New Queen Mary of Denmark has a lot in common with Duchess Kate, from her twinning style to her large family to her fairytale romance (and let’s not forget her awkward in-laws!).

Princess Mary of Denmark, who is set to take the throne in just a week, is definitely a breath of fresh air to the monarchy.

The 51-year-old Australian-born mother of four grew up in Tasmania, away from the opulence and luxury of Amalienborg Palace.

However, her “common birth”, fashion sense and doting maternal display draw comparisons to another former outsider, the Princess of Wales, who has firmly secured her place in the company. is causing it.

The brunette beauties, both from middle-class families, were nicknamed “royal sisters” by the late Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld because they looked uncannily similar and had similar fashion sense. It was.

Not surprisingly, Mary and Kate wear very similar, if not identical, clothes.

There are many similarities between the Crown Princess of Wales, a “commoner” who married an heir to the throne, and Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, including a somewhat difficult relationship with her sister-in-law.

Both women handled their roles as royals and mothers with grace and ease, earning them many fans in their respective countries.

After Kate, Duchess Kate married Prince William in 2011, and Prince Mary married Prince Frederick in 2004, the two, who went from commoners to royals, have devoted themselves fully to the public life. .

They are also doting parents, with the Princess of Wales being mother to Prince George (10), Princess Charlotte (8) and Prince Louis (4), and Mary, Princess of Wales to Prince Christian (18). They have four children: , Princess Isabella (16 years old), and twins. Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, 12 years old.

Princess Mary, formerly known as Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, started life in a middle-class family like Kate, but her circumstances were much more remote.

Born on the small Australian island of Tasmania, thousands of miles from Frederick VIII’s magnificent Amalienborg Palace in what is now Copenhagen, to a Scottish mathematics professor and his wife, it was a completely different world for her. was.

She met Prince Frederick, now 55 and King Charles’ fourth cousin, at the Slip Inn pub in Sydney. At the time, she was 28 years old and a sales manager for a luxury real estate agency, and he was visiting Australia for her 2000 Olympics.

Of course, Duchess Kate famously met Prince William while attending the University of St. Andrews.

Prince Frederik, famous for dating Scandinavian models and pop stars, appears to have fallen in love at first sight with the prince, nicknamed ‘Fred’.

William didn’t have a great reputation, but he had affairs with a number of socialites before proposing to Kate.

Mary and Fred married in 2004 and Mary was placed under the protection of Frederic’s mother, the redoubtable Queen Margrethe II, who herself graduated from Cambridge and Sorbonne universities.

Like Kate, Mary quickly got to work and quickly became fluent in Danish, establishing herself as a hugely popular figure in Denmark and still held in high esteem by the Danish population. .

The similarities between Kate and Mary extend further. There’s a clear style synergy between the two women, whose royal wardrobes, both casual and formal, mirror each other. Both women seem confident in their sense of style, whether it’s relaxed outfits perfect for a rustic outing or historic jewelry and gowns for public appearances.

And while their relationship with their stepbrothers is a bit strained, each has settled into the intense scrutiny that comes with royal life.

While William and Kate were no doubt upset by Megxit, Mary also has a strained relationship with her in-laws.

Like Prince William and Prince Harry, Frederic and his brother Joachim, 54, haven’t exactly had a smooth relationship.

Tensions arose in particular when Joachim, who like Harry is a former army officer, married his second wife Marie Cavallier, now 47, in 2008.

Marie and Mary dressed almost identically, and the Danish press claimed that Marie was “jealous” of Mary’s double take and that the sisters-in-law were at a “serious war”. .

Of course, things haven’t been smooth sailing between Kate and her sister-in-law Meghan, with Meghan claiming Kate “made her cry” in a bombshell interview with Oprah in 2021.

While Meghan has given various magazine profiles and TV interviews full of “truth bombs,” Marie has also revealed royal secrets in a prestigious Danish magazine.

Just as Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry moved to the United States, Marie and Joachim also moved abroad.

The pair first moved to Paris in 2019 and are currently settled in Washington, DC.

Princess Mary became queen on January 14, and her mother-in-law, Queen Margrethe, dramatically announced her abdication on live television in the traditional New Year’s Eve speech.

After more than half a century on the throne, Margrethe became the longest-serving ruler of Denmark’s 1,200-year reign. She is the country’s 54th sovereign (though she is only its second queen), and her heritage dates back more than 1,000 years to King Gorm. With the passing of her late queen, she also became the world’s longest-reigning monarch.

In 2022, Margrethe stripped her four children of their royal titles, sparking a public rift with her youngest son Prince Joachim. She later apologized for the timing of her announcement but stood by her proclamation.

In the days that followed, Joachim spoke out against his mother’s decision, claiming that his children from his first marriage to Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, had been “harmed” in the process.

Months later, the sixth-in-line to the throne admitted there had been a “lack of communication” within the royal family leading up to the bombshell announcement.

“There’s a lot of work to be done,” Joachim told local news outlet BT. What was missing was communication. Now we have met and are on the right path. ”