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- Jacob Gronholt Pedersen
copenhagen denmark
Reuters
The soon-to-be King and Queen of Denmark will balance royal work with modern family life and commitment to progressive causes, helping to maintain the monarchy’s relevance and popularity in the Nordic nation.
Crown Prince Frederik, 55, will assume the throne on Sunday after his mother, Queen Margrethe II, made a surprise announcement on live TV on New Year’s Eve that she would abdicate in favor of her eldest son.
Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark gathered together members of the Armed Forces and National Emergency Management Agency, as well as invited representatives of key state institutions and royal patrons, for a ceremony at Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark, on the 4th. Attended the New Year reception. January 2024.Photo: Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen, via Reuters
He will become King Frederick X, and will be flanked by Queen Mary, 51, an Australian-born former marketing and advertising director.
The couple will take the throne at a time when Denmark is experiencing massive public support for and enthusiasm for the monarchy, according to recent opinion polls.
Queen Margrethe’s resourceful traditional manners and interest in history and art earned her a strong following.
Meanwhile, Frederick and Mary, like modern-day influencers, used their fame and goodwill to modernize the monarchy.
But their fight for environmental issues, sustainability, public health, and the rights of girls and women around the world has also paid off in Denmark.
“In many ways they are a modern, equal power couple,” said Danish monarchy commentator Jakob Steen Olsen. “I would say they are more active and using their position to make the world a little bit better place.”
The couple was spotted on the streets of Copenhagen taking their children to school on cargo bikes, a popular mode of transport for climate-conscious Danes.
In contrast to his mother, who has been a heavy smoker for most of her life, Frederick is an advocate of an active and healthy lifestyle. He hosts his very popular running event, the Royal Run, every year, where he and his family join thousands of Danes running through the streets of Copenhagen and other cities across the country.
“This is their way of modernizing the monarchy and giving it meaning for future generations,” Olsen said.
The two met through a mutual friend at a party in Sydney during the 2000 Olympics. Mary later recalled in an interview that she didn’t know he was part of the Danish royal family when they first met.
“Maybe after about 30 minutes, someone came up to me and said, ‘Do you know who these people are?'” she said.
The couple married four years later in a lavish ceremony in Copenhagen. The couple have four children: Prince Christian (18), heir to the throne, Princess Isabel (16), and twins Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent (both 13).
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In his youth, Frederick was a rebellious teenager, often feeling uncomfortable in his role as heir. After graduating from university, he became known as an adventurer and became interested in sports.
He is a frogman in the Danish Navy Special Forces, and his training is one of the toughest in the world. He has run six marathons. And he took part in a four-month, 2,795-kilometre dog sledding expedition in northern Greenland, a sovereign territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
In 2018, he appeared on stage at a music festival with one of Denmark’s most popular rock bands.
“I believe that you can talk to anyone and that we can all contribute and learn from each other,” Mary said in a speech to her husband on his 50th birthday.
Princess Mary, born Mary Elizabeth Donaldson in Hobart, Tasmania, is probably even more popular than her husband. She was praised for mastering the Danish language just a few months after arriving in Denmark.
She said she wanted to add a “little Australian twist” to her role as a princess. She has worked as a patron of many organizations that promote issues close to her heart, such as children’s and women’s rights and sustainability in fashion.
The latest poll, conducted after the Queen announced her abdication, found that 82% of Danes expect Mr Frederick to do well in his new role, and 86% said the same about Mary.
– Additional reporting by JOHANNES BIRKEBAEK