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Queen Mary and King Frederik have begun their State Visit in Australia.
Denmark’s reigning couple will visit several states across the country from March 14-19. See their full itinerary here.
A once in a lifetime event, this will be the only State Visit they make Down Under, though they may return for personal visits or less formal royal tours.
Australia holds a special place in the heart of the couple, who met at Sydney’s Slip Inn in 2000.
See the best moments from their time in Australia during their State Visit here….
March 19: Hobart
Queen Mary and King Frederik are due to arrive in Hobart where they will carry out there final day of engagements in Australia.
This includes one last chance for the public to meet the pair during a royal walkabout along Hunter Street, in Hobart’s waterfront area, from 4:30pm.
March 17-18: Melbourne
While it is common knowledge that Queen Mary was born and raised in Hobart, and lived in Bondi when she met the King, did you also know she lived for a number of years in Melbourne.
Mary moved there at the start of her career after she graduated from university with a combined Bachelor of Law and Marketing degree.
Following a reception at Government House to officially welcome them to Victoria, Their Majesties headed to her old neighbourhood in Prahran.
While there, the couple walked around the area to check out the new sustainable development initiatives.
“It’s actually my old hometown,” she shared. “I lived here for three years and a lot’s changed since then. But there’s one thing that’s still there, and that’s the Prahran pool. It’s a place where I used to swim in the morning before work.”
Later, the Queen kicked goals — literally — at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, successfully booting a football through the posts during an AFL‑focused engagement.
On their second day in Melbourne, the King and Queen joined businesses in the renewable energy sector for an event at the Sofitel where she flew the Australian fashion flag, donning a new navy linen skirt from Carla Zampatti.
Then Frederik and Mary heard about Danish-Australian collaborations in stem cell research at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute while making time to visiting sick children and their families.
Their next stop was at mental health organisation Headspace in South Melbourne to find out more about the organisation’s work in providing safe spaces for young people.
This is a particular area of passion for the Queen who has made combatting loneliness and bullying a cornerstone of her work through her Mary Foundation charity.
But it wasn’t all work with Frederik playing a game of pingpong with some teens while there.
They also opened an exhibition by Danish Australian artists Rhoda Ting and Mikkel Bojesen in Collingwood.
Their Melbourne itinerary finished up with the pair hosting an evening garden party reception in the Royal Botanic Gardens.
The event offered the royals a chance to say thank you to those who had hosted them on their journey through Oz.
On the guest list was Queen Mary’s best friend and bridesmaid Amber Petty.
The Queen wore a dress by Zimmermann for the outdoor event.
March 16: Canberra
It was a welcome fit for a King and Queen when the Danish royals conducted their first public meet and greet of their trip.
Opportunities to rub shoulder with royals don’t come up everyday so eager locals gathered from 7:45am at the Australian War Memorial forecourt where Mary and Frederik were due to shake hands with members of the public just before 11am.
In the crowd was one little girl dressed as a princess, while a man wore a crown.
Those gathered broke out in cheers when the royal convoy arrived and Queen Mary stepped out looking stunning in a new navy blue dress by Carolina Herrera with bow details.
She also wore a matching headband with veil by Danish milliner Katrin Cecilia Jacobsen.
After the couple paid their respects by laying a wreath on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and placed a poppy at the memorial for Flying Officer Geoffrey Herbert Brandon Slinn, who was killed in action over Denmark in 1944, they headed outside.
Mary was clearly the star of the show as the pair walked the 100 metre perimeter shaking hands with the public who had come to witness some of their magic first hand.
Frederik walked slightly ahead next to his wife, shaking hands that were offered, clearly proud of how well received and beloved Mary is by Australians.
“It’s very heartwarming, thank you,” Queen Mary exclusively told WHO’s Kylie Walters, who was at the venue as part of a small number of Australian press who were accredited to cover the event, of the warm welcome she had received.
After the royal walkabout, Mary quickly changed into a white pants and vest set from max Mara that she wore under a pink blazer from the label, then it was off to Parliament House.
There, Frederik and Mary were guests at an afternoon tea with the Denmark-Australia parliamentary friendship group.
Guests dined on scones with jam and cream, chocolate crackles, spiced pistachio teacake and gazpacho in cucumber cups, which were served on traditional high tea stands.
House of Representatives Speaker Milton Dick quipped that while most parliamentary friendship groups have about 20 members, the Danish friendship group had ballooned to 145 in recent weeks ahead of the royal visit.
March 15: Uluru & Canberra
It was a very early start for the royal couple on the second day of their trip to Australia.
King Frederik and Queen Mary were up at dawn to walk to the Muṯitjulu Waterhole at sunrise.
The site is one of the few permanent water sources around Uluṟu.
It was believed to have been slightly overcast at the time but their Majesties were still able to take in the spectacular glow over Uluru as the sun came up.
While there, the King tried honey ants which are a local source of bush food.
After their busy morning, the couple flew to Canberra where they were welcomed with a 21-gun salute at Government House.
After meeting on the lawns outside the Governor-General’s Canberra residence, the royals were greeted by Sam Mostyn and her husband Simeon Beckett.
King Frederik then inspected military personnel who had formed a guard.
“As a former Australia, there is something special about coming back to the place I was born and grew up and had a large part of my adult life,” Mary said.
After a quick change from her fascinator and floral frock, Mary dazzled at a banquet held in her and Frederik’s honour.
The Queen dazzled in a pale green gown from Jesper Hovring. The dress features a asymmetrical bodice and is adorned with golden sequins.
It was one that she first wore in Australia in during a visit to Melbourne in 2012, which has been altered to add lace and sequins.
While many were hoping to see the Queen in a tiara, she didn’t disappoint by opting to wear a gold and diamond hairpiece from Ole Lynggaard, which was made from the Danish jewellers limited addition leaf brooch.
The brooch, which Mary has worn several times, is crafted from delicate yellow and rose gold petals and set with 117 small diamonds.
“For all of us at Ole Lynggaard Copenhagen, it is always a great honour and pride when Her Majesty Queen Mary of Denmark chooses to wear our jewellery. Seeing her wear our Leaf Brooch and Winter Frost earrings, designed by Charlotte Lynggaard, during the state dinner in Canberra was truly special,” Kamilla van der Velde, General Manager Australia and New Zealand of Ole Lynggaard Copenhagen tells WHO.
“Thirteen years ago, Queen Mary opened our small boutique on Market Street here in Sydney. Even today, we still have women coming in who remember that day vividly and talk about meeting her for the first time right outside David Jones. As someone who is both Danish and Australian, I especially enjoy following the royal visit and seeing the joy and excitement the royal couple bring wherever they go.”
Frederik also gave a speech at the gala event.
“Once upon a time, perhaps, Denmark did not resonate so much with Australia, but then something changed,” he said with a laugh alluding to his marriage to the Tasmanian-born Mary.
The King also spoke warmly of his love for Australia, which is where he met his wife at Sydney’s the Slip Inn while in town for the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
“For me, Australia has held a very special place in my heart ever since I slipped into that bar and lost it in a conversation that has never ended,” King Frederik said.
“Mary, you had the courage to leave your beloved home and build a new one with me as far away as one can possibly go. For that, I will be forever grateful.”
The monarch added that the couple thought of Australia as their “second home”.
“Whether we come here for a family visit or a state visit, we feel both excited and entirely at ease,” he explained.
“Being here for the first time as King and Queen does not change that, although it does add somewhat to the planning. On behalf of both Mary and me, I would like to thank everyone involved in making this visit possible.”
March 14: Uluru
The Danish royals arrived at at the Uluru Kata Tjuṯa Cultural Centre and were greeted by from traditional custodians of Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa, the Aṉangu, who performed a traditional inma, or ceremonial dance.
They will also met with trainees from the National Indigenous Training Academy before watching the breathtaking sunset at Uluṟu.
The natural wonder is a popular destination for royals, with Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and Prince William and Princess Catherine, visiting on trips to Australia in 1983 and 2014.
The also followed in the footsteps of Queen Margrethe, Frederik’s mother who abdicated her crown in early 2024, who made the trek to Uluru on her State Visit to Australia four decades ago.
Despite having grown up in Australia, this was the Queen’s first time at the location.
While there was a little bit of dizzle, nothing could dampen the spirits of the Queen who was glad to be “home”.
“It’s been wonderful to learn more about the First Nation’s people and their spirituality, culture and connection to land here,” she said. “It is absolutely great to be home. We have been so much looking forward to this visit.”
Mary was dressed for the occasion in a beige blouse, a khaki skirt and tan ballet flats. She also had an Akubra hat and a small fan she used in the heat.
The couple are planning to stay in the Northern Territory for one night, before taking a sunrise walk around the base Uluru. They will then head to Canberra.
The King and Queen arrived in Australia on March 13, touching down in Perth where they spent the night before the start of their official visit.
In the hours leading up to their arrival, the palace shared some images of the pair taken in Hobart at the start of their relationship.
“On the way!” read a personal caption written by Mary and Frederik. “We have been enormously looking forward to the reunion with Australia and the whole country’s population. A lot has happened since we met here more than 25 years ago! See you soon, Australia!”
This story will be updated with new details as the visit continues.
