Danish football fans have been left in uproar over news that Crown Princess Mary is flying in for the semi final match against England at Wembley tomorrow thanks to a UEFA deal that allows VIPs to skip quarantine while fans are banned from travelling.
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, his wife Crown Princess Mary, 49, and their football-mad eldest son Prince Christian, 15, will be classed as football VIPs who will be allowed to visit the UK without having to quarantine as part of a deal to keep the Euro 2020 finals in England.
Ministers are believed to have agreed a deal with UEFA which exempt officials, politicians and sponsors from the UK’s travel restrictions in order to attend the semi-finals and final at Wembley.
But the VIPs, who are thought to number in the ‘low thousands’, will have to remain in a ‘bubble’ during their visit.
Meanwhile, Kate Middleton is holed up in Kensington Palace after coming close to someone who has tested positive for coronavirus – despite having no symptoms herself, both her vaccinations and testing negative four times in the past week.
Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, pictured with their four children, Prince Christian,Prince Vincent, Princess Josephine and Princess Isabella, when they celebrated their ten-year wedding anniversary on May 14th 2014
Obligatory balcony shot: Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik, with Queen Margrethe of Denmark and Prince Henrik, appear on the balcony of Christian VII’s Palace after their wedding
Crown Princess Mary participates in the inauguration of the new children’s hospice, Strandbakkehuset on June 16, 2021
Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark attend the UEFA EURO 2020 Group B football match between Denmark and Belgium at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen on June 17, 2021
Her absurd quarantine has prevented the duchess from attending the NHS’ 73rd birthday celebrations with William at St Paul’s Cathedral and Buckingham Palace today.
It means she must quarantine for ten days even if she tests negative, which she has, up to four times, in the past seven days including before and after her Wembley trip with William and George.
Glamorous Australian-born royal Crown Princess Mary has already showed her support for the Danish team, donning the colours of the Danish flag when she was a guest of the Group B Denmark versus Belgium match at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, where Denmark lost 2-1 to Belgium.
It was the team’s first match since Danish footballer Christian Eriksen collapsed with a cardiac arrest in their opening game of Euro 2020.
Princess Mary watched the game from the stand with her patriotic husband, Prince Frederik, 53, son Prince Christian, 15, and cousins Prince Felix, 18, and Prince Nikolai, 21.
Princess Mary and Prince Frederik were in the crowd when Eriksen collapsed four days prior.
Crown Princess Mary was recently made a regent by her mother-in-law, Queen Margrethe, meaning she can perform duties as head of state when the Queen is otherwise engaged.
She is the fourth member of the Danish royal family to be named regent after Prince Frederik, his brother Prince Joachim, and the Queen’s sister Princess Benedikte, who are all official stand-ins for the monarch.
The Crown Princess will become Queen of Denmark when Frederik ascends to the throne, following the death or abdication of his mother.
Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary, Countess of Monpezat, was ‘just’ Mary, a marketing manager at an advertisement company, when she met Crown Prince Frederik at a bar in Sydney during the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
Mary Elizabeth Donaldson (L) and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark smile during a press conference at Fredensborg Castle October 8, 2003 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The pair announced their engagement, with the wedding set for May 14, 2004
Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik The wedding of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Countess Stephanie de Lannoy, Notre Dame Cathedral, Luxembourg on 20 October 2012
Tasmanian-born Mary, the youngest daughter of two Scottish immigrants – maths professor John and university secretary Henrietta, has previously said she ‘never dreamed of becoming a princess, I wanted to be a veterinarian,’ and did not know who the man who introduced himself as ‘Fred’ was at first.
‘The first time we met we shook hands. I didn’t know he was the prince of Denmark. Half an hour later someone came up to me and said, ‘Do you know who these people are?,’ revealed Mary as reported by Hello magazine.
Born in 1972 the Princess studied at the University of Tasmania and graduated in 1994 with a Bachelors degree in Commerce and Law.
‘We went for long walks along beach, prepared good food – or rather I did because Mary isn’t that good at it – so we were able to really get to know each other,’ Prince Frederik previously told Australia’s Women’s Weekly.
‘It was all laughing and talking and gradually opening up for one another,’ he said of his time wooing his now wife.
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Crown Princess Mary Of Denmark attend the royal wedding of Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Sofia Hellqvist at The Royal Palace on June 13, 2015 in Stockholm, Sweden
Royal family: The pair share four children; Prince Christian born in October 2005, Princess Isabella, born in April 2007, and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine born in January 2011. Pictured together in Switzerland in January 2020
Separated by geography the couple continued their relationship long distance.
Despite being spotted together several times in both Denmark and Australia, and Mary moving to Europe in 2001, it was not until April 2003 that Queen Margrethe publicly acknowledged their relationship.
In his 2008 autobiography entitled Frederik – kronprins af Danmark, the royal male revealed that he proposed to Mary during a trip to Rome in September 2003, but as tradition dictates he had already written to Mary’s father John Donaldson asking for his daughter’s hand in marriage, as reported by the Courier Mail.
Speaking of his actual proposal he revealed: ‘I said to her, ‘You cannot say no, you mustn’t say no, you just have to say yes’. And then she said ‘yes’, and it was wonderful. I was so happy.’
In the pages of his book the Prince who calls Mary his ‘soul mate’ and said he was attracted to her because ‘she was a bit secretive but also very beautiful’.
Despite initially having no idea who the European royal was, their relationship soon became the stuff of fairytales and they tied the knot on May 14, 2004 in Copenhagen Cathedral in the Danish capital.
Together: Since marrying Crown Prince Frederick in 2004, Princess Mary has been a major advocate for gender equality – once saying it is ‘the single most important thing we can strive for to improve our world.’ Pictured with her husband, Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark
Crown Princess Mary attends ‘Mind of Music’ concert in Odense on 4 June 2021. The concert is a collaboration between the Odense Symphony Orchestra, the Psychiatric Foundation, and SIND
The guestlist included the Kings and Queens of Sweden, Norway, Spain, Belgium and The Netherlands as well as Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
Mary donned a dress created by Danish fashion designer Uffe Frank and a veil first used by Crown Princess Margareta of Sweden, Queen Victoria’s granddaughter.
Mary was given the title of Crown Princess of Denmark, set to become the first ever Australian-born Queen consort if and when Crown Prince Frederik takes the throne.
The pair share four children; Prince Christian born in October 2005, Princess Isabella, born in April 2007, and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine born in January 2011.
While they reside at Frederik VIII’s Palace in Denmark, they are frequent visitors to Australia, with Mary often bringing her brood home to see her family.
Back in 2016, Crown Princess Mary made it clear where her loyalties lie.
Crown Princess Mary participated in creative Denmark’s launch event Creative Summit at DI Industriens Hus in Copenhagen on 23 June 2021
In a tongue-in-cheek interview with Daily Mail Online, the Australian born royal confessed she was supporting Australian athletes in Rio, so long as they were not competing against the Danes.
‘I’ll absolutely support Australians so long as they’re not competing against a Dane,’ Princess Mary said with a laugh.