On January 14, at 1:35 p.m. local time, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary left Amalienborg in a motorcade for Christiansborg Palace. A mere 45 minutes later—with just a flick of the pen from Frederik’s mother, Margrethe, they were no longer a mere prince and princess. Instead, they were king and queen.
The prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, declared their accession from the balcony, as King Frederic looked stoically on. The new king then gave his first official address to the nation. Later, his wife joined them, and they kissed on the balcony—a visible show of their union.
In the days since Queen Margrethe II announced her surprise decision to abdicate the he throne, Frederik and Mary have experienced an unprecedented wave of international press attention, generating a newfound fascination with these next-gen rulers.
But that level of interest is not unfounded: King Frederik and Queen Mary have one of the most fascinating romantic origin stories of any modern royal couple.
In 2000, Princess Mary, then Mary Donaldson, was living in Sydney during the Olympic Games. One evening during the once-in-a-lifetime sporting event, the 28-year-old, Tasmanian-born advertising executive decided to go to a local bar, the Slip Inn, along with her roommate. Little did she know it would be the night that changed her life forever.
Crown Prince Frederik and his friend, the Prince of Asturias (now King Felipe of Spain), were headed there too. Mary’s roommate and the Spanish royal already knew each other, however, leading the two friendship groups to combine. The pair immediately hit it off, despite Mary not knowing who the Prince was at first. “The first time we met we shook hands,” she recalled to Australian comedian Andrew Denton in 2005 during an interview. “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?’” Soon after, they exchanged numbers, and a long-distance relationship began.
The two kept their relationship under wraps for well over a year. Yet, in November 2001, a Danish tabloid reported that Frederik was dating an Australian named Mary Donaldson. At the time, the Danish royal family declined to comment. However, the rumor mill began to swirl incessantly—and three months later, they confirmed Mary and Frederik’s relationship. By early 2003, Mary had relocated to Copenhagen to work for a subsidiary of Microsoft. Come September, the palace formally announced their engagement.
Before their wedding, Mary took de-facto “princess lessons” taught by Frederic’s head of court, Lord Chamberlain Per Thornit, which included intensive language and history courses.
On May 14, 2004, the two wed at Copenhagen Cathedral. Mary wore a long-sleeved ivory silk wedding dress by Danish designer Uffe Frank and an Irish lace veil. A 400-person reception was later held at Fredensborg Palace on the island of Zealand.
Throughout their courtship, the press portrayed the affair as a modern-day fairytale, citing Mary’s “commoner” status and the Sliding Doors nature of their initial encounter. As Mary prepares to wear the crown two decades later—even in the face of growing rumors about the couple’s marriage—it’s a narrative of love conquering all that still resonates.
