Australian-born Queen Mary faces judgment on the anniversary of her accession to the throne in Denmark
After a year of waving from a balcony in front of huge crowds alongside her new husband, King Frederick, Australian-born Queen Mary of Denmark has made big strides and wields significant influence behind the palace walls.
“Mary and I could not have wished for a better start as king and queen,” King Frederick said in his first live television address on New Year’s Eve.
Danish and royal observers seem to agree.
Find out the news with the 7NEWS app: download today
Both Marie and Frederik received an approval rating of 85 percent in a December poll of 1,004 respondents on Danish broadcaster DR.
Tuesday marks the first anniversary of the high-stakes royal succession, in which Queen Margaret, a chain-smoking octogenarian, was beloved by the public for 52 years before her shock abdication.
“It has been a very successful year for both the king and queen… they have made no mistakes,” Thomas Larsen, an expert on the royal household, told AAP.
“(Mary) is influential… She is an important advisor to the king.”
Trine Velleman, author of 1015 Copenhagen K: Mary’s Dysfunctional In-Laws, described 52-year-old Mary as the “backbone” of her husband’s reign.
“She is King Marie. She is the power behind the throne. Nothing gets done at Amalienborg Palace without Marie (or the input of her staff).”
“Here we have this girl from Tasmania, a completely ordinary girl who wasn’t afraid to take power. It’s a really successful feminist story.”
Ms Fellman said Frederick, 56, was “doing well” in the senior position, a far cry from the five-year-old boy who once disappeared before his nanny found him “sobbing his heart out” and screaming: “I don’t want to be king.”
The Tasmanian general population has been a godsend for the next generation.
Ms Fellmann cited 19-year-old Crown Prince Christian – who seems more content with his fate than his father was at the same age – as “one of Mary’s greatest achievements”.
“Mary always made sure Christian saw what his parents were doing and learned from it, which means today we have a confident Crown Prince,” she said.
Larsen said that the royal couple are “very active” and work hard, noting that they hosted official visits by the Icelandic and Egyptian presidents and made official trips to Sweden, Norway, Greenland and Germany.
Mary also traveled alone to Brazil, where she realized that ants were on the lunch menu.
Cheering on the Danish athletes at the Paris Olympics gave the royal couple a chance to remember how it all began — a meeting in a Sydney bar during the 2000 Olympics. (Incidentally, Mary made a flying visit to say “hello” to the Australian team at the Athletes’ Village in Paris.)
Although they will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in 2024, there has been widespread tabloid speculation about their marriage.
Months before becoming king, Frederick was photographed in Madrid with Mexican society lady Genoveva Casanova. The palace declined to comment, and Casanova categorically denied reports of an affair.
A year after the episode, Mary made a special visit to Australia to attend her niece’s wedding in Tasmania and visit the beach in Sydney.
Ms Fellman said the marriage was “very solid”.
Frederick spoke of his home life in his memoirs, The King’s Word, which was published days after his accession to the throne.
“I love marriage, my wife, our kids, and the whole happy foundation that creates for people who manage to stay together and persevere,” the father of four said.
Copenhagen store assistant and royal fan, Ida Hansen, believes the royal couple should hold hands more often.
“Why did they stop being physically present with each other in public? It just fuels rumours,” she told AAP.
Ms. Fellman insisted that hand holding was not an accurate measure.
“I think what you see these days is Mary trying to be the perfect queen,” she said in her book. “The perfect queen does not hold the hand of her husband, the king, all the time.”
One thing is certain: Australia holds a special place in Mary’s heart.
Photos of the mansion on social media show its indigenous roots: dresses from Australian fashion brands Zimmerman and MOSS & SPY, and kangaroo and Tasmanian pine Christmas decorations are incorporated into a recycled wooden dining table.
