Australian-born Princess Mary is set to be crowned Queen of Denmark this weekend alongside her husband Prince Frederik.
For 52 years, Queen Margrethe has reigned over the country as head of state, but on 14th January, she’ll officially relinquish her role and the crown will be passed along to Margrethe’s son, the new king, Frederik X.
This means the Crown Princess Mary will step into the role of Queen Consort of Denmark after almost 20 years of being married to the Crown Prince. The couple met in Sydney, Australia during the 2000 Olympic Games.
A popular royal family member among the Danes, the 51-year-old advertising executive turned crown princess is credited with helping modernise the Danish monarchy. She is known for her advocacy work, fighting against bullying, domestic violence and social isolation, as well as promoting mental health and women’s rights.
The upcoming royal reshuffle follows an announcement from Queen Margrethe during her New Year’s speech that she would step down as Queen of Denmark due to a back injury . Her announcement a surprise to many, considering that Margrethe had previously suggested she hold the role for life.
“The surgery naturally gave rise to thinking about the future – whether the time had come to leave the responsibility to the next generation,” said Margrethe, during her speech. “I have decided that now is the right time.”
“On 14th January – 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father – I will step down as Queen of Denmark. I leave the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederik.”
How did an Australian woman become Danish royalty?
Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Mary Donaldson was working as an advertising executive in Australia when she met Frederick on a night out with friends in Sydney. This was during the summer Olympics in 2000. Mary has said she only discovered Frederick was the crown prince of Denmark after they had met.
It seemed to be love at first sight for Frederick, who told the newspaper Kristeligt Dagblad that meeting Mary was “not only a rush of love, but also the feeling of having met my soulmate”.
After hitting it off, the pair began a discreet long-distance relationship and officially married in May 2004 in Copenhagen Cathedral.
It’s been reported that Mary won over her mother-in-law, Queen Margrethe quite quickly, and impressed the Danish public as well with her drive to learn the Danish language.
Mary and Frederik are now parents to four children: Prince Christian (18), Princess Isabella (16), and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine (13).
Succession in the Danish monarchy
The Danish Crown is inherited upon the death of the sovereign– a monarchy tradition since the 1600s. And until 1953, only male descendants of the king were able to inherit the throne. This rule, however, was changed with a referendum in 1953 to allow that female descendants are allowed to inherit, granted that male descendants have precedence.
A more recent amendment has made it so that the throne is now inherited by the sovereign’s oldest child regardless of gender.
Following the death of her father in 1972, Queen Margarethe ascended the throne as, traditionally, the succession to the throne occurs the moment a sovereign dies.
The Danish palace put out a statement explaining how things will be different this weekend, due to the Queen’s abdication.
“This time, the succession will first take place during the meeting of the Council of State at the moment The Queen has signed a declaration of her abdication,” the statement said.
“HRH The Crown Prince will thus arrive at Christiansborg Palace as a crown prince and leave it as King. Likewise, HRH The Crown Princess will arrive as a crown princess and depart as Queen.”
“HRH Prince Christian will leave Christiansborg Palace as Crown Prince (heir to the throne). Upon the succession to the throne, the new sovereign takes charge of all of the functions which, according to the constitution, are incumbent on the head of state.”