Queen Mary, King Frederik release stunning new portraits
Striking official new portraits of Australian born Queen Mary of Denmark give a powerful insight into how the girl from Tassie has transformed into a bona fide world leader. See the full gallery.
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Standing tall and staring down the barrel of the camera with a grace and poise you’d swear came from royal bloodlines, Australia’s own Queen Mary of Denmark left her subjects spellbound in her new royal portraits.
The Danish royals released the set of portraits on Thursday taken by photographer Steen Avald in Frederick VIII’s Palace in Amalienborg – the couple’s official residence in Copenhagen.
These are official civil portraits, as distinct from their gala portraits released in April where Queen Mary and King Frederik appear in full royal regalia.
“The portraits will be used by The Royal House of Denmark in connection with, among other things, official trips, visits and special events as well as by the patronages of The King and The Queen,” a statement from the palace reads.
Queen Mary’s powerful stance and steely gaze were admired by royal watchers who commented on the Tasmanian born royal’s official Instagram page.
“Power couple ready to start a new chapter in the history of Denmark with a gorgeous authentic Aussie flair,” wrote one person, paying homage to Mary’s roots.
The new portraits come after the Danish royal family announced it will be scrapping a key tradition because it believes it is “no longer in keeping with the times”.
In a statement published by the royals, they revealed that they will eventually be removing Royal Warrants under the reign of King Frederik X, 56.
Over the years, Royal Warrants have been granted to companies or tradesmen who regularly supplied goods or services to the Royal Household, often at the monarch’s discretion.
The purpose was to recognise businesses based on criteria such as social responsibility and propriety.
However, the Royal House of Denmark now believes these warrants are outdated, especially since some current holders no longer supply goods or services regularly, while others who do are not granted the Royal Warrant.
“Against this background, among other things, it is The Royal House of Denmark’s decision that the system of appointing holders of the Royal Warrant will be discontinued and that the current designations will be phased out,” the statement read.
“To give the affected companies time to adapt to the changes, all existing holders of the Royal Warrant will be able to use the designation until 31 December 2029. Thereafter, it will not be possible to use the designation.
“The King and The Queen and the other members of The Royal Family will continue to support the interests of Danish business in a way that considers as many companies and industries as possible.
“This will – as is the case today – take place in connection with, among other things, company visits, conferences and promotional business campaigns abroad.”
QUEEN MARY SHARES SNAP OF ROYAL PETS
It comes as Queen Mary of Denmark took a spectacular picture of her beloved border collies Coco and Grace against a backdrop of autumn leaves to the delight of royal watchers.
The Queen shared the photo to the royal Instagram accounted on Wednesday with a caption paying tribute to the beauty of autumn which indicated the photo had been personally taken by the royal.
The Australian born queen has long had a soft spot for border collies with the Danish royal household previously owning a third border collie Ziggy.
Before Ziggy passed away in 2017, he was a regular fixture in Danish royal pictures including many from when Mary was pregnant with Crown Prince Christian.
Ziggy even starred on a magazine cover with Queen Mark and King Frederik announcing Christian’s birth.
As the four royal children have grown, much like her British counterpart Princess Catherine, Queen Mary has often been the one behind the camera capturing their official birthday portraits.
The portraits frequently feature one or more of the dogs snuggled in the arms of a Prince or Princess.
The Tasmanian born Queen is regularly pictured walking her border collies even on frosty days out in Denmark.
In August, the Queen was delighted to meet border collie Eagle while touring Assens, on the island of Funen.
King Frederik made a beeline for the pooch, remarking how much he looked like their own Coco only to be told by the dog’s delighted owner that she was a breeder and Eagle was actually Coco’s father.
Coco’s mother is none other than the other royal pooch Grace who joined the family in 2017 after Ziggy’s death.
Coco gave birth to a litter of two in 2021 and the family decided to keep Coco.
But it seems Queen Mary is not going to pass up a pat from a friendly pup regardless of breed.
When Mary and Frederik visited Sydney in 2011 an excitable pup named Charlie broke protocol do dash up to the delighted royal for a pat.
Queen Mary, who was attending Sculptures by the Sea at Tamarama in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, happily obliged.
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