Exclusive: The rise of 'down to earth' Queen Mary
Ainhoa finds out why the former Australian is a 'gift' to Denmark
It was hard to miss the big news over the weekend that Queen Margrethe of Denmark has officially stepped down and handed over the crown and throne to her son, the new King Frederik X, and his wife Queen Mary.
All eyes were on the new Danish monarchs, but I was particularly drawn to Frederik's wife of 19 years and mother to his four children, Mary. Born Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, the former advertising executive made history as the first Australian to take on the role of a European monarch.
I wanted to know more about Europe’s latest queen, who is often compared to our own Princess of Wales, so I dived into my book of contacts and picked out the estimable Juliet Rieden, Editor-at-Large of The Australian Women's Weekly and author of The Royals in Australia. Juliet has interviewed Mary numerous times, shadowed her on royal tours, and even scored an invite to her home – Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen. She has also interviewed our own King Charles when he was the Prince of Wales, as well as the then Duchess of Cornwall, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, Zara and Mike Tindall, and Sarah, Duchess of York.
I had a lengthy and fascinating chat with Juliet, and after just minutes of hearing tales of Mary, the Australian former girl-next-door quickly became my new woman crush. She is seriously impressive. For starters, she conducted her first interviews in Denmark in its notoriously hard-to-learn language!
This was bound to impress her adopted nation, but its on the global stage that Mary has made the biggest impression. She's unafraid to champion gritty subjects, like the sexual rights of women and girls in developing countries, or to visit refugee camps with the UNHCR and sign up as a member of UN Task Forces. She's also a huge supporter of sustainable fashion and patron of the Global Fashion Agenda.
On a personal note, Mary, who renounced her Australian citizenship upon her marriage, has embraced her adoptive home so much that she has even picked up an accent. A tidbit that really tickled me. "She speaks English with a very strong Danish accent now," Juliet said. "She has that Danish intonation. She told me that she dreams in Danish and English, so she's fully Danish now."
It's no wonder Juliet calls her a "gift" to Denmark, a regal role model who has been "instrumental" in the royal family's success. "The main thing that Mary always wanted to do was to use her position to make a difference, and she did that right from the get-go. The Danes are quite serious about a lot of the social issues that she's serious about, and they like her for it."
There's something about Mary
I asked Juliet if the Danish abdication and coronation would renew Australia's interest in Tasmania-born Mary. But she explained: "There's always been an interest since Mary married into the family. We're intrigued by the idea of an Australian girl marrying a European prince. And there being a little piece of Australia in Denmark, in a very powerful way.
"Mary is very impressive and I think when she met Frederik, she brought gravitas to his position and his image. Certainly, that happened very early on. We all know he had a bit of a playboy image and then when he got together with Mary, he was seen in a much more beneficent light. She supposedly 'tamed' him. But clearly it was a love match and that has not changed. They're very much together as a couple."
So what is Mary like behind closed doors? "She's very grounded, very down-to-earth. You'll see her cycling around the streets of Denmark as do all the royal family. She cycles her children to school, she's very present with them. With Mary, what you see is what you get. There's no sort of artifice to becoming a princess for her. She married into it and then she took it on fully as her new job and she took it very seriously."
A confident Queen
One of her legacies as Crown Princess is The Mary Foundation (of which she will continue to be patron). It was set up in 2007 using money (roughly £115,000) that the Danish people donated on the occasion of her and Frederik's wedding. The foundation looks into initiatives on tackling bullying, loneliness, domestic violence, and more.
Mary's integrity and dedication to royal life is not up for debate. Starting with her commitment to learning the Danish language when she was dating Frederik. "I'm told that her Danish is very good by Danes. Initially they said she had a bit of an accent, but it's got incredibly impressive," Juliet said. "She talks to her children in Danish, of course, they're bilingual. She did those very first interviews in Denmark in Danish, which is quite astonishing really."
Juliet painted a picture of a very measured Queen-in-waiting. "She's always had a certain poise about her. At the beginning, she was drinking it all in, learning. Mary told me herself how supportive Queen Margrethe was. And she has just grown and grown in confidence. She doesn't just cut ribbons and shake hands. She rolls up her sleeves. She's not afraid to debate pointy issues."
As Queen, Mary may not be able to throw her support behind issues in the political realm, as she has previously done – but there's no doubt she'll maintain her presence on the world stage. "She certainly will be used by the Danish government. She's an incredibly powerful person for them, for soft diplomacy and to promote Danish businesses around the world."
Why now is the right time
Queen Margrethe's abdication was a total shock and bombshell ending to 2023, both to the public and her own children. We know now that Margrethe only gave her sons Frederik and Joachim three days' notice (you can listen to my voicenote on that here). And while it was a surprise to Juliet too, she also explained why it made total sense for Queen Margrethe to step down now.
"It definitely came out of the blue. But I think she's a very pragmatic Queen. She saw the popularity of Frederik and Mary. She saw the vitality that they could give to the monarchy moving forward. And their eldest son Crown Prince Christian has just turned 18 and is clearly very serious about the role of heir. So everything is in place.
"Margrethe will, of course, still be there guiding them all. But I think she had in her mind that Frederik and Mary were ready to take the throne, and Mary gave stability to the possibility of Frederik becoming king early. The Danish royal family is probably the most popular monarchy around the world, and Mary's part in that has been instrumental. I think for Denmark, it's an incredible gift to have her and I think they know that."
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Further reading
Fashion Friday: Mary’s style evolution through the years