Princess Mary and Prince Frederik visit Sculpture by the Sea, 10 years after date there
ROYAL couple has returned to the Bondi spot where they went on a date 10 years ago - but this time, they weren't alone.
CROWN Princess Mary and her husband Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark have been greeted by a cheering crowd at Bondi, where they are touring the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition.
It's a formal engagement with a hint of romance for the couple, who visited the exhibition when they were first dating over ten years ago.
Their enthusiasm resulted in the creation of the first overseas Sculpture by the Sea in Aarhus, Denmark.
The royal couple waved and smiled at the enthusiastic crowd as they were greeted by NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell and his wife Rosemary.
Two children from Bronte Public School presented the Princess with flowers.
The couple were casually dressed for the humid weather, with Princess Mary wearing a cream sleeveless shirt, a white pencil skirt and orange pumps.
Her hair was tied back in a ponytail and she had a broad brimmed hat on hand to protect her from the sun.
Prince Frederik sported a pair of tan chinos and a blue shirt open at the collar.
There was no sign of their 10-month-old twins, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.
Security was tight at Marks Park where the couple looked at Sculpture by the Sea exhibits, watched on by hundreds of onlookers.
They shook hands with several people in the crowd, some of whom cried "welcome to Australia".
A mother-of-four herself, Princess Mary paused to admire a baby being held by her mother, Emma Lynch from Maroubra.
Eight-month-old Maddison Lynch gurgled happily as the princess rubbed her back.
Ms Lynch said she was "shaking" after the encounter.
"She's so beautiful, just a lovely person," Ms Lynch told reporters.
The couple examined some of the sculptures, including a work by Danish sculptor Keld Moseholm, and a work titled Who Left The Tap Running by Simon McGrath, one of the favourites to win the People's Choice award which will be presented by the Royal couple later on this morning.
Princess Mary and Prince Frederik later opened a Danish-Australian arts exhibition.
The Danish royal couple greeted fans waving Danish flags before walking into Customs House at Circular Quay, just over one kilometre from the Slip Inn, the bar where the couple famously met in 2000 during the Sydney Olympics.
They were greeted at the gate by Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore and Copenhagen Mayor Frank Jensen before walking in together to launch the Curating Cities: Sydney-Copenhagen exhibition.
The princess was wearing the same simple but elegant white outfit she had on at Bondi earlier this morning, when she and her husband toured the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition.
The Customs House exhibition comprises five projects highlighting the impact of climate change.
There Princess Mary hitched up her skirt and jumped onto an energy-generating bike to make herself a smoothie after opening an urban sustainability conference in Sydney.
Her husband joined her in the environmentally friendly pedalling venture.
The popular pair won a round of applause from guests at the exhibition as they got off the bikes and poured themselves a refreshing smoothie.
They also sampled purple-coloured, cube-shaped food cocktails, designed by artists to promote biodiversity.
The royal couple then dined on seafood, lamb sausages and pavlova at a Garden Island barbecue for Danish and Australian business leaders.
Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik arrived at the Sydney naval base at 2.45pm (AEDT) today to mingle with 400 guests, mainly from the Danish business community.
The couple arrived with Danish Consulate-General Michael T. Hansen and his wife Kristine Lindbjerg Hansen.
They were greeted by the chief of navy, Vice-Admiral Ray Griggs, and the director of the Royal Australian Navy Heritage Centre, Commander Shane Moore.
The Australian-born princess opted not to change out of her earlier outfit of a cream sleeveless top and white pencil skirt, although she swapped her orange pumps for brown high-heeled shoes.
The barbecue menu included Tasmanian scallops, lamb and mint sausages, king prawns, Sydney rock oysters, barramundi, marinated Atlantic salmon, King Island beef eye fillet and pavlova with King Island cream.
Guests drank Denmark's Carlsberg beer and Aussie wines.
The couple watched on as three navy boats sped around the harbour, although it was unclear if this was put on for their benefit.
The couple later left on a boat taking them to Admiralty House to meet with Governor-General Quentin Bryce and her husband Michael.