Australia does not have a crown princess, as it is a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state. However, there is a future Queen Consort of Denmark who was born in Australia. Her name is Mary, and she married Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, in 2004.
History was actually made in a country far, far away in Denmark as Margrethe II of Denmark said in her new year address that she will hand over the throne to her son Crown Prince Frederik. Her decision to make way for the next generation of Danish royals also delivered the first ever Australian-born Queen Consort who is Princess Mary the wife of Crown Prince Frederik.
Princess Mary the daughter of a mathematics professor and an executive assistant who had emigrated to Australia from Scotland, Mary grew up in a middle-class suburban home alongside her siblings Jane, Patricia and John. After graduating with a degree in law and commerce from the University of Tasmania, she had a high-flying career in advertising and then luxury real estate. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark for most part of her reign remained a popular figure in Denmark, and many expected her to keep the throne until death.
She is actually the longest-serving monarch in the nation’s history and is known for her brightly-coloured clothing and love of palaeontology. In recent years Queen Margrethe II oversaw a string of reforms aimed at “future-proofing” the age-old institution – which holds no jurisdictional authority but remains symbolically important.
She decided to slim down the number of royals and restructured palace finances so that only the heir to the throne receives a state-funded salary. The transition of power will take place on the January 14, 2024. When done it’ll be up to the Queen from Australia and King Frederik to shape the next chapter.
