Queen Mary takes solo holiday without King Frederik

Queen Mary has returned to Australia to visit family and friends during her children's autumn break from school.

The Tasmanian-born royal stunned onlookers at Sydney's Bronte Beach, as she took a low-key stroll with her youngest daughter, Princess Josephine.

In pictures published by Mail Online, Mary, 52, showed off her athletic figure in a navy ribbed long-sleeve top and black shorts, while Josephine, 13, sported a blue T-shirt and leggings.

During one sweet moment, Mary tenderly put her arm around her daughter, who is the twin sister to Prince Vincent.

It's not known whether Vincent or his elder sister, Princess Isabella, are also Down Under with Mary and Josephine.

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But King Frederik has remained in Denmark to carry out his public duties. The royal, who became monarch in January, opened the ”Powering European Industry” conference on Tuesday and a new building at the University of Copenhagen on Wednesday.

Frederik, 56, also hosted a royal hunt in Gludsted Plantage on Thursday and on Friday, he is expected to carry out an engagement with the School of Mechanical Engineering.

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Meanwhile, Mary is likely to fly home in the coming days as she's scheduled to preside over the presentation of Her Majesty's honorary prize in Dyrehaven.

She last visited family and friends in Australia in December 2023, just weeks before her mother-in-law, Queen Margrethe, announced her shock abdication in her New Year's Eve address.

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On 14 January 2024, Frederik was proclaimed King, with Mary, now his Queen, by his side. Relive the moment in the video below...

Crown Prince Christian, 19, was the other family member missing from the trip. The heir to the Danish throne is currently on a gap year in East Africa until December.

Frederik met Mary at a pub during the Sydney 2000 Olympics, with the pair enjoying a long-distance romance until their engagement was announced in October 2003.

The couple married at Copenhagen Cathedral on 14 May 2004, and became parents with the birth of Christian in October 2005. Isabella followed two years later, followed by twins Vincent and Josephine in 2011.