Denmark's popular Crown Princess Mary Elizabeth is set to become the country's first Australia-born Queen Consort after the surprise abdication of Queen Margrethe II was announced in her New Year's speech. The Queen announced that she would abdicate on January 14 due to health issues, which is the 52nd anniversary of her own accession to the throne at age 31 following the death of her father, King Frederik IX.
Notably, abdication is an extremely rare thing in Denmark, as a monarch has not abdicated since 1146 when King Eric III gave up his crown to join a monastery, according to the Royal House. The 6-foot-tall (1.82-metre-tall), chain-smoking Margrethe has been one of the most popular public figures in Denmark.
Margrethe's eldest son Crown Prince Frederik will become the King after her abdication, while the 51-year-old Crown Princess Mary will become the first Australian to become the Queen, a development that has delighted her supporters, CNN reported.
“On 14th January, 2024 – 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father – I will step down as Queen of Denmark. I will hand over the throne to my son Crown Prince Frederik,” Margrethe said on January 1. The announcement temporarily paused New Year’s celebrations in Denmark as people were taken by surprise by the announcement.
Who is Crown Princess Mary?
Mary was born in the Tasmanian capital of Hobart in 1972 to a Scottish mathematics professor and a British executive assistant and has three siblings. She began her education in Houston, Texas but later moved back to Hobart to attend school and university. She began her career as an advertising executive and travelled across Europe before landing a job with a Sydney-based property firm.
According to her official biography, Mary's father John Dalgleish Donaldson is a Professor of Applied Mathematics while her mother Henrietta Clark Donaldson, who passed away in 1997, worked as the Executive Assistant to the Vice Chancellor of The University of Tasmania. The Crown Princess has two sisters and a brother: Jane Alison Stephens, Patricia Anne Bailey and John Stuart Donaldson.
After her studies, Mary held the position of Account Executive for client management and also served as Account Manager with MOJO Partners, based in Melbourne. She also accepted a three-month contract as an Account Manager with Rapp Collins Worldwide of Edinburgh.
Mary also served as a private in the Home Guard in 2008. After training, she became a sergeant in the Home Guard in 2009, lieutenant in the Home Guard in 2009, first lieutenant in the Home Guard in 2015, captain in the Home Guard in 2019 and honorary major in the Home Guard in 2023.
She met her husband Frederik, a young Danish prince at the time, at the rowdy Slip Inn in Sydney around the time of the 2000 Olympics. She discovered later that Frederik was the crown prince of Denmark and his group of friends consisted of other European royals -- including his younger brother Prince Joachim and cousin Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark.
The couple got engaged in 2003 and married the next year, which was watched by millions. The couple have four children, including Prince Christian Valdemar Henri John, who is next in line for the throne. Mary and Frederik are considered a modern couple who love pop music, modern art and sports, according to historian Sebastian Olden-Jorgensen.
Apart from her fashion sense, Mary has also gained a reputation for her staunch commitment to social causes through The Mary Foundation, established in 2007. "She’s a fierce advocate for the sexual rights of women and girls. She’s a fierce advocate for refugees. So she’s proved her worth as a serious role model and leader in Denmark, and I think Australia can be very proud of the sort of royal she has become," said Juliet Rieden, the editor-at-large for an Australian weekly.
The couple's lives were marred by reports emerging last year between an alleged romantic affair between Prince Frederik and Mexican-born actress Genoveva Casanova, who denied the claims and threatened legal action against the Spanish magazine that published images of them on a night out.
Mary's upcoming coronation
When the new generation of Danish royals ascend to the throne, it will be significantly less than the pomp and pageantry that accompanied the coronation of Britain’s King Charles III last May. Although details have not been released yet, the Royal House says Queen Margrethe will abdicate at the Council of State, an advisory body for the monarchy.
Mary enjoys massive popularity in Denmark as well as her home state of Tasmania, enjoying an 85 per cent approval rating that overshadows the rest of the Danish royal family. She also speaks fluent Danish which won over her mother-in-law immediately. Her forthcoming accession to the throne will further increase that interest and pride.
Interestingly, King Charles III is also the Australian monarch, meaning that the British royal family is technically Australian. However, most Australians at most feel ambivalent about this, unlike Mary, reports the New York Times.
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff said in a statement on Monday that the state “could not be prouder of Crown Princess Mary". "With her demonstrated humility, grace and kindness I am sure Crown Princess Mary will be embraced as Queen alongside her husband, King Frederik, once proclaimed later this month," he said.
ALSO READ | Denmark's Queen Margrethe II to step down on January 14 after 52 years on the throne
