Princess Mary of Denmark has stepped out in New York after the Foreign Office offered its ‘profound apologies’ to the Danish Royal family for mistakenly inviting the royal to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
The mother-of-four, 50, cut a stylish figure in an orange print dress, teamed with a smart black blazer as she attended the WWF and Ellen MacArthur Foundation meeting ‘Global Plastics Treaty Business Coalition’.
Concentrating on mobilising the business world in the elimination of plastic pollution, the gathering came during Princess Mary and her husband Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark’s visit to America for the UN General Assembly.
Frederik and his mother Queen Margrethe II, who has since tested positive for Covid-19, attended the Queen’s funeral and mourning events in London on Sunday and Monday.
However, the Foreign Office confirmed on Tuesday that it had sent an invite to Princess Mary in ‘error’.
Princess Mary of Denmark (pictured) has stepped out in New York after the Foreign Office offered its ‘profound apologies’ to the Danish Royal family for mistakenly inviting the royal to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral
The mother-of-four (pictured), 50, cut a stylish figure in an orange print dress, teamed with a smart black blazer as she attended the WWF and Ellen MacArthur Foundation meeting ‘Global Plastics Treaty Business Coalition’
Princess Mary accepts a card and some flowers from a young girl when attending the meeting
The Danish Royals had confirmed Princess Mary’s attendance on September 13, writing: ‘HM The Queen and the Crown Prince Couple [will be] present at the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II’.
But on September 19, the family issued another statement reading: ‘Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness The Crown Prince’ would ‘participate from Denmark’ – making no mention of Princess Mary’s absence.
Official invites sent to current heads of state allowed them to bring one guest to the funeral.
But Princess Mary’s original invitation was sent out in ‘error’ after it was suggested that the guest of Queen Margrethe, her son Crown Prince Frederik, was also invited to bring a guest.
The British Foreign Office confirmed it sent an apology to the Danish Royal Household via the Danish Embassy, a spokesperson told MailOnline on Tuesday.
Concentrating on mobilising the business world in the elimination of plastic pollution, the gathering came during Princess Mary and her husband Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark’s visit to America for the UN General Assembly
Princess Mary’s original invitation to Elizabeth II’s funeral was sent out in ‘error’ after it was suggested that the guest of Queen Margrethe, her son Crown Prince Frederik, was also invited to bring a guest
Queen Margrethe II and her son, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark pictured at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday
The ‘regrettable error’ was made due to the Foreign Office having to send out many invitations within a short space of time.
Questions were raised over why Spain and the Netherlands were allowed more than two royal guests each, but it is understood that invitations were extended to former monarchs from both countries.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, were accompanied by his mother Princess Beatrix to Westminster Abbey .
Meanwhile, Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia attended the late monarch’s funeral, with the former King Juan Carlos I and his wife Sofia also present.
The Royal House told Danish news outlet BT: ‘There has been a regrettable error in the invitation from the British Foreign Office’s protocol.
‘It is thus only the Queen and the Crown Prince who, from the Danish side, will participate in Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral on Monday.’
A Foreign office spokesperson said: ‘The FCDO has passed on their profound apologies to the Danish Royal Household through the Danish Embassy.’
Monday saw Westminster Abbey fill up with 2,000 people including world leaders, foreign royals and several hundred ordinary Britons chosen by the Queen for her funeral.
But Australian-born Princess Mary was noticeably missing from the service, while her husband Prince Frederik and mother-in-law Queen Margrethe, were in attendance.
BT’s royal correspondent Jacob Heinel Jensen said the Danish royal house would have been ‘upset’ by the eleventh hour change.
‘It’s really clumsy and unfortunate… It has meant that the Royal House must now say that a mistake had been made, and that is embarrassing,’ he said.
‘I think the Royal House easily understands that a mistake has been made. I wondered myself when I was in London and the British media wrote that there were only two invitees per country.
‘After all, you got the feeling that there really must be extra close ties between Denmark and Britain’s royal house if we got three invitations.’
Representatives of more than 20 Royal Families were present at Monday’s service including the reigning monarchs of the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway.
Japan’s Emperor Naruhito, who rarely makes overseas visits, was among the guests along with King Jigme & Queen Jetsun of Bhutan and the Sultan of Brunei.
Kings and Queens from around the worlds sat side-by-side in Westminster Abbey as they mourned the death of Queen Elizabeth II during her state funeral (pictured: 1. Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands 2. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands 3. King Willem-Alexander 4. Queen Silvia of Sweden 5. King Carl Gustaf of Sweden 6. Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark 7. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark 8. King Harald of Norway 9. Queen Sonja of Norway 10. Queen Sofía of Spain 11. King Juan Carlos of Spain 12. Queen Letizia of Spain 13. King Felipe of Spain 14. Tsar Simeon of Bulgaria 15. Princess Charlene of Monaco 16. Prince Albert of Monaco 17. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg 18. Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg 19. Queen Mathilde of Belgium 20. King Philippe of Belgium 21. Prince Radu of Romania 22. Margareta of Romania 23. Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece 24. Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece 25. Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein 26. Hereditary Prince Alois)
The Danish royal family were said to be attending in full force when they made an official announcement on September 13 but six days later the 50-year-old mother-of-four was nowhere to be seen
Photos and video footage shot at the funeral showed Prince Frederik and Queen Margrethe – now the only reigning Queen left in the world – sitting opposite King Charles III and his family on Monday
King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain, and King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, were among the first monarchs to view the monarch lying-in-state at Westminster Hall.
Vaccinated Margrethe, 82, who is Europe’s longest serving current head of state, and the only current queen regnant, tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday evening, the royal household said.
On Monday, she was in attendance at Westminster Abbey along with her son Crown Prince Frederik, and the two went on to the Queen’s Committal Service in Windsor afterward.
The monarch also paid her respects to the Queen by visiting her coffin in Westminster Hall on Sunday night, and attended the Buckingham Palace ‘reception of the century’ where she was pictured chatting closely with King Charles.
A statement shared by the palace on Tuesday read: ‘Her Majesty the Queen tested positive for COVID-19 last night and is now staying at Fredensborg Castle. The Queen’s activities this week have thus been cancelled.
‘Friday’s evening party at Christiansborg Castle for the Danish members of the government, the Folketing and the European Parliament will be held with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess as hosts.’
Denmark’s Queen, who received a third dose of the vaccine in November, has previously had Covid-19, having tested positive for the virus in February. The royal court said the Queen is only showing mild symptoms.
Queen Margrethe held a close relationship with Queen Elizabeth II and was among the first international monarch to pay tribute to Her Majesty.
She was also spotted shedding a tear in front of the Queen’s coffin before the funeral on Monday.
Both Queens are great-great granddaughters of Queen Victoria – making them third cousins – with Margrethe often looking up to Elizabeth like a big sister.
In May, Margrethe told the UK’s ITV news that Elizabeth, 14 years her senior, was a ‘huge inspiration’ to her as the only other living Queen.
‘[Queen Elizabeth] was 26 when she became Queen. When I was growing up, I hoped I wouldn’t be as young as that when my father died. It made an enormous impression on me. The fact that she was dedicating her life. I understood what that meant. This is for life. That is the whole point of my life. And I know she sees that too,’ she said.
With the death of Elizabeth II, Margrethe II of Denmark has become the only living Queen in the world
Queen Margrethe of Denmark lead the foreign royals paying tributes to Queen Elizabeth II, who died aged 96. They are pictured in 2000 at London’s Natural History Museum
‘When I was growing up, my mother and father said to me, ‘look at what they do in England’ and I could see that it could be done and it was worthwhile and you could live a very full life with it, even with a heavy schedule and demanding job.’
The mother-of-two added that both Queens see their roles as ‘dedication’ and ‘a job’ and the way that Elizabeth ‘faced her duties’ ‘inspired her’.
‘The way she has faced her duties, the way she has dedicated her life, and she does it with a smile. She has been through many things,’ she added.
‘When you get to my age, you don’t have the emptiness, what am I going to do tomorrow? I know jolly well what I am going to do tomorrow, and the next day, and the following year.’
The pair, also had sweet nicknames for one another. Margrethe called Elizabeth by her childhood nickname ‘Lilibet’ while Elizabeth called Margrethe ‘Daisy’.
The Danish royal family, including Hobart-born Mary, shared a close connection with Elizabeth. Pictured in 2016
In February, Margrethe and Mary, met with the Princess of Wales and officially welcomed her to Copenhagen
The Danish monarch is known as ‘Aunt Daisy’ to many in her family as she was named after her grandmother, Princess Margareta of Sweden, and her name is similar to the Nordic word for the daisy flower.
‘We are definitely affectionate, but I don’t want to splash it all over the place,’ she told ITV of Elizabeth II.
The pair also had a love of dogs in common. While Elizabeth will forever be associated with corgis, Margrethe is known in Denmark for her love of dogs.
While Elizabeth got her first corgi as a child, it was Margrethe’s late husband Prince Henrik who introduced her to dachshunds.
Margrethe was also among the first royals to pay tribute to the Queen upon her death.
Margrethe was also among the first royals to pay tribute to the Queen upon her death
In a statement she wished the new King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla her ‘deepest thoughts and prayers’ after Elizabeth II passed away peacefully at Balmoral.
‘I send you and Camilla my warmest thoughts and prayers,’ she said. ‘She was a towering figure among the European monarchs and a great inspiration to us all. We shall miss her terribly.
‘Her 70 years of reign and service to the people of the United Kingdom, the Realms and the Commonwealth are an unprecedented and remarkable achievement.
‘We shall always remember her important contributions to their development and prosperity.’
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