Brisbane, Australia CNN —
An Australian sales executive's fairytale rise to the upper echelons of European royalty is set to be completed later this month when Crown Princess Mary Elizabeth of Denmark is named the country's Queen Consort.
The final leg of Mary's journey from Tasmania to the Danish throne was cleared on New Year's Eve with the surprise abdication of Queen Margrethe II, who announced she would step down on January 14.
According to the royal family, this is an extremely rare step in Denmark, where it has been since 1146, when King Eric III. gave up the crown to join a monastery, no monarch has abdicated.
Margrethe's eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik, becomes king, while his wife, Crown Princess Mary, becomes the first Australian to become queen, a development that has delighted her supporters at home.
For many of Mary's Australian admirers, it is a fitting finale to a romance that famously began in a noisy Sydney pub around the time of the 2000 Olympics.
As the story goes, the two locked eyes at the Slip Inn, considered an unlikely place to meet Danish royalty, let alone the place of origin for a couple who would later become Denmark's future king and queen.
Millions watched the couple's wedding in 2004. Two decades later, their ascension to the throne is set to captivate audiences around the world – from Copenhagen to the Tasmanian capital Hobart, where Mary was born.
said Tasmanian Prime Minister Jeremy Rockliff in a statement on Monday that the state “could not be prouder of Crown Princess Mary.”
“With her demonstrated humility, grace and kindness, I am sure that Crown Princess Mary will be embraced as Queen alongside her husband, King Frederik, who will be proclaimed later this month,” Rockliff said.
“I look forward to watching the next generation and Tasmania’s homegrown queen lead Denmark’s future.”
Listen to the Danish Queen's statement about her abdication
Queen Margrethe's New Year's Eve speech largely covered the familiar territory of a monarch recapping the highs and lows of the year just past.
She addressed the tragedy of war, the loss of innocent people in Gaza, the spread of anti-Semitism and the importance of Denmark's support for Ukraine. She spoke about climate change, the challenges of artificial intelligence and the pride she has in her grandson Prince Christian, who just turned 18.
The monarch then turned to her own life and how recent successful back surgery had given her cause to think about the future. More specifically, she said she considered “whether now is the right time to pass on the responsibility to the next generation” and concluded that “now is the right time.”
“On January 14, 2024 – 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father – I will step down as Queen of Denmark. “I will hand the throne over to my son Crown Prince Frederik,” said Margrethe.
The announcement temporarily halted New Year's celebrations in Denmark as royal correspondents rushed to fill the gaps.
“Nobody knew,” Kristian Ring-Hansen Holt told ABC Breakfast TV in Australia.
Juliet Rieden, editor-in-chief of The Australian Women's Weekly, said most Danes had expected Margrethe to remain in office for life, similar to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, who ruled until her death in September 2022.
But in retrospect, some decisions suggested that Queen Margrethe was preparing to step down, Reiden told CNN. For example, her move to downsize the royal family and strip royal titles from the children of her youngest son, Prince Joachim, and his wife, Princess Marie, who were unhappy with the move and recently moved to the United States.
“I think she did it so her son, Crown Prince Frederik, didn’t have to do it “She put everything behind her in the early stages of his monarchy so that he could get everything out of the way and then he could start with a new plan,” Rieden said.
It also reflected the reasoning of a pragmatic monarch who wanted to present the royal family as a value-for-money business led by two of its most popular members, Rieden said.
“The royal family has a popularity rating of 82% in Denmark – these are the numbers that politicians dream of,” said Rieden.
According to the country's constitution, the Danish royal family has a limited role, with power resting with parliament. Monarchs play an important ambassadorial role and sign new laws.
Mary was born in 1972, the daughter of a Scottish mathematics professor and a British executive assistant. According to her official biography, she began her education in Houston, Texas before returning to Hobart to attend school and university.
Mary's entry into the working world included stints as an advertising executive and traveling around Europe before landing a job with a Sydney-based real estate company. There she met Frederik, a young Danish prince, whom she later married in Copenhagen Cathedral in a lavish ceremony that was televised worldwide.
Four children followed, including Prince Christian, who is now the next heir to the throne.
Aside from being praised for her demeanor and fashion sense, Mary has gained a following for her unwavering commitment to social causes through the Mary Foundation, founded in 2007.
“She is a passionate advocate for the sexual rights of women and girls. She is a passionate advocate for refugees. “So she has proven that she is a serious role model and leader in Denmark and I think Australia can be very proud of the kind of queen she has become,” Rieden said.
Trips home usually make local headlines, but not everyone was welcome.
Late last year, media outlets around the world reported on Prince Frederik's alleged romance with Mexican-born actress Genoveva Casanova.
Casanova issued a statement vehemently denying the claims and threatening legal action against Lecturas, the Spanish magazine that published pictures of them on a night out. The royal family has not commented.
“I think it was probably annoying, one of those 'never complain, never explain' scenarios from the Danish royal family,” Rieden said. “Nothing happened for her.”
When the new generation of Danish royalty ascends to the throne, there will be none of the pomp and pageantry that marked the coronation of Britain's King Charles III. last May.
Details have not been confirmed, but the royal family says Queen Margrethe will abdicate from the Council of State, an advisory body to the monarchy.
Rieden says it is likely that the new king and queen will appear on the balcony of Christiansborg Palace on Jan. 14 along with the Danish prime minister and perhaps also wave from Amalienborg, the royal family's official residence in Copenhagen.
“I think we'll see Mary and Frederik on the balcony and I think we'll see their whole family around them. And this will showcase the new modern monarchy of Denmark, and I think it will be a very powerful image,” she said.
That should increase interest in Mary in Australia, Rieden said, adding that placing the princess on the cover of The Australian Women's Weekly magazine typically leads to higher sales.
“She’s a very, very popular cover star. So I think the popularity can only increase now that she becomes queen,” she said.
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