The Danish royal family were out in full force on Saturday night as they celebrated Crown Prince Frederik's birthday at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen. The party – which was hosted by Frederik's mother Queen Margrethe – saw Crown Princess Mary give a moving speech to her husband, where she described him as many things, including "my man", and thanked him for "sweeping me off my feet." Mary told her husband: "Your impact on people is unique, and I really don’t think you realise you have that gift. You can talk to everyone and you believe that we all can contribute, that we can always learn from each other."
Princess Mary had a lot of lovely things to say about Prince Frederik
In the speech, which was given mainly in Danish, Mary also gave an insight into her husband's incredible sense of humour. "You are a positive person, and easily moved to laughter. And you are not stingy with your laughter…or your jokes for that matter. And often the two come together, you always laugh (a lot) at your own jokes," she teased. "And I have simply lost count of the amount of times that you have told the same joke over and over again, it is as if you are trying to continuously perfect how they are delivered." Mary continued to reveal that whenever they go out for dinner, when the waiter comes over to ask if they are finished their meal "you can be dead certain that you will answer, 'No, no I'm Danish'. Every time, and laugh every time."
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"I am so happy you swept me off my feet," she added. "And we dared to fall for each other not for a moment, but for life. And life with you is never boring. We never know whether you are going to go through the door in a business suit, a wet suit or as a Mamil. For those of you not familiar with the term Mamil it is an English term – now officially recognised in the Oxford English Dictionary for a growing sub-culture of middle-aged men in lycra, you ride expensive racing bicycles. Opinions differ as to whether lycra and men that are 40 plus are a good combination." The room erupted in laughter as Mary added: "But darling you still look rather sharp in lycra. I do however, find it a bit difficult when it comes to the combination of lycra, helmet and roller skis."
The gala was attended by many other European royals
Giving an insight into their family life, Mary spoke with great admiration about her husband's strengths, telling him: "You find great satisfaction in pushing your physical and mental limits. You live by the motto 'It is the will to want that fosters the ability to do,' and you have passed that on to me and our children." Mary also had a message from their four children Prince Christian, Princess Isabella and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine. "According to your children, you are also a very successful father. They describe you as sweet, fun, wonderful, wise, brave, helpful, cool and handsome. You're their everything. They know that your believe in them even when they don't believe in themselves," she said.
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Mary and Frederik arrived to the event in style
"And on the rare occasion you get cross, you quickly put it behind you, just as your father did. You allow yourself to be carried away by our children. You easily find your inner child and your children love it when that side of your takes over through imagination, play, and games. But you should also know that they think you are a bad loser. And they agree that Vincent is the one who has inherited this trait strongest from you."
Mary opened up about their family life in the moving speech
Mary also reflected on the early days of their relationship, describing just how handsome her now-husband looked when she saw him dressed up for the first time. "You left the room as the man I knew in shorts and a T-shirt and came back in full gala uniform. And if I had known Danish at the time, I would probably have thought to myself 'aij, hvor har jeg scoret over evne' – wow I've really scored above my league. Deeply impressive and daunting at the same time. But your eyes and your smile were the same. Gala or not, and that’s the way you are," she smiled.
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