This is the awkward moment Queen Mary of Denmark seemed too busy high-fiving Royal Run participants to congratulate her own husband as he crossed the finish line.
The royal mother-of-four, 52, smiled in sunglasses as she approached the finish line of the 10km race in Copenhagen and waved to people about to complete the course.
Meanwhile, King Frederick, who had just finished the race, ran across the finish line and hugged his twin children, Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent, both 13 years old.
As he walks behind Maria and greets the race finishers, Frederik does not seem to interact with his wife and the Queen does not turn to greet him.
Photos shared in Danish media showed the King and Queen finally greeting each other at the finish line, however, they did not appear to embrace.
Awkward footage from Denmark’s annual Royal Run shows Queen Mary too busy giving high fives to congratulate her husband King Frederick.
The awkward moment comes at the end of the annual event, which consists of a 10km race and a 5km race, and features high-profile members of the royal family.
Despite the apparent awkwardness between the married couple, who celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary last week, the King and Queen showed deep affection towards their children during the race.
The clip of King Frederik shows him warmly hugging his children after crossing the finish line, while photos from the event show Queen Mary sharing a sweet moment with 13-year-old Princess Josephine.
After finishing the 10km race, King Frederick hugged his children, including 13-year-old Princess Josephine.
In photos taken after the race, the Queen and the teenage princess joked while Josephine made faces at her mother, while Mary adjusted her collar and brushed her hair back.
The family outing comes after a difficult few months for the Danish royal family, following rumors of an affair after King Frederick was seen on a night out in Madrid with Genoveva Casanova, a Mexican socialite who lives in the Spanish capital. .
Spanish magazine Lecturas published photos of the couple in the city in late October and reported that they had visited an old flamenco restaurant where they dined together until the early hours of the morning. After the photos were published, Genoveva adamantly denied that they were having an affair.
Queen Mary of Denmark, 52, shared a sweet moment with her youngest daughter, Princess Josephine, 13, at the Royal Run on Monday.
The mother and daughter shared an intimate moment when Josephine stuck her tongue out at Queen Mary while they were on the sidelines of the event.
The Queen is ready for action! Queen Mary, 52, put on her cap and joined the other participants in the race.
The Queen is ready for action! Queen Mary, 52, put on her cap and joined the other participants in the race.
Since then, during their public appearances, King Frederick and Queen Mary have given off mixed signals with their body language, including several icy appearances.
The couple showed distance in their body language during summer vacation on the ship Daneborg as they sailed towards Sweden and Norway (which also coincided with their 20th wedding anniversary).
During this trip, the couple showed signs of coldness in their body language in their moments together; although such signs seemed to melt as they greeted their hosts in each nation.
Upon arrival in Norway last week, the couple looked serious before docking to meet their hosts, King Harald and Queen Sonja.
Elsewhere, princesses Josephine and Isabella laughed as they enjoyed the event.
Pictured: Queen Mary with Princess Josephine and her eldest daughter Princess Elizabeth at the Royal Run in Copenhagen.
The Queen affectionately brushed her daughter’s hair away from her face at the beginning of the event
Twins Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent, 13, and their older sister Princess Elizabeth, 15, hold their medals at the end of the Royal Run.
The three youngest royal brothers seemed ready and raring to go.
Body language expert Judi James told FEMAIL: “Arriving on a boat in Oslo, we can see Mary return to her considerably colder facial expression with her eyes looking into the distance rather than looking back at her husband.
“Here he looks helpless, with one eyebrow raised and the other furrowed while the expression in his eyes seems downcast and his lips are barely drawn into a real smile.”
Judi added: “Mary’s genuine smile and more tactile demeanors when she met the Norwegian royals only seemed to add to the idea that she was looking cooler around her husband again.”
The couple’s candid body language in private moments was in stark contrast to the image projected to the world by the Danish palace on social media as the couple’s 20th wedding anniversary was marked.
A photo taken of Queen Mary and King Frederick aboard the Dannebrog showed the couple in a relaxed pose, smiling, hugging each other and wearing matching vests.
Greetings to the fans! The Queen smiled as she greeted royal watchers and race spectators upon her arrival.
Maria greeted the royal fans before the start of the race.
Mary smiled behind her sunglasses as she prepared to participate, wearing a bib with the number 2 that had her name on it.
Judi told FEMAIL: “To celebrate their wedding anniversary (the couple) appear to have struck a pose that is deliberately reminiscent of the way they used to behave before the scandal.”
She added: ‘Their torsos in this anniversary photo are together, albeit with a layer of padded vest acting as a little airbag and their mutual smiles suggest they are enjoying each other’s company again.
“Frederik has one hand on his hip to suggest a happy vacation moment and with his other hand he is seen grabbing his wife by the neck with what appears to be a fairly firm grip.”
However, the expert drew attention to the fact that Mary was wearing sunglasses in the photo, meaning that “the expression in her eyes is hidden from public view and scrutiny.”
Despite this, Danish royal expert Kenth Madsen has revealed that people in Denmark have “forgotten” about Frederik’s night out in Madrid with Genevieve and are jubilant to have a new king on the throne.
Meanwhile, Danish media reports seem to present their readers with the image of a happy couple.
A report from Her & Nu, published earlier this month, described how the couple “practically radiated love for each other” as they boarded the Dannebrog ahead of their wedding anniversary.
Although the report mentioned King Frederick’s night out with Genevieve, it noted that the father of four had “buried” any suggestion of an affair while standing with his wife on the Christiansborg balcony on the day he was proclaimed king.
The report also mentions a declaration of love to Queen Mary that the king made in his book Kongeord, published three days after ascending the throne.
The quote read: “I love marriage, my wife, our children, and the whole happy foundation that comes from people who manage to stick together and persevere.”
The King and Queen of Denmark moved on as Frederick ascended the throne earlier in the year, following the shock abdication of his mother, Queen Margaret, on New Year’s Eve 2023.
The surprise announcement came two months after King Frederick was seen dining with Mexican socialite Genoveva, who lives in Madrid.
Spanish magazine Lecturas published photos of the couple together as they headed to a traditional restaurant in the city, where they allegedly watched flamenco shows and stayed until the early hours of the morning.
After the photos were published, Genoveva issued a statement through her lawyers in which she vehemently denied any suggestion of an affair with Danish royalty, while the Palace declined to comment.