Making of a Queen: Princess Mary’s journey from Sydney to Danish throne

It was the fairytale romance that sparked a royal frenzy. Here’s how Princess Mary went from Aussie girl next door to the Danish throne.

It was the fairytale romance that sparked an Aussie royal frenzy unlike anything that preceded it.

Advertising executive Mary Donaldson was enjoying drinks at Sydney’s Slip Inn during the 2000 Olympics when she met a tourist named Frederik, who was in Australia to support Denmark’s sailing team.

As she would go on to admit in an interview, the Tasmanian-born career girl initially had no idea that the handsome man she chatted to for more than 30 minutes was the future king of Denmark.

Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and the then Mary Donaldson in the Moet tent at the 2002 Melbourne Cup.

And 23 years later, Crown Princess Mary’s incredible journey from Aussie girl next door to the Danish throne is complete – within a fortnight she will be crowned Queen alongside her husband, Crown Prince Frederik.

From unlikely beginnings, love blossomed quickly for the pair after their chance meeting at that packed Sydney pub.

The glowing pair at the official announcement of their engagement. .

Just a few years later, before the royal wedding, staff would hang a sign adorned with Danish and Australian flags out the front of the venue, proudly declaring that it was where the couple first met.

After their cute pub encounter, the then 32-year-old Frederik asked Mary for her phone number, sparking the beginning of a long-distance relationship.

A smitten Crown Prince Frederik made several secret trips to Australia before Mary moved to Denmark to study the Danish language at Copenhagen’s Studieskolen in 2001.

Immersing herself in the culture and language – and quickly becoming a fluent speaker – the polished and accomplished Mary was on the pathway to royal life.

The newly engaged couple at Mary’s sister's wedding in Hobart’s Sandy Bay. Picture: c Sarah Rhodes

Prince Frederik kisses Mary Donaldson at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania in Hobart, two decades before her ascension to the throne.

Mary beams at the announcement of her engagement in 2003.

In early 2003, Frederik’s mother Queen Margrethe publicly acknowledged the relationship and the couple announced their engagement at Amalienborg Castle later that year on October 8.

Form the very start, the Danish people embraced the effervescent and athletic Mary, who seemed made for royal life.

Her wedding on May 14, 2004 at Copenhagen Cathedral, which was broadcast on Australian TV, kickstarted a media frenzy.

Mary arrives at Copenhagen Cathedral for her wedding. Picture: AFP

The loved-up pair seal it wth a kiss.

In a nod to her heritage, the elegant Mary – dressed in a beautiful gown by Danish designer Uffer Frank and a veil first used by Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden in 1905 – carried a bouquet of Australian snow gum eucalyptus mixed with Palace flowers.

To the delight of both Aussie and Danish royal fans, the pair welcomed firstborn son and future king Prince Christian just over a year later in October 2005.

Now 18 years old, Prince Christian was named according to the centuries-old Danish tradition of alternating between Christian and Frederik as names of Danish kings.

Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik would later welcome daughter Princess Isabella in 2007, and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine in 2011.

Known for her elegant style and support of Danish designers as well as her commitment to charitable work, Crown Princess Mary’s popularity in Denmark has never wavered.

Her marriage was thrust under the spotlight recently after pictures emerged of Prince Frederik spending a long day in Madrid with glamorous Mexican socialite Genoveva Casanova.

Following the publication of the photos, Ms Casanova issued a furious denial that there was any romantic relationship between herself and the Danish royal and said she would be taking legal action in respect of the “completely untrue” statements.

The elegant royal at an appearance in Copenhagen last November. Picture: Getty Images

The allegations, in late 2023, could not have come at a worse time for the royals.

It was then that preparations were being made for the royal transition and the wheels were being “set in motion” for Queen Margrethe’s departure, according to royal insiders.

Royal house expert and historian Lars Hovbakke Sørensen said it was no coincidence that Mary and her husband had been making more high-profile appearances during 2023.

The pair will be crowned on January 14. Picture: AFP

“Queen Margrethe has instructed her grandson Prince Christian to be trained up to assume more public speaking engagements in case something should happen to his father,” he said.

“Queen Margrethe is extremely popular in Denmark but she has been saying for some time ‘no one is immortal’ and, naturally, she has been preparing for her eventual departure.”

Mr Hovbakke Sørensen said Crown Prince Frederik was “comfortable” with the position of king and had long been preparing so that he was ready to take on the role when fate dictated it.

Queen Margrethe – Europe’s longest-serving head of state and the world’s longest serving female monarch, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II – is still in the midst of a lengthy rehabilitation process after back surgery in early 2023.

The monarch has been guiding Mary and Frederik “along the institutional route and preparing them for more responsibility, until such time for a formal takeover”.

“When Crown Prince Frederik becomes King it will be good for Denmark, he has the same high level popularity as the Queen and his wife Mary is well loved and seen as never putting a foot wrong,” he said.

For Crown Princess Mary, it will mark another incredible milestone and a new chapter in a journey that has taken her from her quiet upbringing in Hobart to the Danish throne.

Originally published as Making of a Queen: Princess Mary’s journey from Sydney to Danish throne