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From pub to pageantry: Step inside Mary and Frederik’s relationship

The modern fairytale is still going strong!
Mary and Frederik on palace balcony
Two decades after they tied the knot, Australian-born Queen Mary and her handsome husband are still living out a modern day fairytale.
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It started out as your typical Aussie love story – a girl meets a boy at the pub, they fall in love, get married, have a couple of kids and live happily ever after.

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But there was nothing typical about the night when 28-year-old Mary Donaldson came across Fred at the Slip Inn in Sydney’s Darling Harbour in September 2000, because he turned out to be the heir to Europe’s oldest monarchy.

Almost two and half decades later, King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark reign alongside each other and are the proud parents of four children.

King Fred kissing Queen Mary on the cheek
Despite her picture-perfect life, Mary has made many sacrifices for her position. (Credit: getty)

One of the most stylish women on the planet, Mary, 52, is hailed as an international style icon and applauded for her humanitarian work.

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Despite her picture-perfect life, Mary has made a lot of sacrifices to be in the position she is in today.

Here, WHO delves deeper into her modern fairytale come true.

Are King Frederik and Queen Mary still together?

Despite a few bumps in the road during their 20-year-long marriage, Queen Mary and King Frederik remain committed to each other.

Rumours that their fairytale might be over began in November 2023, after Frederik, 56, was photographed enjoying a night out on the town in Spain with socialite Genoveva Casanova.

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Casanova was quick to come out and deny anything untoward had happened between her and the then Crown Prince when images of their visit to an art gallery and restaurant were published in Hola magazine.

Mary and Fred looking tense following affair rumours
After pictures from Fred’s night out in Spain were published, things seemed tense between him and his wife.

In the months following, the couple were often pictured looking tense in each other’s company. Gossip hit fever pitch in April when online rumors spread that the pair had their official portraits taken separately.

“Was this photoshopped?” one social media user asked when the palace published the image of the pair on social media. “I mean it looks like they were photographed separately then put together?”  

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Despite the scrutiny placed on their marriage, the pair made it clear they will continue to be a united front.

“We have not set a fixed route, but a good direction,” Mary told Danish broadcaster TV2. “We are going to continue the tracks we have laid.”

Mary and Fred looking happy and in love on their summer holiday
After a few months of tension, the King and Queen couldn’t wipe the smiles off their faces or keep their hands off each other as they started their summer holidays. (Credit: Getty)

While arriving at Graasten Townhall on July 9, 2024, the pair seemed to have turned a corner as they greeted the well wishers who’d lined the streets to welcome them to the Southern Denmark town for their annual summer vacation.

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As the couple broke with tradition and walked the 1km trek from the city center to their summer palace, stopping to say hello and accept bouquets under the warm sun, they couldn’t wipe the big smiles off their faces or keep their hands off each other.

“They did it!” Dr Louise Mahler exclusively tells WHO.  “There is touch, their footwork is in sync with each other, there is eye contact, laughter, and an open unprotected physical presence, which tells us that trust has been restored between Queen Mary and King Frederik.”

When did Fred and Mary become Denmark’s King and Queen?

During her her annual live televised New Year’s Eve speech to say goodbye to 2023, Queen Margrethe announced that she would be abdicating after serving her people for over five decades.

Fred was proclaimed as King on January 14, 2024, with Mary becoming the Queen by his side, following the shock stepping down of his mother.

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Looking elegant in a regal white dress by Soeren Le Schmidt and dripping in diamond and ruby jewellery from the family vault, Queen Mary joined her husband on the balcony of Christiansborg Palace just moments after Frederik had wiped away a few tears as he was officially proclaimed the King of Denmark by the country’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen.

Mary and Fred attend a gala with Queen Margrethe
Fred and Mary became the King and Queen of Denmark following the abdication of his mother, Queen Margrethe. (Credit: Getty)

Holding hands, the couple waved to the hundreds of thousands of cheering well-wishers who’d waited hours in the cold to see their new monarchs on the historic day, before delighting the crowd with a kiss.

“My hope is to become a unifying king of tomorrow,” Frederik told the masses. “It is a responsibility I take on with respect, pride and great joy.”

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Fred and Mary appear on palace balcony following his proclamation ceremony
Their Majesties appeared on the balcony of Christiansborg Palace following Frederik’s proclamation ceremony. (Credit: Getty)

The event made history, with Mary becoming the first Australian-born Queen.

“It is very interesting because in fact, it is the opinion of many Danes that Queen Mary is more popular than the King which is surprising because she is neither Danish nor of royal or noble blood,” Danish royal commentator and branding advisor, Anna Thygesen, tells WHO.

“But Mary has, from day one, won the hearts of the Danes with everything from her accomplished fashion style, her ability to learn the Danish language and her role as mother of four children. Many Danes actually believe that Mary has the decisive power in the family.”

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How did Queen Mary and King Frederik meet?

It was a last minute night out on the town while the Sydney Summer 2000 Olympics was on that led to Mary’s change in fate.

Mary headed out to the Slip Inn in with her flatmate Andrew Miles after he was invited by a friend who was entertaining a group of European royals including Frederik, his younger brother Prince Joachim, his cousin Prince Nikolaos of Greece, Princess Martha of Norway, and King Felipe of Spain.

“The first time we met, we shook hands,” Mary would later recall to biographer Jens Andersen of the night she met Crown Prince Frederik.

“I didn’t know he was the prince of Denmark. Half an hour later, someone came up to me and said, ‘Do you know who these people are?’” she explained.

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Mary and Fred at Melbourne Cup in 2002
The couple attended Melbourne Cup in (Credit: Getty)

At the end of the night, the handsome royal had made enough of an impression for the Tasmanian-born law graduate to hand over her number.

“There was enough of a click that I gave Frederik my telephone number and he rang me the next day,” she explained on Andrew Denton’s Enough Rope.

“It wasn’t the fireworks in the sky or anything like that, but there was a sense of excitement.”

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Covert dating ensued with Frederik making several trips to Australia. In an era before everyone was on social media, the pair were able to keep their relationship under wraps for almost a year.

As it became more serious, Mary made the move to France in 2001, taking up a role as an English teacher to be closer to her love.

Just months later she was outed as Frederik’s girlfriend in Danish magazine Billed Bladet and a move to Denmark’s capital Copenhagen followed weeks later.

When did Queen Mary and King Frederik marry?

In 2003, while on a romantic vacation to Italy, Frederik dropped to one knee and presented Mary with a stunning emerald-cut diamond ring with two emerald-cut ruby baguettes.

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The gorgeous ring was designed to represent the flag of the country Mary would one down reign over if she accepted.

Mary and Frederik
Frederik designed a ring for Mary that represented Denmark’s flag. (Credit: Getty)

“I thought, ‘This is the moment. Seize the day and get your kneepads on,’” Frederik later explained on Enough Rope.

The couple were married at Copenhagen Cathedral, on May 14, 2004, where the bride became the country’s Crown Princess.

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Mary looked resplendent while walking down the aisle in an ivory duchess satin dress by Danish designer Uffe Frank in front of 428 guests, including friends, family and world leaders.

Delighting the crowd of over 100,000 well-wishers who were lining the streets, the newlyweds rode in a horse-drawn open carriage from the cathedral to the Amalienborg Palace, where they made an appearance on the balcony and kissed before their reception.

Mary and Fred on their wedding day
Mary looked resplendent in a gown by Danish designer Uffe Frank on her big day. (Credit: Getty)

“It was an absolutely surreal and magical experience,” the princess’s bridesmaid Amber Petty tells WHO.

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Overcome with emotion, Frederik couldn’t help but shed a tear as he watched Mary walk down the aisle.

“From today, Mary is mine and I am hers,” he said at the altar. “I love her and I will protect her with all my love.”

Afterwards, Frederik whisked Mary off on a surprise honeymoon to Africa, where they could spend some much-needed alone time before she officially took up her role as a working member of the Danish royal family.

“She didn’t know where we were going, and I wanted to go some place where we could … be ourselves, literally, just the two of us,” Frederik told the ABC in 2005.

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Did Queen Mary get princess training?

If the early 2020’s have taught the world anything about being a royal, it is that being a princess isn’t always the gig it’s cracked up to be.

During a few tumultuous years, Meghan Markle stepped down from fulltime royal duties in Britain while Monaco’s Princess Charlene spent extensive time in hospitals outside of her husband’s principality undergoing medical treatment for “exhaustion”.

But where others have failed, Mary appears to have thrived. As the Crown Princess, she rarely put a foot wrong.

While Mary seems to have taken to royal life with relative ease, her transformation into the perfect princess didn’t magically occur as she made her way down the aisle, but it was something she’d been preparing for even while she was in Australia.

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Queen Mary before and after meeting Fred
Mary prepared for royal life by enrolling in a supermodel skills training course and had quite the glow up. (Credit: Getty )

Just weeks after her chance meeting with the royal at the pub, Mary enrolled in an intensive Supermodel Skills training course with Starmakers where she would develop the foundational skills which have been pivotal in her success.

These included goal setting, talking on camera, image development and walking with grace.

“[Mary] told me, ‘Life is passing me by and I want to change my life,’” Page reveals of the day she met the marketing executive.

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And Mary certainly succeeded in her goal. “Today, she is a global fashion icon and applauded around the world for her humanitarian work,” Page explains. “She is revered by the people of Denmark. They love her for how much she has given up for them and know she will make a fine queen consort when the time comes.”

How many kids do Queen Mary and King Frederik have?

The royal couple have created a beautiful family – and secured the line of succession – through their four children Prince Christian, 18, Princess Isabella, 16, and 13-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.

“We feel very blessed with our four healthy, happy and lovely children,” said Mary in an interview with the Australian Women’s Weekly in 2012.

As Frederik was proclaimed King in January 2024, his eldest son, Christian, took over his Crown Prince title.

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Fred, Mary and their kids attended Crown Princes Christian's graduation in 2024
Mary, Fred and their kids attended Crown Prince Christian’s graduation ceremony at Ordrup Gymnasium in June 2024. (Credit: Getty)

Crown Prince Christian graduated from high school in late 2024 and set off for several months in Africa where he will be working on farms while getting to know the local communities before returning to Denmark in December.

“We are going to miss him unimaginably… very, very much,” Queen Mary said shortly after he jetted off.

Princess Isabella is currently attending upper secondary school at Øregård Gymnasium.

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The teenager is already earning herself a reputation as a fashionista and is often seen wearing her mother’s hand-me-down’s.

It is expected that Christian and Isabella will eventually take on full-time royal roles but that the twins will have more freedom in choosing their own paths.

Looking for more Royal content. Head to the WHO Royals section.

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