. She then attended Waimea Heights Elementary School until 1982. She attended Taroona High School from 1983 to 1986 and also spent two years at Hobart College where she developed a love of sport. In 1989 she enrolled at the University of Tasmania, graduating in 1994 with a Bachelor of Commerce and Law.
Her first job was as an account executive at advertising agency DDB Needham on a graduate programme. Over the next few years she worked at MOJO Partners, Rapp Collins Worldwide of Edinburgh, Young and Rubicam, Love and Belle Property.
16 September 2000 was a momentous date for Mary, it was then that she met her future husband Frederick, Crown Prince of Denmark. The couple met during the 2000 Olympic Games. He travelled back and forth from Denmark and they maintained a long-distance relationship. Mary worked briefly in Paris before finally moving to Denmark. On 24 September 2003, it was announced that Frederik’s mother, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, intended to give her consent to their marriage. They officially became engaged on 8 October 2003.
The marriage ceremony took place on 14 May 2004 at Copenhagen Cathedral. Mary wore a wedding dress created by the Danish designer Uffe Frank. The wedding party included her two sisters and friend Amber. Mary’s veil has a rich royal history, first worn by Princess Margaret of Connaught, later Crown Princess of Sweden. Her daughter Ingrid went on to become Queen of Denmark and mother of Queen Margrethe II. Both of them also wore a veil. Maria’s wedding tiara was a gift from Queen Margrethe and her husband, Prince Henrik. Mary also converted from Presbyterianism to the Lutheran Church of Denmark. After her marriage, she became Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary Elizabeth of Denmark. She was also granted Danish citizenship.
After the wedding, the newlyweds spent the summer on a working tour of Denmark, then travelled to Greenland and attended the 2004 Athens Olympics. Their first child, Prince Christian, was born the following year on 15 October. Princess Isabella on 21 April 2007 and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine followed him on 8 January 2011.
As Crown Princess of Denmark, Mary received a number of royal patronages and learnt to speak fluent Danish. In 2019, she became the first person not born into the Danish royal family since 1972 to be appointed as a rigsfortendant (regent).
On 14 January 2024, Queen Margrethe will abdicate and Frederick and Mary will become King and Queen of Denmark. She will become the first Australian-born consort queen in a ruling European dynasty.
