Crown Princess Mary of Denmark was all smiles today as she attended another New Year’s reception for members of the armed forces emergency management agency at Christiansborg Palace.
Mary and her husband, Crown Princess Frederik, were beaming as they greeted representatives of major national organisations and the royal patronages, just hours after their frosty appearance yesterday.
The Crown Princess looked chic in a velvet blazer and a long satin skirt, while Frederik donned his military regalia.
The couple joined Queen Margrethe as she made her final public appearance before stepping down as monarch on January 14 after 52 years on the throne.
Denmark’s monarch used a 19th-century Gold Coach gilded with 24-carat gold leaf to travel from Amalienborg Palace to Christiansborg Palace.
Margrethe, 83, will step down on January 14 after 52 years, handing the throne to her oldest son, Frederik, 55.
Meanwhile, the future King and Queen looked very tense yesterday at a diplomatic corps reception.
Insiders claimed the couple “did not look they were enjoying themselves” and described the atmosphere as being at “freezing point”.
Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet wrote: “Words were exchanged between the two, and it didn’t look like they wished each other good luck.”
The royal couple, who will be known as King Frederik X and Queen Mary of Denmark, barely exchanged words during the reception and kept their distance even inside the Knights’ Hall, where Queen Margrethe gave a speech.
Last Sunday, the Queen shocked royal watchers around the world as she announced her abdication live on TV in a New Year address to her nation.
The monarch made clear it was her ill health which was part of the reason for giving up her responsibilities. The monarch had undergone extensive back surgery back in February this year.
In her address on New Year’s Eve, the Queen said: “The surgery naturally gave rise to thinking about the future – whether the time had come to leave the responsibility to the next generation.”
She added: “I have decided that now is the right time. On 14 January 2024 – 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father – I will step down as queen of Denmark.”
