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Mary Elizabeth, Crown Princess of Denmark

The Crown Princess during a visit to the Faroe Islands in 2005.
Born 5 February 1972 (1972-02-05) (age 36)
Flag of Australia Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Title Crown Princess of Denmark
Religious beliefs Lutheran, Presbyterian before marriage
Spouse Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark
Children Prince Christian of Denmark, as yet unnamed daughter, Princess of Denmark
Relatives John Dalgleish Donaldson and Henrietta Clark Horne
Website
Official website

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark (Danish: Kronprinsesse Mary), née Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, was born 5 February 1972 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, and is the wife of Crown Prince Frederik who is the heir to the Danish throne.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Mary grew up in Hobart the capital of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. On completing school Mary attended university and after graduation she moved to Melbourne to work in her chosen career of advertising. Some months after the death of her mother in 1997, Mary travelled extensively through Europe and the United States. On her return to Australia Mary moved to live and work in Sydney.

[edit] Family

Mary is the youngest of four children born to John and Henrietta Donaldson. Her parents emigrated from Scotland to Australia in 1963.

Mary has three siblings:

Mary's father is Professor John Dalgleish Donaldson, an applied mathematician with a PhD from the University of Edinburgh. He has had an academic career at the University of Tasmania, and taught and researched in Houston, Oxford, South Korea and most recently in Denmark at the University of Copenhagen and the University of Aarhus.

Mary's mother was Henrietta Clark Donaldson (née Horne and known as Etta and upon retirement was the executive assistant to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Tasmania. Etta died in 1997 following complications six weeks after a heart operation for a long-term heart condition.

In 2001 John Donaldson married for the second time to English author Susan Elizabeth Donaldson, née Horwood, who writes novels under several pseudonyms including Susan Moody[1]. In 2006 she taught creative writing at the University of Copenhagen. The couple currently live in Aarhus where Professor Donaldson teaches at the University of Aarhus.

Mary's siblings live in Australia with their families. Jane (a pharmacist) and Patricia (an intensive care nurse) each have three children and John Stuart (a geologist) has two.

[edit] Education and career

Danish Royal Family
Other branches


Mary began elementary school in Clear Lake, Texas, when her father was working there. On returning to Hobart she attended Sandy Bay Public School and then Taroona High School in Tasmania. For the last two years of her secondary education Mary attended Hobart College from which she matriculated. From 1989 to 1994 Mary did a combined degree in Commerce and Law (BCom.LLB) at the University of Tasmania. Mary later qualified for professional certificates in advertising and direct marketing. Mary worked for Australian and global advertising agencies after graduation including DDB Needham and Mojo Partners in Melbourne, then Young & Rubicam and Love Branding in Sydney. Mary was the sales director at Belle Property in Sydney before leaving Australia permanently for Europe in December 2001. After leaving Australia, Mary taught English in Paris. After officilly moving to Denmark she got a job at Navison/Microsoft Business Solutions outside of Copenhagen.

[edit] Courtship and Engagement

Mary Donaldson met Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark during the 2000 Summer Olympics on 16 September in Sydney. Mary recounted that her first meeting with Frederik. At the last moment she had decided to take up an invitation from her flatmate to meet some Spaniards visiting for the Games. It was a party of some Australians and two nephews of the Spanish King, plus Crown Prince Frederik, Prince Joachim, Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Princess Märtha Louise.

Mary Donaldson and Crown Prince Frederik were engaged on 8 October 2003.

[edit] Marriage

Mary Donaldson and Crown Prince Frederik married on 14 May 2004 in Copenhagen Cathedral. Mary wore a wedding gown designed by Danish designer Uffe Frank and had a small bridal party which included her two sisters. Frederik was supported by his brother Prince Joachim. The wedding [2] was celebrated in Copenhagen and later at Fredensborg Palace. The couple reportedly spent their honeymoon in Africa.

The monograms of Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary, Frederik's and Mary's combined monogram and Prince Christian's are all designed by Queen Margrethe.[3]

[edit] Citizenship and marriage agreement

The Danish Folketing (parliament) passed a special law (Mary's Law) giving Mary Donaldson Danish citizenship upon her marriage, a standard procedure for new foreign members of the royal family.[4] Mary was previously a dual citizen of Australia and the United Kingdom. Formerly a Presbyterian, Mary became Lutheran. On entering the royal family, Mary signed a marriage settlement similar to those of her father-in-law and her commoner ex-sister-in-law. The agreement has two objectives: to protect royal assets (many of which belong to the state and the crown) and to ensure a fair outcome for the non-royal partner of the marriage in the case of divorce.


[edit] Children

At 1:57 local time on 15 October 2005 Mary gave birth to a boy at Copenhagen University Hospital. Frederik was present for the delivery and the little prince was healthy, weighed 3.5 kg (7.7 lb) and measured 51 cm (20 ins). The name of the prince is Christian Valdemar Henri John announced at his christening on 21 January 2006 at Christiansborg Palace Chapel in Copenhagen. He will be Christian XI on ascension to the throne after his father. Valdemar is a historically significant name in Denmark, associated with both the Danish royal family and the national flag the Dannebrog. Henri and John are the names of his two grandfathers.

On 21 April 2007 Mary gave birth for the second time at Copenhagen University Hospital at 16.02pm local time. The newborn girl weighed 3.350 kg and was 50 cm long. [5] The new princess is third in line to the throne after her father Crown Prince Frederik and her brother Prince Christian, although the succession will not be formalised until her christening. The little princess will be christened at Fredensborg Palace chapel on 1 July 2007.[6]

[edit] Biography

Crown Princess Mary has taken on her royal life with ease. Since her marriage she has toured the whole of Denmark with Crown Prince Frederik to meet the Danish people. In 2004 the couple went on a so-called summer cruise of mainland Denmark on the royal yacht the Dannebrog, then to Greenland and to the 2004 Athens Olympics. In 2005 during the celebrations for the 200th Anniversary of Hans Christian Andersen, the royal family was involved throughout the year and Frederik and Mary marked it in London, New York and in Australia, where Mary was made Honorary Ambassador to Australia in the Utzon Room of the Sydney Opera House. Also in 2005, Frederik and Mary visited Australia officially for the first time and toured the Faroe Islands with Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik. In 2006 Frederik and Mary made an official visit to Schleswig-Holstein in Germany and visited the Danish island of Bornholm. Frederik and Mary participated in the reburial ceremonies for Empress Maria Feodorovna in Denmark and Saint Petersburg and Mary made a solo goodwill trip to Prague. So far, 2007 is dominated by Mary's second pregnancy and her official duties in Denmark. In the context of immigrant issues in Denmark Mary has visited the disadvantaged migrant areas of Vollsmose (2006) and Gellerup (2007). Mary has played an active role in promoting an anti-bullying program tailored for Danish conditions based on a program in over 700 Australian schools and recently launched the Danish program. Mary is also involved in a new campaign to raise awareness and safe practices among Danes against skin cancer through The Danish Cancer Society. Mary has written the foreword of a book for children by Swedish author Pernilla Stafeldt called A Book about the Sun. Skin cancer rates have tripled in Denmark during the past 30 years to become the seventh highest in the world (Australia has the highest).[7]

As a native English-speaker[8] from the time of her engagement was to master the Danish language, known to have a unique sound system which can be difficult to master. Mary has acknowledged this has been a challenge for her in several interviews at the time of her engagement and marriage.

[edit] Titles, Styles, Honours & Arms

Styles of
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
Reference style Her Royal Highness
Spoken style Your Royal Highness
Alternative style Ma'am

[edit] Residences

The official residence of the Crown Prince family is The Chancellery House, an early 18th-century house within Fredensborg Palace, 40 km (25 miles) north of Copenhagen. It was previously the home of Frederik's maternal grandmother, Queen Ingrid. They also have a temporary apartment in Copenhagen at Amalienborg while renovations are completed on their permanent city residence, Amalienborg's Federik VIIIs Palace Frederik VIII (or Brockdorff's Palace) which was also the home of the Crown Prince's maternal grandparents, Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid, formerly Princess Ingrid of Sweden.

[edit] Patronages

Since 2004 Crown Princess Mary has steadily worked to establish her relationship as patron with various organisations, their issues and staff. Mary's patronages range across areas of culture, the fashion industry, humanitarian aid, support for research and science, social and health patronages and sport (golf and swimming). The organisations for which she is patron report excellent outcomes through their relationship with Mary and there are various reports in the Danish media and on some of the websites of the organisations themselves about Mary being quite involved in her working relationship with them. Mary is currently involved in supporting anti-obesity programs and vaccination for children in the European Union through the World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe.

Mary's current patronages range over a wide range, include Cultural organisations:

Danish fashion industry:

Humanitarian aid:

Research and Science:

Social, health and humanitarian organisations:

Sporting organisations:

Crown Princess Mary is the Honorary Life Governor, The Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute based at the Garvan Institute/St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, a member of the International Committee of Women Leaders for Mental Health and is also a member of various sporting clubs (riding, golf and yachting).

Mary has travelled to the following places since her becoming Crown Princess: Australia, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, France, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia, Czech Republic, the USA, Great Britain, Africa (during their honeymoon), Latvia, Greece, Thailand, Germany and Japan. There have also been private visits to the Netherlands, London, Scotland and Norway.

Mary has had two official portraits painted of her. The Australian portrait was commissioned in Australia to hang in the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. It was painted by Jiawei Shen [1] and unveiled in 2005. A portrait was commissioned by the National Museum of Denmark and the Australian artist Ralph Heimans [2], based in Paris, was given the job. It was unveiled in 2006 and exhibited in Denmark together with the Jiawei Shen portrait in an exhibition of Australian portraits.

[edit] Trivia

{{toomuchtrivia}}

  • Mary is keen on fitness, including horse riding, walking, swimming, yoga, pilates and golf.
  • Mary likes Fruit Tingles.
  • Mary has had three new plants named after her.


[edit] References

  1. ^ Susan Moody - British Council Arts.
  2. ^ Wedding 14 May 2004.
  3. ^ The Crown Prince and Crown Princess - Monograms.
  4. ^ [Mary's Law.
  5. ^ A Princess is Born ([2007-04-22]]). Retrieved on 2007-04-22.
  6. ^ "TRH The Crown Prince Couple - Christening", 2007-04-27. Retrieved on 2007-04-28. 
  7. ^ Kronprinsesse Mary åbner solkampagne.
  8. ^ Mary's big task.

Mary told Andrew Denton in an interview for Australian television in February 2005[1] that it was no secret she and Frederik were planning to start a family. At the Athens Olympics Frederik jokingly told Danish reporters that he hoped there would be "kænguruer i pungen" or "kangaroos in the pouch" by the 2008 Summer Olympics.

On 25 April 2005 the Danish royal court announced that the Mary was pregnant with her first child[2].

[edit] External links