Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark

Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Mary Elizabeth Donaldson (b. 5 February 1972), is the wife of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark since 14 May 2004. She was the second Australian to receive a royal title.

Personal background

Crown Princess Mary was born in Hobart, Tasmania to Dr. John Dalgleish Donaldson, (Professor of Applied Mathematics) (b. 5 September 1941) and the late Henrietta Clark Donaldson (12 May 1942 – 20 November 1997) (Executive assistant to the Vice-Chancellor of The University of Tasmania).

Mary was preceded by two sisters and a brother:

Jane Alison Stephens (b. 26 December 1965),
Patricia Anne Woods (b. 16 March 1968), and
John Stuart Donaldson (b. 9 July 1970).

Mary graduated from the University of Tasmania in 1994 with Bachelors of Commerce and Laws (BCom.LLB). Donaldson met Prince Frederik in the Slip Inn, a bar in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia while Mary was a volunteer at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Before this she had been living in the United Kingdom for several years. She moved to Denmark in 2003 where she worked briefly for Microsoft. For seven years, in the 1990s, Donaldson was in a live-in relationship with Brent Annells, a Melbourne public relations executive.

Marriage

Her wedding to the Crown Prince of Denmark took place at the Copenhagen Cathedral.

The Danish Folketing (parliament) passed a special law giving her Danish citizenship (which normally takes years but is a must for a royal bride). She had previously been a citizen of Australia, but also held British citizenship as her father was born in Scotland. Crown Princess Mary also converted from Presbyterianism to Lutheranism.

She signed a prenuptial agreement waiving custody of any children in the event of divorce, and limiting any claim on the assets of her husband. The agreement was officially registered moments before the court registry closed at midday on Friday 14 May 2004, the day of the wedding.

The couple honeymooned in Tanzania and Zanzibar. Their official residence is the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, but they also have a residence in Chancellery House, part of the Fredensborg Palace complex about 40 kilometers from Copenhagen.