Both were ordinary young women who met and fell in love with princes and found themselves living extraordinary and very public new lives.
Currently, Crown Princess Mary is preparing to become the new Queen of Denmark. Hello! We reveal the close bond she shares with our very own Princess of Wales. Royal experts say how Australian-born Mary, who is 10 years older than Duchess Kate and who will celebrate her 20th wedding anniversary to Prince Frederick this year, is an inspiration to the young royal as she supports her husband and carves out a prominent role. I told him what was going on. themselves on the world stage.
The two, who met during Mary’s official visit to Denmark with Duchess Kate in 2022, have a lot in common. Physical similarities aside, Mary, 51, and Kate, who celebrates her 42nd birthday this week, are both strong, capable women from ordinary middle-class families, and her husband I encountered this in an everyday environment. They win the hearts of the nation by devoting themselves to royal duties and philanthropy, and are not only dutiful wives, but also devoted and practical mothers who put their families first. Both are pictures with regal elegance that impressively played the role of the future queen.
“Mary is truly the power behind the throne and will continue to be so for decades to come, there is no doubt about that,” says Danish royal author Trine Wilman. Hello!
“Frederick is a lovely person and very popular, but Mary is a much better communicator and a better speaker. calls her “King Mary.” Her approval rating is also higher than other royals,” Trine added.
“I think Kate has learned from Mary and has looked to her for inspiration and advice. Mary looks up to Kate and considers her a comrade. They come from similar places in life and she loves I had to walk the same path with men to get to where I am today.
“Perhaps Mary sees herself as a leader because Kate is young and has young children. One of the first things Mary did after getting married was to start her own Mary Foundation. A lot of the work that Kate does today is what Mary was doing 10 to 15 years ago, like working with children and tackling issues like bullying. And loneliness.” says Trine, whose best-selling book “1015 Copenhagen K” explores the dynamics of the Danish royal family.
Hello!‘s royal editor Emily Nash met the two women at a center for women and children fleeing domestic violence in Copenhagen in February 2022. “The Duchess and Mary have a lot to bond over, including motherhood and coming from outside the royal family.” Family, life in the spotlight, and a shared interest in sports and mental health.
“Both were tall, elegant, and well-versed in media attention, and they clearly had a lot in common and spoke warmly to each other. Mary could be seen moving effortlessly between Danish and English. He looked impressive and seemed comfortable with the media.
“Like Kate, she was clearly a natural with young children, both instinctively crouching down to talk to the youngsters as they posed outside. Likewise, Mary clearly knows her subject well.”
Mary’s background is decidedly down-to-earth, too, as the Princess of Wales’ parents Michael and Carole Middleton were airline employees before setting up their own party supplies business.
The youngest of four children born in Hobart, Tasmania, to mathematics professor John Donaldson and university secretary Henrietta (who died in 1997), Mary graduated from law school and was working as a real estate agent in Sydney. I happened to meet Prince at the Slip Inn Pub. During the 2000 Olympics, Frederic was enjoying a night out with her brother Prince Joachim, their cousins Nikolaos of Greece and Princess Martha Louise of Norway, but her life changed forever.
Mary described herself as “a girl in T-shirts and shorts who was known for walking barefoot,” and later recalled: About an hour later, someone came up to me and said, “Do you know who these people are? ”
As their long-distance relationship blossomed, Mary turned to deportation coach Teresa Page to help her prepare for the future before their May 2004 wedding at Copenhagen Cathedral.
“She has to express herself in public, she has to be photographed, she has to meet people, she has to walk into a room and say hello, and she has to build rapport,” Teresa later said. “All of these skills require the highest level of confidence and can be learned to perform with real confidence.”
Meanwhile, Duchess Kate and Prince William met as students at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, fell in love, and tied the knot at Westminster Abbey in April 2011.
Trine says: “In many ways, Kate had an easier ride. Mary went to the other side of the world, learned a new language, and had to adapt to a completely different lifestyle. But she managed to find herself “I learned what it takes to build a life for myself and become a royal with great skill.”
With a love of sport and enviable athleticism, Kate and Mary have become international style icons who look equally chic in day dresses, power suits and glittering ball gowns, making them fashion designers. Karl Lagerfeld said: Mary. ”
They also enjoy mixing high-end and high-street fashion. Mary likes Danish brands like Ole Ehde and Cecily Bahnsen, Italian brands, and handbags from Prada, Chanel, and Hermès, but like Kate, she’s also a fan of Zara and affordable pieces from H&M. I wear clothes from H&M. Her favorite designer, Alexander McQueen.
Meanwhile, just as Duchess Kate regularly takes Prince George (10), Princess Charlotte (8) and Prince Louis (5) to school, Mary also regularly takes Prince Christian (18) to school. , Princess Isabella (16), and twins Prince Vincent. Princess Josephine turned 13 on Monday.
“Mary and Frederick always had breakfast with their children and read them stories to put them to bed. Mary was always at school events or at the cake counter. She was very similar to Kate. ” says Trine. “Family comes first.”
Perhaps the key to both women’s success is that they have looked to past queens for inspiration. Like Elizabeth II, Duchess Catherine is an excellent diplomat with a strong sense of duty, but Trine is married to Frederick IX, the wife of King Frederick IX, and the architect of the changes in Danish law that made it possible for Queen Margrethe to ascend to the throne. She is believed to be modeled after her late grandmother Queen Ingrid. She is the monarch, not her brother.
“I think Mary has built her royal life around Ingrid’s approach. Frederick and Mary’s reign will be conducted in the down-to-earth spirit of their grandparents,” she says. “In Denmark we say, ‘Long live King Mary!'”