Mary Donaldson: from a pub to the Danish palace

Mary Donaldson saw her life take a 180-degree turn when she met Prince Frederik of Denmark in a pub. Now she's the Queen of Denmark.

Before arriving at that royal life, Mary Donaldson had an incredible education in various parts of the world. Her home base was Australia. Let's see how she went from being a businesswoman to a princess and, now, Queen.

Photo: Danish Royal Palace, handout

Princess Mary of Denmark was born in the city of Hobart, Australia, on February 5, 1972. Her parents are Scottish. Her mother, Henrietta Clark Donaldson, worked as an executive assistant and her father, John Dalgleish Donaldson, as a professor of mathematics and a dean.

In the Donaldson family there were four children: Jane Alison Stephens (1965), Patricia Anne Bailey (1968), John Stuart Donaldson (1970) and Mary (1972), the youngest. The Princess's two elder sisters are in the left and middle of this photo.

As a young child, Mary lived in Houston, Texas. In 1975, the family returned to Hobart. She went to highschool and college there.

University studies began in 1989. Mary would graduate in 1994 with a double major in law and business. Then, from 1994 to 1996, she got two graduate degrees: one in advertising and one in direct marketing.

At the time of her studies, Mary was dating Brent Annells. The Daily Telegraph describes him as "an average Aussie bloke." They went out for quite a long time: seven years.

Mary Donaldson was 25 years old when her mother died in 1997 after heart surgery. She later told Australia Women's Weekly that she would have loved to have more time with her mother. "She is part of me."

Mary's father John Donaldson remarried in 2001, four years after Henrietta's death. His new wife was Susan Moody, a British writer.

After her studies, Mary Donaldson never stayed at one spot for a long time. After a year in Scotland, she moved back to Australia to work as an account and sales manager for several companies. In 2002, she went to Paris to teach English at the Business School.

Mary Donaldson got a position with Microsoft, based in Denmark. It seemed like this would be one more step in a career of international moves.

Photo: Keld Navntoft, Danish Royal House

But of course, as we know now, she did not just go to Denmark for Microsoft... She had a boyfriend there.

Mary Donaldson had met Prince Frederik in 2000, when he visited Australia for the Summer Olympics. The commoner and the prince had first talked to each other at the Slip Inn, a well-known pub in Sydney.

For a while, Prince Frederik and Mary had a long-distance relationship. He used to visit her in Australia from time to time.

In 2001, the Danish magazine Billed Bladet was the first to name Mary as the prince's girlfriend.

As in a real fairy tale, the commoner and the prince got married in 2014, making Mary Donaldson the Crown Princess of Denmark and the Countess of Monpezat.

Photo: Danish Royal Palace, handout

The dress that Mary wore at the royal wedding was made by the Danish designer Uffe Frank. Her veil had belonged to Danish royalty for over 100 years. The tiara, made of diamonds, was a gift from the Danish Queen Margaret.

The royal couple soon had their first child. In 2005, Prince Christian Valdemar Henri John was born.

Photo: Danish Royal Palace, handout

After Christian, Princess Isabella Henrietta Ingrid Margareta arrived in 2007.

Photo: Danish Royal Palace, handout

In 2010 came the spectacular announcement that Mary was pregnant with twins. In 2011, Prince Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander and Princess Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilde were born.

Photo: Danish Royal Palace, handout

Mary studied music and likes to play the piano and clarinet. She is also quite a sportswoman. The Danish princess used to be captain of the women's hockey team, play basketball, and practice swimming.

The Princess of Denmark is concerned about social issues such as vaccination, obesity, and cancer. That's why she opened the European Immunization Week in Slovenia and founded the Danish Society Against Skin Cancer.

Image: The Princess meeting representatives of the World Health Organization, handout by the Danish Royal Family

In 2007, the Princess created the Mary Foundation (Mary Fonden) with the aim of ending social isolation. It deals with issues such as welfare and domestic violence. "Violence against women is the most widespread violation of human rights," she told the Danish newspaper Berlingske.

Image: The Princess at the Euro Games, by Steen Brogaard, Royal Palace

Mary has always been interested in social issues. While in college, she wrote a treatise on domestic violence called 'The Battered Wives Syndrome'. In 2008, the magazine 'Alt for Damerne' named the princess Woman of the Year.

The princess has also visited refugee camps in East Africa and Uganda while being a member of the Danish Refugee Council and a representative of the United Nations Population Fund.

Image: The Royal Family received Ukrainian President Zelensky and a group of refugees from his country at the palace. By Theis Poulsen, Royal Palace

In addition, she has a 'Free from Bullying' program in kindergartens. The princess believes that it is important to educate children from a very young age about an anti-bullying environment.

As if all these activities were not enough, she was also appointed captain of the Danish National Guard. A marketing expert and a princess, she can now be seen in camouflage colors as well.

Speaking of clothes, Mary is considered a true fashion icon. In 2016, Vanity Fair magazine named her one of the best dressed women in the world. She ranked fourth internationally. Mary has also been photographed by Vogue Australia and Germany.

She continues to fascinate the public in Denmark, her native Australia, and abroad. A woman who unexpectedly met her Prince Charming, Frederik of Denmark, in a pub, she is now a global celebrity.