Queen Mary’s year of power with King Frederick
King Frederik X of Denmark and his Australian-born wife Queen Mary are marking the first year of their rule with some major milestones. But an expert thinks they have one weakness.
Royals
Don't miss out on the headlines from Royals. Followed categories will be added to My News.
King Frederik X of Denmark and his Australian-born wife Queen Mary have undoubtedly won the hearts of the Danish public as they mark one year since taking over as head of state from Queen Margrethe II.
The duo have kept their carefully scripted messaging on point, modernised the monarchy and not set a foot out of line but there’s no denying there was plenty of nervousness when Queen Margrethe announced 12 months ago she was voluntarily abdicating after 52 years.
The King, who has been dubbed the ‘party prince’ for years, even said so himself when he gave his first New Year’s address earlier this month, telling the Danish public: “There may still be some who are a bit nervous on my behalf”.
The 55-year-old reflected that since assuming the role of monarch, it’s still “one day at a time” and he is overwhelmed to be continually met with “so much support, joy and love”.
“My first New Year address,” he said.
“It will not come again, but I shall never forget it.
“They say that, ‘a good start is half the battle’.
“It is perhaps a bit over the top, but Mary and I could not have wished for a better start as King and Queen”.
MEDIA MANAGEMENT
King Frederik and Queen Mary’s public messaging and interactions with the media have been meticulously managed in their first 12 months leading the country – they have only been interviewed by one media outlet, Danish TV station TV2, and the questions were screened beforehand.
Danish national newspaper Berlingske’s royal correspondent Jakob Steen Olsen said there’s been a clear strategy that they limit their engagement with the media.
“They’ve done one interview with TV2 and that was with questions they were in control of. There was nothing that came to a surprise to them,” he said.
“They do talk to the press at times but now instead of the press being granted two or three questions when they are coming in and out of a building, they come out and they have a prepared statement so it’s not possible to ask them questions.
“That’s a way of shielding the role of the royal family. That’s a change (from Queen Margrethe)”.
Mr Steen Olsen said one of the problems is that both King Frederik and Queen Mary “have not proven themselves very good at improvising”.
“He’s not very eloquent, he says so himself,” he said.
“Queen Mary is good at learning things by heart and saying things that are appropriate but she can’t really improvise.
“One of the successes in the first year is the royals have been able to be shielded.”
IMPECCABLE STYLE
Their grace and style is a key strength – not only for the King and Queen but their four children too – Crown Prince Christian, 19, Princess Isabella, 17, and 14-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.
Queen Mary’s personal hairdresser and makeup artist, Soren Hedegaard, stepped down from his role after 23 years before the then Crown Princess stepped up to become Queen.
He played a critical role in Queen Mary’s royal transformation and her impeccable wardrobe choices – a mix of regal attire and contemporary fashion.
She has been known to showcase fashion from some of Denmark’s top designers, including Jesper Hovring and Soeren Le Schmidt.
AFFAIR RUMOURS
King Frederik, prior to taking over as monarch, was making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Scandalous photographs emerged of him out late at night in the Spanish capital of Madrid with Mexican socialite Genoveva Casanova.
Concerns immediately emerged that he was playing up on then Princess Mary, who he married on May 14, 2004, after meeting her at watering hole The Slip Inn during Sydney’s Olympic Games.
It was reported the King stayed at Ms Casanova’s Madrid apartment for two hours and the images were later published by Spanish magazine Lecturas.
The Danish Palace described it as a “private visit” but would not provide any further details.
Ms Casanova said they were “malicious” rumours and posted a legal letter on social media threatening legal action shortly after the images were published.
Danish television network TV2’s European correspondent Jesper Steinmetz said the alleged affair was particularly “interesting because that speculation circulated a lot in the foreign press but not as much in the Danish press”.
“There was a consensus that it was simply not true,” he said.
“It circulated in most tabloids of the Danish press but in the mainstream press it has been mentioned as just a fun fact of foreign coverage”.
Some have argued Queen Margrethe II’s abdication was due to her age, now aged 84, but health sceptics argued that she relinquished the throne in a desperate move to save her son’s troubled marriage.
But Mr Steinmetz said the Danish press were instead focused on what they argued were legitimate reasons for her abdication.
“Most Danes don’t think that (the alleged affair) is the reason for the abdication,” he said.
“From everything we know and have been told there were a number of reasons for the abdication – the Queen’s health, she’d seen Prince Charles waiting in wings for decades and did she really want that to happen here.
“Christian (the King and Queen’s eldest son) also turned 18, so it did make perfect sense.”
POPULARITY
The Danish royal family has proved victorious and maintained the love of the nation following the abdication of Queen Margrethe II.
According to a poll by Epinion agency for broadcaster DR, conducted 12 months ago before Kind Frederick ascended to the throne, he had an 86 per cent approval rating.
This was slightly less than his mother and his wife who both had approval ratings of 89 per cent.
Mr Steinmetz said while the royals’ popularity has remained strong, Queen Mary is “viewed as the one in control”.
“It’s very clear she is definitely the one who is running things and she’s credited for the whole professionalism of this takeover,” she said.
“She has been very well prepared and made sure the rest of the rest of the family is well prepared.
“The King and Queen are very aware that if they screw things up, if they act as if they take things for granted, they will end the monarchy, so they need to show their relevance and humility towards serving the public”.
More Coverage
Originally published as Queen Mary’s year of power with King Frederick
Harry, Meghan spotted amid LA fire tragedy
Harry and Meghan have been spotted meeting victims and emergency crews in LA.
Paris Hilton launches emergency fund for LA fire victims
Paris Hilton has kickstarted a fund to support displaced families as more stars rally to help the victims of the LA wildfires.