Crown Prince Frederik ‘never wanted to be king’
Even as a child, Crown Prince Frederik never wanted to be king. But for Crown Princess Mary, it’s a different story.
Royals
Don't miss out on the headlines from Royals. Followed categories will be added to My News.
He has had half a decade to come to terms with taking over the throne from his mother.
But, according to a royal expert, those closest to Crown Prince Frederik, who will be proclaimed ruler of Denmark alongside his Australian-born wife Crown Princess Mary on January 14, know his heart has never been truly in the job.
As a five-year-old, the young Prince hid from his parents at Christian IX’s palace at Amalienborg and for hours no one could find him before his muffled cries were eventually heard by his nanny.
“He disappeared for hours and no one could find him in the palace anywhere but eventually their nanny heard him in the attic, sobbing his heart out, saying ‘I don’t want to be king, I don’t want to be king’… That’s a true story,” Danish royal expert Trine Villemann said.
“Fast forward 50 years, and Crown Prince Frederik will be following his duty on Sunday when he becomes King of Denmark.
“He has had a very difficult and unhappy upbringing, a strict one, just like England’s King Charles III — they were both brought up by a distant mum and Frederik used to hide in the corridors if he heard his father’s voice,” Ms Villemann, whose book addresses the soon-to-be King’s austere childhood in Amalienborg, said.
“If it was just you and him in the pub, in a quiet corner over a cold beer, and it was truth time, he would tell you ‘I don’t want it, I don’t want the crown.’
“That is why he’s so fortunate to have Mary because she wants it.
“But Sunday will be the moment of seeing him achieving or ascending into his life’s purpose and he knows he has to get on with it.
“The Danish people are excited to have a new young heir and will be coming out in droves to watch him be crowned.
“It’s the end of an era in Denmark but the start of a fresh reign.”
Parallels can be drawn between the lives of the reticent kings of Denmark and Britain.
King Charles III has made it clear he, too, was reluctant to step into his mother Queen Elizabeth’s shoes on May 6 last year, telling the then British prime minister Liz Truss in their first audience that the first day on the throne was “the moment I’ve been dreading.”
For King Charles’s part, Camilla has been the steady influence in the dithering royal’s life. In fact Camilla’s sister Annabel Elliot described the Queen as the King’s “rock” and the “yin” to his “yang” in a relationship that works “brilliantly” and suggested while Camilla was supportive, Charles had exposed his wife to new “knowledge and interest”.
When Crown Prince Frederik Prince assumes the Danish throne on January 14 as HM King Frederik the 10th with Queen Mary, it is quietly accepted his Australian-born wife will be the guiding influence in their new lives as Denmark’s reigning royals.
“What works for Charles and Camilla is the same with Frederik and Mary, she has always been there for him, a gentle pat, a nod, a supportive look, Mary wears the trousers and has always wanted the role of queen,” Ms Villemann said.
“Queen Margarethe is grateful to her daughter-in-law for the steady hand she has shown her son and doesn’t want to lose her. Without her, Frederik is lost.”
Indeed both King Charles and Frederik are more aligned than they care to realise.
Both share a passion for environmental issues earning the sobriquet climate warriors for their environmental activism in their respective countries.
While King Charles has been tracking and publishing his carbon footprint since 2007, installing biomass boilers and solar panels at his homes and converting his Aston Martin sports car to run on surplus wine and whey from cheese-making, Frederik recently vowed to “guide the ship” of Denmark into the future.
The modern Dane attends climate forums, has co-written a book on climate challenges called The Polar Cruise and takes his children to school by bicycle.
Like Charles he has been criticised for being too political, calling for emissions reductions while living in castles and travelling on private planes.
Just before Charles was crowned King, he vowed he would not keep “meddling in politics”, saying he was “not that stupid” to politicise his position as monarch.
“The Crown Prince must strike a balance,” Marie Ronde, a Danish reporter on the website of the broadcaster TV2, said.
“There is a discrepancy between being climate-friendly and showing grandeur and splendour.”
Known as the party prince with a rebellious nature, the young Frederik pursued a life of fast cars and fast living.
Before meeting Crown Princess Mary, he was regularly seen out with beautiful women and celebrities, appearing obviously distressed by the media attention.
The young King Charles mirrored a similar lifestyle before he matured.
In the 1970s he was linked to a string of women dubbed “Charlie’s Angels” including Lady Bettina Lindsay, Davina Sheffield, the granddaughter of Lord McGowan, his second cousin Lady Amanda Knatchbull and Lady Sarah Spencer, Diana’s older sister, among others.
Just two months ago, Crown Frederik was linked to socialite Genoveva Casanova when both were pictured out on a night in Madrid. She has furiously denied rumours of any romance and threatened legal action.
Crown Prince Frederik is a “free soul”, said royal commentator Phil Dampier, pointing to the fact he once said he refused to stay locked up inside a castle and made a surprise appearance at a friend’s rock music concert in 2007, treating the crowd to a harmonica solo.
The royal was also spotted at Burning Man festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert in 2014.
“He will ascend the throne with minimum pomp and circumstance, through a simple proclamation by the Prime Minister at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen,” Mr Dampier said.
“That’s him all over, down to earth and wanting to be as human as possible, that’s the way the Danish monarchy have always kept it and why the Danes love them so much, they feel they know their royals especially Frederik.”
Queen Margrethe rushed to hospital after fall
Denmark’s Queen Margrethe, who abdicated in January in favour of her son King Frederik and his Australian wife Queen Mary, has been hospitalised after an accident at her home.
Diana’s confidant Al Fayed accused of multiple rapes
The late Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, whose son Dodi died alongside Princess Diana, has been accused of multiple sexual assaults amid claims the luxury store covered up the alleged abuse.