Inside Princess Mary and Prince Frederik of Denmark’s fairy tale romance: the Australian marketing executive met her prince at a bar in Sydney, then had a star-studded royal wedding
Next in line to the Danish throne, Frederik met his bride at the most unlikely of places – a pub. According to People, the duo met at the Slip Inn, a bar and restaurant in Sydney. This was the start of an unconventional love story between a prince and an advertising executive from Hobart, Tasmania.
Here’s what we know about their royal romance.
An unlikely meet-cute
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The Australian native and the Danish prince clicked at initial conversation, which led to Donaldson giving Prince Frederik her contact number. He called the next day. “The first time we met, we shook hands,” she said, according to People. “I didn’t know he was the prince of Denmark.”
A long-distance love
With the prince having to return to Denmark, the couple kept in touch through phone calls, letters and email. After months of correspondence, Donaldson visited Denmark in December 2001. The following month, Prince Frederik went public with their relationship and, later that same year, Donaldson moved to Denmark. When she arrived in Denmark, she was employed as a project consultant for Microsoft Business Solutions.
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A royal wedding
To become a Danish royal, Donaldson had learned the language, given up her Australian citizenship and converted to the Lutheran faith. Their wedding transpired at the Copenhagen Cathedral on May 14, 2004. The bride arrived in an ivory gown by Danish designer Uffe Frank, and while it was largely unembellished, it came with a 5.8-metre (19-foot) train and a lace veil once worn by Crown Princess Margareta of Sweden. Meanwhile, the groom wore his military uniform to the ceremony.
The guest list included several European royals who were met at the doors of the cathedral by adoring fans waving both Denmark’s and Australia’s flags. After the “I dos”, the newlyweds rode to their reception at Christian VII’s Palace on Amalienborg Palace Square via a horse-drawn carriage.
“The joy and the strength you give me is like the sun in the daytime which, with its radiance, melts all doubts and darkness on earth,” the prince said during his reception speech. “And like the moon at night, you shine with a watchful and delicate beam of gentleness.”
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Married life
Since their wedding, the royal couple have celebrated a number of milestones: their honeymoon in Africa, the undertaking of royal duties, and raising their own royal family together. They have four children: Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.
The couple currently live at Frederik VIII’s Palace and will celebrate their 18th anniversary this coming May.
- While in Sydney for the 2000 Summer Olympics, Prince Frederik met ‘commoner’ Mary Donaldson through King Felipe of Spain – and the two struck up a long-distance romance
- Mary moved to Denmark as a Microsoft consultant, Frederik’s mother Queen Margrethe recognised their relationship, and Mary soon had a diamond and emerald engagement ring on her finger