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Princess Mary, wife of Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik, is all set to become Queen Mary following Queen Margrethe II's decision to abdicate her throne.
On December 31, 2023, Queen Margrethe II announced that she would be abdicating her throne on January 14, 2024. She will be succeeded by her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik, she announced during her traditional New Year's Eve speech.
According to Reuters, the announcement of her abdication was a surprise. In her speech, 83-year-old Queen Margrethe II said:
“I have decided that now is the right time. 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.”
Crown Prince Frederik is Queen Margrethe II's first born son. He is married to Princess Mary, who grew up on the Australian island of Tasmania, in 2004. The two have four children together.
Crown Prince Frederik and his wife Princess Mary met in 2000
Born on February 5, 1972 to John Dalgleish and Henrietta Clark Horne in Hobart, Mary Donaldson has two sisters and a brother. According to ABC News, she was thought to be a confident, ambitious person in her youth.
Her school's then-principal spoke to ABC News, saying:
"The people who do remember working with Mary as teacher and student, they remember a person who was very engaging, very outgoing, very amiable, obviously a leader to be in the student council of that year."
Mary studied law and commerce at the University of Tasmania and worked in advertising after her education, before jumping careers to luxury real estate in 2000, when she met Prince Frederik while she was living in Sydney.
According to ABC News, Crown Prince Frederik, aged 55, and Princess Mary, aged 51, met at the Slip Inn, a Sydney bar, on September 2016, 2000, during the Olympics. Mary, then 28 years old, was initially unaware of Prince Frederik's royal status.
Romance blossomed between the two immediately and Mary moved to Denmark in December 2001, thus officially making their relationship public.
Princess Mary soon won the hearts of the Danes. Danish journalist Kristian Ring-Hansen Holt said:
"We love Mary so much that I think Australia actually came closer to Scandinavia when we learned of her. One of the things she did very fast and very well was to learn Danish. She almost spoke Danish instantly, and she took the hearts of the Danes."
After four years of dating, Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary tied the knot on May 14, 2004, at Copenhagen Cathedral, after getting engaged on October 8, 2003. Princess Mary is the first Australian to stand in line to be a queen.
Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary have four children together - Prince Christian, aged 18, Princess Isabella, aged 14, and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, aged 12.
Prince Christian will be the first in line to the Danish throne after his father becomes King.
Queen Margrethe II steps down as the reigning monarch of Denmark after 52 years
According to Reuters, in the New Year's Eve speech, Queen Margrethe II said that the "number of ailments" she had had increased as time passed. In February 2023, she underwent extensive back surgery that allowed her to have "thoughts about the future." She said:
“In two weeks time I have been Queen of Denmark for 52 years. Such an amount will leave its mark on anybody – also on me! The time takes its toll, and the number of “ailments” increases. One cannot undertake as much as one managed in the past."
She added:
"In February this year I underwent extensive back surgery. Everything went well, thanks to the competent health personnel, who took care of me. Inevitably, the operation gave cause to thoughts about the future – whether now would be an appropriate time to pass on the responsibility to the next generation.”
Queen Margrethe II is Europe's longest-serving monarch following the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth. She became the longest-sitting monarch in Denmark's history in July.
Queen Margrethe II became the Queen of Denmark on January 14, 1972, after the death of her father King Frederik IX.
In contrast to the British royal traditions, there will be no formal crowning ceremony for Crown Prince Frederik. Instead, his accession will be announced from Amalienborg Castle in Copenhagen on January 14, 2024, the BBC reported.
Prince Frederick will be known as King Frederik X and Princess Mary will be known as Queen Mary.
King Frederik X will become King of Denmark and head of state in Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands.
