Vol 7 2003 - Article

Rallying the Danes: Prince Frederik of Denmark

Author: Kerry Webb

Will Denmark’s next Queen be Mary? Why is the union between Mary and Frederik desirable?

There has been much speculation about Frederik the Crown Prince of Denmark’s love life. The Danish press love to print sensationalised stories speculating on who is to be the next Queen in waiting. They now believe that they have found her. Mary Donaldson a 31 year old Australian woman seems to be the person who has captured the young Crown Prince’s heart. Certainly it would be a coup for Australia and more importantly Tasmania. The union between Frederik and Mary would cement the relationship between Denmark and Tasmania. It would lead to further opportunities in tourism and exports.

Mary Donaldson a young lady from Tasmania has caused a sensation with the tabloids in Denmark and Australia. Mary Donaldson is an ordinary, good looking and energetic young woman whose life has changed dramatically since meeting the Crown Prince in Sydney at the Olympics. Mary Donaldson accompanied her flat mate Andrew Miles and his friend Beatrice Tarnawski to the Slip Inn. It turned out to be the same night that the Danish women’s handball team were at the Slip Inn celebrating their gold medal. Also present was Princess Martha of Norway, Prince Nikolaos of Greece, Prince Frederik of Denmark and his brother Joachim. At the time Mary was working as an advertising director for Young and Rubicam. This was the company that were handling the United Airlines account who were one of the Olympic partners.

Mary was introduced to Frederik the Crown Prince of Denmark by the Spanish Crown Prince Felipe who knew her flatmates’ sister. Mary and Frederik instantly were attracted to one another and spent the rest of the evening laughing and talking. The two discovered that they had a lot in common including a love of the outdoors, sports, adventure and horse riding.

Mary and Frederik have had a very different upbringing. Mary Donaldson grew up in Taroona, Tasmania in an average middle class family. Frederik on the other hand grew up in Copenhagen, Denmark in a Royal family of which he is to one day become King. Although his parents wanted him to have as normal an upbringing as possible it is hard to forget that Frederik is the next in line to the Danish Royal throne.

Mary’s father, John Donaldson is the Head of Mathematics at the University of Tasmania. Her mother Henrietta (Etta) was a Secretary at the University before her death in 1994. Her father has since remarried Susan Moody, who is a crime writer. John Donaldson now divides his time between Oxford and the University of Tasmania. Mary is the youngest child of four. Her older brother, John is a mine engineer who lives in Perth. Her sisters Patricia, who is a nurse and Jane, who works in a pharmacy both still live in Tasmania.

Mary completed all her schooling in Tasmania. She attended Taroona High School before going to Hobart College and then on to the University of Tasmania. Mary Donaldson is a bright, intelligent and educated woman having graduated from the University of Tasmania with a Bachelor of Commerce/Law in 1994. In contrast Frederik’s schooling took place in Denmark and France. He also has completed a degree in political science and constitutional law at the University of Aarhus in 1995. Frederik has spent time studying at Harvard as well as undergoing military and diplomatic training in preparation for his role as the King of Denmark.

Mary and Frederik were able to keep their relationship a secret for over a year before the Danish press broke the news that were dating. Mary met Frederik in September 2000 and it wasn’t until November 2001 that the news broke. Mary was by this time working at a real estate company called Belle Property. The Danish press clamoured to discover any information about Mary but she has remained silent about her relationship.

The fact that Mary has refused to speak about Frederik stands in her favour. Many of Frederik’s past girlfriends have been too eager to tell all with the consequences being a fast exit from the Princes’ life. Although Frederik has had only a few ‘real’ girlfriends they have all been high profile and famous. He has been linked to Katja Stockholm Nielsen, a former underwear model, Maria Montell, a Danish pop singer and Bettina Oedum a fashion designer. All of his past girlfriends have been good looking and well endowed but none of them have lasted long.

Previously the longest relationship that Frederik had been in was two years. All of his past girlfriends have embarrassed the Prince in some way. One was photographed topless and many have talked to the press. The Danish press have said that the problem is that his past girlfriends were all Danish and were too accessible to the public. In the past within days of the Prince meeting someone new information about her would be plastered all over the tabloids. It would not take long for the interference in privacy to take its toll and the relationship fizzle out. It is interesting that Mary is the first foreign girlfriend that Frederik has had. They were able to conduct a lengthy long distance relationship before the paparazzi discovered its existence.

So is it likely that Mary will be the next Queen of Denmark? It certainly seems so. Mary has relocated to Denmark and is working as a project consultant for Navision, a Danish subsidiary of Microsoft. Her duties are to create the company’s identity internally. She is based in Vedbaek which is where Frederik has started a new position in the Danish Defence Command.

Since Mary’s move to Denmark she has been seen travelling too and from the Danish Royal Palace. She has also been seen driving the royal cars and she rides the royal horses. All of this tends to suggest that she has been accepted by the royal family as a permanent fixture. It is obvious that she has changed since her move to Denmark. To outside observers it looks as if Mary is being groomed for Royalty. Previously Mary’s attire consisted of casual clothing and she now wears smart suits. She has started wearing designer outfits from Denmark’s leading dress makers. Mary has also been attending lessons in Danish language, culture and etiquette. It has been claimed that the reason that the wedding has not been announced yet is because Mary has been struggling to master the notoriously hard language and she wishes to say her vows in Danish. Certainly the Danish language is a necessity for her to learn if she is to fulfil all her royal obligations after the marriage.

During the last two years there has been much speculation as to whether Frederik will propose to Mary. The Royal Danish court officially confirmed the romance in February 2002. In February 2003, whilst in Tasmania for dragon class sailing championships, Frederik the Crown Prince of Denmark kissed Mary in public. This was the first public display of affection and later the Prince confirmed he was in love with Mary. When asked whether the relationship was serious he replied “I certainly would say so”.

There has been no official confirmation of an engagement and it is still uncertain whether Frederik’s mother Queen Margrethe has even met Mary. One would hope for Mary’s sake that she has as Mary has been dating Frederik for two and a half years. Mary has also been living in close vicinity to the Royal palace for over twelve months. For the Crown Prince to marry her he must have the Queen’s permission and therefore the Government’s permission to marry. According to tradition a royal engagement must be announced while the Queen is in counsel with the Danish Government and then the wedding has to take place within four months. It has been speculated that the engagement will be announced on May 21 2003 and then the wedding will take place on August 16 2003.

So if the wedding takes place what is it likely to entail? The wedding will probably be held in the magnificent sixteenth Century, Holmenskirke a Naval Church in Copenhagen. The wedding will be attended by the British and European royalty including Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry. Many of the world’s presidents and prime ministers will be in attendance. It is an event that will alter Mary Donaldson’s life so dramatically it is incomprehensible. Mary’s name and face will be printed and published in history books throughout the world. She will become the first Australian to stand in line to become Queen. Not only will she one day become the Queen of Denmark but also Queen of Inuit of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. She will marry not only into the Danish royal family but she will also be marrying the people of Denmark. The Danish population love the monarchy, with the latest Gallop polls revealing eighty percent support for the Royal family. The Danes admire how the Royal family have managed to stay in touch with its people and yet have remained regal. It is incredibly important for the Danish people to like and support Mary.

All indicators show that Mary is a popular choice for Frederik’s wife. She is seen by the Danish people as being intelligent, sociable and friendly. Mary has been constantly pursued by the Danish media and she has taken them in her stride. She has shown graciousness and good humour in all her dealings with the media. The Danish citizens want Frederik to marry Mary, settle down and have a family. They are eager for him to start taking his role as heir presumptive seriously.

Danish citizens have already welcomed one foreigner into the royal family. In 1995 Joachim, Frederik’s younger brother married Alexandra a Hong Kong born English national with Chinese heritage. Alexandra has secured a place in the heart of the Danes for her tireless charity work and great ability to speak Danish. The Danes have been rewarded for their acceptance of Alexandra as she has produced two beautiful heirs to the Danish throne. So there is precedence for Mary as a foreigner to be accepted by the Danish public.

Ever since the news of the liaison between Mary and Frederik broke there has been a huge amount of interest taken in Tasmania from the Danish public. The Danes have been intrigued by the natural and historic heritage that the island contains. The Danish media have reported the Danes envy of the island and its natural resources. Locals from Tasmania have reported that the increased interest in their State has boosted tourism and exports to Denmark.

In January 2003 Frederik flew to Tasmania to compete in the world dragon class sailing championships. He entered Tasmania with an entourage of Danish media all ready to print anything about the island giving the local economy a huge boost. Whilst in Tasmania Frederik got the opportunity to see some of the sights and sample some of the local produce and he was very impressed. Frederik was able to visit Freycinet Lodge with Mary. He also had the time to see the beauty of Wineglass Bay and Coles bay which he stated to the media was a must do whilst visiting Tasmania. He said Tasmanians were great people and Tasmania was a great place.

Whilst in Tasmania Prince Frederik toured many of the local wineries and commented on the excellence. This is a special commendation as the Prince is an expert in wine having spent time in 1989 studying viticulture at Robert Moldavi’s famous vineyards in California. Frederik’s father Henrik owns and operates a wine producing Château de Caïx near Cahors in Southern France. Frederik said the pinot noirs in Tasmania were particularly special.

There have been Tasmanian vineyards making money out of the romance between Mary and Frederik. Tamar ridge in Northern Tasmania and Domaine A Stoney vineyard at Campania have been approached to export wine to Denmark. A spokes person for the winery said that previously Denmark was not interested in importing wine from Tasmania. Since the romance has begun between Mary and Frederik the interest has increased and Kayena vineyard will be exporting 800 cases of sauvignon blanc and pinot noir. Tasmania is topical in Denmark and the couple have brought Tasmanian wine into focus. Other vineyards in Tasmania such as Stefano Lubiana and Panorama Vineyards are hoping to export to Denmark.

Wine is not the only industry in Tasmania that exports to Denmark. Denmark is the biggest importer of Tasmania’s Incat vessels. It is obvious that there are important ties between Tasmania and Denmark and a wedding between Mary and Frederik would further unite and strengthen the bonds. The Danish Australian cultural society said that the marriage between Mary and Frederik would be a nice link.

Denmark’s connection with Tasmania dates right back to the early nineteenth century. A man named Jorgen Jorgensen who was known as the Viking of Van Diemans Land was the son of the King of Denmark’s watch maker. Jorgen sailed to Tasmania on an English ship back in 1804. He was the man who pioneered the whaling industry. In effect Jorgen Jorgensen was the man behind the prosperity and growth in Hobart. Ironically Jorgen later returned to Van Diemans Land as a convict. After he paid his dues and received his ticket of leave he moved to the West Coast of Tasmania and became a policeman.

Another connection between Denmark and Tasmania is that Collinsvale (formerly Bismarck) in Tasmania was settled by Danish and German people in the nineteenth Century. In 1885 Denmark established a Vice Consulate in Tasmania. John Cogan a former Danish Consular General worked in Tasmania for forty years.

It is obvious that there are strong ties between Tasmania and Denmark. The marriage between Mary Donaldson and Frederick the Crown Prince of Denmark would only strengthen these ties. As in past centuries royal connections between countries have produced strong economic relationships. Not only is the marriage important for trade but Australia would benefit enormously from an increase in tourism. The benefits would not just be one sided if Frederik and Mary were to marry the Danish population will have the satisfaction of their Prince settling down. It would only be a natural progression for them to have children which would ensure a direct heir to the Danish throne. So has the commoner from Tasmania a chance at formalising her relationship with the Crown Prince if Denmark? There is a strong chance she has as in the past Frederik has stated that he will marry for love; “I am the one who will decide on my private life. There is no law that say’s I have to marry blue blood. I’m sure that I will choose a woman I love.”

Bibliography

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