Author Amber Petty has revealed intimate details of the relationship between her best friend, Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, and Mary’s husband, Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark.
The Australian advertising executive, who remains close to Princess Mary, saw the beginning of her friend’s fairytale romance with Frederik, 52, which she details in her new book, This Is Not A Love Song.
In an interview with this week’s Stellar Magazine, Petty reveals the pair were just like any other couple, but the ‘surreal’ experience of seeing her best friend fall in love with a prince changed the friendship.
Tell all: Author Amber Petty (pictured) has revealed intimate details of the relationship between her best friend, Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, and Mary’s husband, Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark
Petty tells the magazine: ‘For a long time, one of my coping mechanisms with the surreal side of where that friendship went was simply to just anchor it down to the basic human elements of what it was, and is, which is actually just a story of two people falling in love and choosing to do life together.’
In the book, Petty discusses attending Princess Mary’s wedding but warns that she is scant on details.
‘I have tried to honour the reader by sharing some insights, real moments that I love, while also being mindful to honour the private us, and the private her,’ she says.
Love story: The Australian advertising executive, who remains close to Princess Mary, saw the beginning of her friend’s fairytale romance with Frederik, 52, which she details in her new book, This Is Not A Love Song. Mary and Frederik are pictured in 2002
Petty tells the magazine: ‘For a long time, one of my coping mechanisms with the surreal side of where that friendship went was simply to just anchor it down to the basic human elements of what it was, and is, which is actually just a story of two people falling in love and choosing to do life together.’ Pictured in 2004
Petty confirms that Mary has read the book, but ‘wouldn’t want to say on record how she feels, but I will say she understands the purpose of the book and all relevant details to the overarching theme’.
She goes on to call Mary her ‘soulmate’ and despite the women living in different countries – with Petty based in Australia – they remain close.
‘Distance has always been hard, and not knowing when you’ll see and hug the people you love again is perhaps harder than ever,’ Petty tells Stellar.
Love: Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary was ‘just’ Mary, a marketing manager at an advertisement company, when she met Crown Prince Frederik in a pub in Sydney during the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. The couple’s engagement was made official in October 2003
Romantic: On May 14, 2004, Mary married her Prince in a lavish ceremony attended by royals – and media – from across the globe in Copenhagen Cathedral in the Danish capital
‘But I’ve learnt that we just need to be patient and grateful that we are still alive and healthy, and future memories are still there to be had.’
Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary was ‘just’ Mary, a marketing manager at an advertisement company, when she met Crown Prince Frederik in a pub in Sydney during the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
Mary, a daughter of two Scottish immigrants, 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.
Sweet: Mary, a daughter of two Scottish immigrants, 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. Pictured in 2019
The couple embarked upon a long distance relationship, something which in the pre-smartphone app era was confined to emails, phonecalls and letters.
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.
The couple’s engagement was made official with, what else, a press conference in Copenhagen in October 2003.
On May 14, 2004, Mary married her Prince in a lavish ceremony attended by royals – and media – from across the globe in Copenhagen Cathedral in the Danish capital.
Family: The Crown Prince couple are parents to Prince Christian, 15, Princess Josephine, 14, and 10-year-old twins, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine. All pictured
It was described as the ultimate happy fairytale ending with the prince marrying the beautiful commoner, and the guestlist included the Kings and Queens of Sweden, Norway, Spain, Belgium and The Netherlands as Prince Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
The Crown Prince couple are parents to Prince Christian, 15, Princess Josephine, 14, and 10-year-old twins, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.
They have recently relocated their royal brood to Fredensborg Palace, 40 minutes’ drive north of the Danish capital, for the summer.
Read more: In this week’s issue of Stellar Magazine