Queen Mary and King Frederik X of Denmark have been winning hearts at every stop throughout their current state visit to Australia.
But what few expected from the historic royal visit was the Danish monarch charmingly reminiscing about that fairytale evening during the Sydney 2000 Olympics, when he walked into the Slip Inn pub and locked eyes with his Aussie-born future wife.
At the state banquet held in Canberra on 15 March, the King delivered a deeply personal and emotional speech reflecting on that fateful evening.
‘For me, Australia has held a very special place in my heart ever since I slipped into that bar and lost it in a conversation that has never ended,’ King Frederik recounted.
Frederik, 57, discussed how that moment he met Mary, 54, not only changed the course of his life, but also intertwined the fates of two countries that, until then, were entirely disparate.
‘Once upon a time, Denmark perhaps did not resonate widely in Australia. Then something changed,’ the King explained.
‘In 2004, your Mary and I were married, and with that, Denmark once again had a Crown Princess.
‘From that moment on, everyone “down under” knew of the Nordic country “up over”.’
King Frederik and Queen Mary attended the state banquet at Government House on March 15, where the monarch delivered a deeply personal address
The Danish king used his speech at the state banquet as a chance to publicly thank his Aussie-born wife for the ‘courage to leave your beloved home and build a new one with me’
When Frederik and Mary tied the knot 22 years ago, he noted that Aussies and Danes alike suddenly ‘shared’ a real Princess.
Frederik’s heartfelt address also made special mention of the sacrifice Mary made in following her heart – leaving her beautiful home country behind and taking on the duties and responsibilities of being a Danish royal.
‘Mary, you had the courage to leave your beloved home and build a new one with me as far away as one can possibly go,’ Frederik touchingly shared with his wife and guests in attendance.
‘For that, I will be forever grateful.’
The special tie that binds Denmark to Australia was a constant theme throughout Frederik’s speech. The King spoke of this connection at length, not just in relation to shared political and environmental values, but also for deeply personal reasons.
‘Australia is our second home,’ Frederik reflected. ‘Whether we come here for a family visit or a State Visit, we feel both excited and entirely at ease.’
Mary and Frederik have returned to Australia multiple times over the past decades in both their capacity as working royals as well as for private trips. But what made this particular visit historic, as Frederik acknowledged, was that it marked ‘the first time as King and Queen’.
Refreshingly, the monarch noted that their newly-minted titles made this Australian visit as exciting as any other – although their prestigious positions, he admitted, ‘does add somewhat to the planning’, before graciously thanking ‘everyone involved in making this visit possible’.
King Frederik’s speech spoke of not only the political connections between Denmark and Australia, but also his own personal connection
Queen Mary didn’t deliver a formal speech at the state banquet, but looked ravishing in a sparkling mint gown designed by her long-time go-to Danish designer, Jesper Høvring
The concluding remarks of Frederik’s speech returned to the theme of his own connection to his wife’s home country.
‘When I first set foot on Australian soil, I was someone who came from somewhere very far away,’ he recalled.
‘When I returned four years later, the Kingdom of Denmark was no longer simply a distant place. It had become a country that people knew about and were talking about.’
Frederik even cheerily demonstrated how he had embraced ‘everything Australian’, including our national pastimes. In turn, he had been humbled by how warmly Aussies had embraced him in return.
‘Over the years, my Australian family always made me feel truly welcome. They embraced me as one of their own, and I embraced everything Australian.
‘I have even come to understand and appreciate that cricket – like AFL – is not only a time-consuming part of your national heritage but also an essential form of social bonding – the Aussie way.’
Frederik concluded his touching speech with a toast to the ‘people of Australia and Denmark’, ending with a line that subtly referenced the idea that Mary and Fred’s royal love story is regarded as a real-life fairytale.
‘May our friendship continue to flourish and may the story we share continue happily ever after,’ Frederik said as he raised a glass.
The Danish royals are in the midst of their first royal tour of Australia since becoming king and queen in 2024 – with their first stop in Uluṟu on March 14
Aussies have met the visiting Queen Mary and King Frederik with warmth and excitement throughout their Australian royal tour, which commenced on March 14 and concludes on March 19. They are pictured here visiting the Australian War Memorial in Canberra on March 16
You can read King Frederik’s speech in full below.
As the story famously goes, advertising executive Mary Donaldson was 28 when they met, locking eyes with Frederik at The Slip Inn pub, where she was celebrating Australian Ian Thorpe’s 400m freestyle world record at the Sydney Olympic Games.
The pair started flirting, with Mary reportedly having no clue who she was talking to, only that he was in town with the sailing team. (They reportedly spoke about whether men look better with or without chest hair.)
‘It wasn’t fireworks in the sky or anything like that,’ Mary would later recall of their initial interaction, ‘but there was a sense of excitement.’
The pair soon after embarked on a long-distance romance, and it culminated a few years later in them tying the knot at Fredensborg Palace. Frederik and Mary now share four children: teenagers Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent, both 15, Princess Isabella, 18, and Crown Prince Christian, 20, the future heir to the throne.
So far in Australia, Queen Mary and King Frederik have enjoyed an action-packed tour.
They arrived in Uluṟu on March 14 and continued to Canberra on March 16.
Their itinerary for March 17 sees the royals in Melbourne, where they will be welcomed with a reception at Government House Victoria, enjoy a short urban walk highlighting sustainable renovation in Prahran, visit the Port of Melbourne to explore sustainability efforts in the maritime sector, and conclude the day with a visit to the Melbourne Cricket Ground and an event with the AFL.
The tour wraps up on March 19 with arguably the most anticipated stop, with the royal couple visiting Mary’s hometown of Hobart in Tasmania.
