‘I love my wife’: King Frederik’s tribute to Queen Mary in surprise new book
King Frederik’s surprise autobiography heaps praise on his wife Queen Mary, and seems to answer speculation about the state of their relationship.
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King Frederik has told of the “rollercoaster” reality of married life saying it is not the fairytale depicted in movies, hinting that he and Queen Mary have suffered periods of “sadness” and “adversity” as well as happiness.
Amid rumours of an alleged affair with Mexican socialite Genoveva Casanova, the newly-crowned King of Denmark said the day to day of married life is a world removed from its romantic depiction in movies.
Writing in a new biography The King’s Word, he says: “Marriage is a walk hand-in-hand most of the time the time and do not expect it to be as we see on film and in reality shows about weddings at first glance.
“There will be periods of sadness, but also a lot joy, for prosperity and adversity, happiness and misfortune comes in individual portions. And that’s how life must be lived.”
Writing in the 110-page memoir, co-authored by Jens Andersen, King Frederik X revealed that he and his Australian-born wife Mary, 51, plan to rule the Scandinavian country differently to his retiring mother Queen Margrethe, 83, who announced her shock abdication on New Year’s Eve after her son’s 19-year marriage to Mary came under the spotlight following the publication of paparazzi shots of him enjoying a day – and night out – with attractive socialite and actress Genoveva Casanova.
The images caused a furore in Denmark.
There has been no comment from Frederik or the royal family about the pictures and 47-year-old Ms Casanova, a divorcee, has since released a strongly worded statement refuting an affair.
Some believe Queen Margrethe’s retirement was a calculated, perfectly timed, act to save the monarchy’s greatest asset, Mary, from leaving.
Speaking in the new book rushed through publication last week, King Frederik said he and Mary have been well prepared for their new roles as King and Queen of Denmark.
“In the years as crown prince couple (we) have been able to take part in a lot more than my mother could when she was heir to the throne,” he tells Mr Andersen.
“As far as that is concerned, times have changed and so have the opportunities became far more for a regent.
“Mary and I see it as an important task to carry on the common history and the common cultural heritage, knowing well that our starting point also helps to give direction to our future movement.”
Referring to how Tasmanian-born Mary, 51, the mother of his four children, has changed him and made him less selfish, he says: “My charity matured considerably when Mary and I met, settled down and had children.
“Care for and attention to my fellow men was not stranger to me before, but getting married and having four children meant that all the immediate needs, dreams and desires, which typically start from oneself, were pushed in the background.
“It was (a) happy (time) for me, even if it meant a steep learning curve and lots of new obligations in everyday life.
“Mary also feels connected to the Faroese and Greenlandic people. The love of the sea and the beautiful, rough nature we both share with them.
“As the royal couple, we will continue to be a bridge and link in the community and as far as possible work so that the bonds between Greenland, the Faroe Islands and the rest of Denmark become even closer. We must not forget that we are connected in the commonwealth.
“When friends talk about wanting to start to wind down their working lives, I tend to say that Mary and I looking forward to stepping up.
“We’re going to do it differently than my mum, both as regards the organisation and administration of the Royal Household and how we as a family alternate between work and free time,” he said.
“Time out is important because we will probably get even more to do. Mary and I have areas of interest, that will increasingly require our presence far and wide various forums at home and abroad … the prevention and control of climate change, which the whole world is talking about, and which the Danes are very concerned with contributing constructively to,” he says.
“The task is enormous, because we don’t just have to look after nature’s diversity, but also promote sustainability development, both locally and globally.
“Neither Mary nor I are performing artists, as such as my mother and father it was in their reign where they had it as a common interest and passion, one might well say.
“In return, we get the opportunity to be ourselves when we know, we have already laid the foundation for a Royal House,” he said.
The Danish royal couple was the focus of reports that Frederik had spent a day and evening out in Madrid with Ms Genoveva on October 25.
Photos showed them strolling in Barrio el Jerónimos, where Ms Genoveva lives, after taking a walk in El Retiro Park in the centre of the Spanish capital.
Spanish magazine Lecturas reported the pair had visited a Pablo Picasso exhibition earlier in the day, before heading to a restaurant to have dinner and watch a Flamenco performance.
Prince Frederik has carried out business as usual and was on January 14 proclaimed King Frederik X, sealing the job with a kiss on the balcony with Queen Mary.
Ms Genoveva is staying in San Sebastián at a residence owned by her ex-husband’s family.
The 47-year-old, who has acted in the past and recently appeared on Spain’s Celebrity MasterChef, was married to Cayetano Martínez de Irujo for two years.
The couple have an agreement that she can stay at the family properties whenever she likes.
In the book, however, Frederik writes of Mary’s centrality to his new role: “There is no king without a queen and in all my thoughts, ideas, and visions I had for my royal ‘motto’, you’ll find Queen Mary.
“She is to thank for this. Mary is created for the role, that is partially shaped by her, but also because she is a woman of the current times.
“She is conscious of all the changes the world is facing, and she has her mind made up on how she wishes to be, and how she wants to help in being the Queen. Her and I have built parallel tracks.”
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