She’s held the title of Crown Princess of Denmark for nearly 20 years, but now Australian-born Princess Mary has been crowned Queen Mary of Denmark alongside her husband King Frederik X.
The couple ascended the throne on Sunday, following Frederik’s mother Queen Margrethe II’s abdication after 52 years as monarch. She announced the news on New Year’s Eve 2023 and is the first Danish monarch in nearly 900 years to voluntarily step down. She is also the longest serving Danish monarch.
While the ceremony for the new King and Queen is not technically known as a ‘coronation’ with all the pomp and circumstance seen in the British monarchy, there are still events in celebration.
King Frederik X, 55, was proclaimed the king by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on the balcony of the country’s parliament building, Christiansborg Palace, in the centre of Copenhagen.
Frederik was dressed in a Danish ceremonial military uniform, adorned with medals as he accepted the crown.
“My hope is to become a unifying king of tomorrow. It is a task I have approached all my life. It is a task I take on with pride, respect and joy,” he said, getting emotional as he addressed his nation.
“United, committed, for the Kingdom of Denmark,” was announced as his royal motto, a Danish tradition for a monarch’s reign that dates back 500 years.
Frederik was joined on the balcony by his wife, Mary, the new Queen, and his children: Crown Prince Christian, 18, the new heir incumbent, Princess Isabelle, 16, and Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent, who are twins aged 13.
Queen Mary looked a vision in white on the balcony. She wore a cowl neck dress designed by Soeren Le Schmidt and sewn by Birgit Hallstein, according to Copenhagen-based magazine Billed Bladet.
The delicate draping was somewhat reminiscent of her wedding gown, which though designed by a different label, was also stitched by Hallstein.
The choice of outfit, particularly the colour, made sense, given there is a long history of monarchs wearing white to ascension ceremonies, including Queen Camilla at the recent British coronation, Spain’s Queen Letizia and Belgium’s Queen Mathilde for succession days. White is considered a colour symbolic of purity and divinity.
Mary pulled her hair up into a ballerina-style bun which was accented by a silver and ruby barette.
Mary has long been a fan of designer Soeren Le Schmidt’s work, having also worn one of the Danish designer’s creations to the British coronation in 2023.
Queen Mary’s ascension is a fairytale story for the ages. The Australian, born Mary Donaldson, a ‘commoner’ from Tasmania, met the Prince around the 2000 Olympics at Sydney’s Slip Inn (now an El Loco restaurant). She was 28, while he was 32.
Then Prince Frederik was in Australia to support the Danish sailing team, and when he came upon Mary in the pub, she didn’t know that he was the heir to the Danish throne.
“The first time we met, we shook hands,” she said in a 2005 interview.
“I didn’t know he was the Prince of Denmark. Half an hour later someone came up to me and said, ‘Do you know who these people are?’”
Mary got to know Frederik in a long-distance relationship, and eventually moved to Denmark in 2002. She learnt the language, converted to the Lutheran Church, and the couple announced their engagement by 2003. They were wed in 2004, at Copenhagen Cathedral.
She wore an elegant boat-neck gown by a local Danish designer, Uffe Frank.
New Danish Monarchs Crowned: A Timeline
1.35pm: Prince Frederik and Princess Mary make the journey by car from Frederik VIII’s Palace to Christiansborg Castle.
1:37pm: Queen Margrethe II travels behind them from Amalienborg’s Christian IX’s Palace, escorted in a carriage by the Horse Squadron of the Guard Hussar Regiment.
2pm: The council of state join Queen Margrethe as she signed her abdication in the presence of her son and his eldest son and heir, Prince Christian.
After the paperwork, Queen Margrethe let Frederik take her seat and said “God save the King”, before leaving the room, a symbol of her handing over the reign. From there, he is known as King Frederik X, and his wife is known as Queen Mary. Their son is known as the Crown Prince Christian.
3pm: After a brief reception, the new King and Queen appeared on the balcony of Christiansborg Palace. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen proclaimed the change of monarch three times on the balcony in three directions, to represent all Danish people being able to hear.
The children also appeared on the balcony after the King gave his opening speech and motto, and then they all travelled by carriage back to Frederik VIII’s Palace in Amalienborg. At one point, the happy couple shared a surprise kiss on the balcony, clearly banishing any and all affair rumours that have plagued them of late.
