Crown Princess Mary's sister-in-law Princess Marie and her children may not be attending her and Crown Prince Frederik's accession to the Danish throne on Sunday but the future queen will no doubt be comforted by the fact that her own sister will be there to support her. According to local media outlets, the future queen's sister Jane Stephens will be in attendance to watch the momentous ceremony. The first change of monarch in 52 years will take place after the reigning queen, Margrethe II, announced her shock abdication on health grounds in her New Year's Eve speech.
As is traditional, the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, will proclaim Crown Prince Frederik to be the new monarch, King Frederik X, from the balcony of Christianborg Palace, a custom that dates back to 1849. Sunday will mark the second time that Mary's been supported by her sister at a momentous royal event. When the Australian-born Princess married the Danish heir to the throne back in 2004, both of her older sisters, Jane and Patricia, acted as bridesmaids. She also has a younger brother called John, who was born in 1970.
The 51-year-old royal began dating the future Danish king after meeting Frederik during the Sydney 2000 Olympics and was "immediately popular" in Denmark following her engagement to Crown Prince Frederik in 2003, according to a European royal expert. "I think she made the right decision after meeting Frederik to learn Danish because during her first press conference, she already spoke some words of Danish so she was immediately popular in Denmark," Belgian royal reporter Wim Dehandschutter told HELLO! earlier this month.
He went on: "I think she made a natural transformation from a commoner, who didn't know Crown Prince Frederik, who didn't know the royal family in Denmark, to a glamorous princess and future queen. In Denmark she's also called the perfect Crown Princess, even though she herself says no one is perfect." During the interview on 60 Minutes Australia, which was first broadcast in 2003, Mary was asked about being the future Queen of Denmark, with a lot of attention paid to her answer, which you can see in the clip below...
The mother-of-two and her husband will travel to Christiansborg Palace on Sunday at 1.35pm local time before Queen Margrethe II formally abdicates at the Council of State 25 minutes later, the first time such an event has occurred in nearly 900 years.
At 2.30pm local time, Frederik and Mary will host a reception for specially invited guests at Christiansborg Palace and at 3pm, Frederik will be proclaimed His Majesty King Frederik X as his wife becomes Mary and the couple's eldest son, Prince Christian, 18, will assume the title of Crown Prince of Denmark.
Queen Margrethe stunned her subjects when she made a speech and posted a statement to the official royal family website on 31 December, in which she announced: "I have decided that now is the right time. The 14th January 2024 – 52 years after I followed my beloved father – I will step back as the Queen of Denmark. I leave the throne to my son the Crown Prince Frederik…"