The Queen of Denmark intends to give her consent for her son Crown Prince Frederik, 35, to marry his Australian girlfriend Mary Donaldson.
A statement from the Danish Lord Chamberlain's Office confirmed the news this week, with the official announcement due to be made on October 8. Thirty-one-year-old Mary, who met her future husband when he was attending the 2000 Sydney Olympics, moved to Denmark last year and already seems to have found favour with the Danish people.
An opinion poll in Denmark's largest daily newspaper found that three-quarters of those polled thought the Hobart-raised Mary would make a good queen. Speculation that an official announcement was in the offing has grown in recent months after Queen Margrethe II commented publicly on her son's relationship with the Tasmanian lawyer, saying she was sure she would have a very nice daughter-in-law. Mary, whose parents were born in Scotland, apparently speaks perfect Danish. She will not be the first foreigner to marry into the Danish royal family. Frederik's brother Joachim is married to Alexandra, who is of Hong Kong Chinese-European blood, while Queen Margarethe's husband Henri was French.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
The 31-year-old Tasmanian lawyer (pictured above with the crown prince in August 2002) will not be the first foreigner to marry into the Danish royal family. Her future sister-in-law Alexandra is of Chinese-European heritage
Photo: © AFP
