Living in your partner's shadow can be a challenging pill to swallow. But for many of us, watching our partner thrive, and cheering them on as they do so, is a deeply rewarding and satisfying experience.
There's no denying that Queen Mary has stolen the hearts of the Danish people — many of them affectionately refer to her as 'King Mary'. But how does the new King Frederik feel about his wife's immense popularity?
A Right Royal Podcast is back, and in this episode, our hosts Emmy and Andrea examine the relationship between the new King and Queen. Joined by Chris Ship, royal editor at ITV News, alongside Wim Dehandschutter, royal reporter at DPG Media and Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty Magazine, they discuss and dissect the dynamic between the pair.
"It was clear that Mary is the most popular one of the two. I mean, the cheers for her when she stepped out on the balcony was absolutely huge," Andrea said. Queen Mary sparked a raucous outpouring of applause when she emerged onto the balcony during her husband's accession on Sunday.
While the new King and Queen are both overwhelmingly well-liked with the Danish public, during the episode, Chris explained that King Frederik had to contend with the fact that his wife is, perhaps, even more popular than he is.
"She really has a star quality or regal quality about her which we will see in the years to come when she's wearing all the really big sparkly jewels that until now, haven't been hers to wear," Chris said.
In the podcast episode, he went on to compare their relationship to the marriage of the then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana, looking at similarities and differences between the two couples.
Listen to the podcast below to find out exactly what Chris had to say about Queen Mary's immense popularity.
The accession of King Frederik and Queen Mary last Sunday came after the shock abdication of Queen Margrethe during her New Year TV address earlier this year, and the announcement has firmly placed the Danish royal family in the spotlight.