King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark Celebrate 20th Wedding Anniversary on State Visit After Challenging Year

King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark are celebrating a special occasion — their 20th wedding anniversary!

On May 14, the Danish royal house shared a new photo of the king, 55, and queen, 52, smiling aboard the Royal Ship Dannebrog for the flag’s anniversary. The photo shows the royal couple getting along in navy blue vests as Frederik wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulder.

“In a few hours, the royal couple will arrive in Oslo and begin a state visit to Norway, after their majesties sailed from Denmark yesterday on the royal ship Dannebrog,” the courtiers wrote on Instagram. “Arriving in the Norwegian capital also happens on a very special day. It’s the 20th wedding anniversary of the King and Queen,” they added with a heart emoji.

The trip to Norway marks the couple’s second state visit in as many days, after the first official state visit of the new royal reign began in Sweden last week. King Frederik and Queen Mary are traveling abroad to mark the close relationship between the Nordic monarchies, according to a statement following his reception in January. The tour should end in June and July in the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are located in the Kingdom of Denmark.

All about the royal love story of King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark

According to the official schedule, the busy first day of their two-day stay in Norway includes a welcome ceremony with King Harald V, Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, a wreath-laying ceremony and departure to Oslo. City of science.

Later in the evening, the Danish royal family will have the opportunity to dress up for their anniversary as they attend a gala dinner at the Royal Palace of Norway.

Frederik and Mary’s milestone falls a few months after a challenging time. In November 2023, reports surfaced that he was having an affair with Mexican-born socialite Geneveva Casanova after they were photographed together during his private trip to Madrid. Casanova has denied allegations of a romantic relationship with the royal family.

Frederik and Maria continued to present a united front, and she stood by him during the unexpected change of rule. In January, then-Crown Frederik was proclaimed king after his mother Queen Margrethe signed a declaration of her abdication on the 52nd anniversary of the throne, becoming the first Danish sovereign to do so voluntarily in nearly 900 years.

King Frederik and Queen Mary on the balcony of Christiansborg Palace shortly after his accession to the throne in January 2024.

Patrick van Katwijk/Getty

His wife became Queen Mary in the same swoop, and the couple celebrated the historic moment by sharing a kiss on the balcony of Christiansborg Castle. They were then joined on the terrace by their four children: Crown Prince Christian, 18 (who assumed his father’s former title following the change of regime), Princess Isabella, 17, and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, 13.

King Frederik and Queen Mary first met at the Slip Inn Hotel in Sydney’s Darling Harbor in September 2000 during the Summer Olympics. Mary Donaldson, an Australian advertising executive, found herself on the phone with “Fred” and immediately hit it off.

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King Frederik and Queen Maria 2018.

Patrick van Katwijk/Getty

King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark star in a new royal photo shoot for social media sites Makeover

“Something clicked,” Mary later recalled in a 2005 interview. “It wasn’t fireworks in the sky or anything like that, but there was a sense of excitement.”

Shortly after their chance meeting, someone informed her that she had just met the Crown Prince of Denmark, the heir to the 1000-year-old Danish throne.

“The first time we met, we shook hands,” she continued. “I didn’t know he was a Danish prince. Half an hour later someone came up to me and said, ‘Do you know who these people are?’ ”

The couple dated long distance before getting engaged and married in Copenhagen Cathedral on May 14, 2004.

Future King Frederik and Queen Mary on their wedding day in May 2004 ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education