Crown Prince Frederik is knowingly about the take over the Danish throne after Queen Margrethe II’s abdication. But who is his wife? This is Mary Elizabeth, the Crown Princess of Denmark.
Mary will be the first-ever Australian monarch, as she was born in Australia. Mary Elizabeth Donaldson was born on 5 February 1972 to Scottish parents in Hobart – on the Australian island state of Tasmania. Her father was a mathematics professor and her mother worked as an executive assistant at the University of Tasmania.
She herself worked as a lawyer, and eventually moved to Melbourne and Sydney for work.
A fairytale of a love story
At age 28, Mary met Crown Prince Frederik at the Slip Inn bar in Sydney in 2000. It was during the Summer Olympics, and by this time she had worked in advertising and real estate. And she had no idea Frederik was a prince.
“The first time we met, we shook hands and I didn’t know he was the crown prince of Denmark. An hour or so later someone came up to me and said, ‘Do you know who these people are?’” she told the media in 2003 ahead of her wedding to Prince Frederik.
She said, since they ever started talking, they never really stopped. They had to start off in a long-distance relationship due to the geographical circumstances – which enabled them to create a strong relationship to begin with, she had said.
Their relationship was secret at first, but a couple of years later, they became engaged. Married in Copenhagen Cathedral on 14 May 2004, Mary became the Crown Princess of Denmark. And today they have four children together.
Justice, justice, justice
Mary is well-respected in Denmark and abroad for her social work. She supports humanitarian causes, including women’s rights and the LGBTQ+ community. In 2007, she established The Mary Foundation.
The foundation has its focus on domestic violence, loneliness, bullying and well-being. It aims to “improve the lives of children, adults and families who – as a result of their environment, heredity, illness or other circumstances – find themselves socially isolated or excluded from society.”
To read more about Mary, check out the full report from Prestige Online.
