Queen Mary of Denmark shared a sweet photo with her father John Donaldson to mark her 52nd birthday, after photos of King Frederick’s night out with a Mexican socialite shook the monarchy.
The mother of four, originally from Australia, is celebrating her first birthday since becoming queen consort earlier this year.
To mark the occasion, the royal shared a photo with her father, 82, which was taken by his 13-year-old son, Prince Vincent, on a family trip to Australia in December.
Late last year, King Frederik, 55, and Mexican socialite Genoveva Casanova, 47, were photographed taking a walk in a park, going to an art exhibition and eating while watching flamenco.
The images, which shocked the Institution, were first published by the Spanish magazine Lecturas in November 2023, which led the mother of two children to deny ‘malicious’ rumors about her friendship with royalty.
To mark her 52nd birthday, the royal shared a photo with her father, 82, which was taken on a family trip to Australia in December (pictured).
In the newly released photo with her father, Mary is dressed casually in a plain black V-neck blouse and jeans and is carrying a tan crossbody bag.
For her casual look, the royal donned a pair of gold hoop earrings and custom double-layer necklaces.
Mary styled her long brown hair in a single braid and was seen wearing a pair of black Wayfarer sunglasses.
The royal wore minimal makeup for their family outing, opting for pink lipstick.
In the touching photo, Mary is seen smiling alongside her father, a former university professor, who was wearing a light blue sweater over a plaid shirt.
The Royal Family captioned the image: “Her Majesty The Queen’s birthday and today she turns 52.”
‘On this occasion, the Queen has chosen an image of a special moment with her father from their recent trip to Australia in December.
“His Royal Highness Prince Vincent is the photographer behind this.”
In the caption of the Instagram post, the Royal Household revealed that Queen Mary’s 13-year-old son, Prince Vincent, took the sweet photo.
Pictured: Former college professor John Donaldson walks down the aisle with his daughter Mary at their 2004 wedding.
In January, a royal expert claimed that Queen Margaret of Denmark abdicated as a form of “damage control” in the wake of the scandal and to prevent “Mary from divorcing Frederick” over rumors of an “affair.”
Royal reporter Kenth G. Madsen argued that Mary’s mother-in-law, Queen Margaret, was “left with no choice” but to abdicate, making her the first Danish monarch in 900 years to do so.
Speaking to FEMAIL, the royal reporter said: “It can be difficult to forgive alleged infidelity in a relationship unless the price for turning a blind eye is high enough.”
“In the context of the revelation of Frederik’s visit to Madrid and the documentation of the meeting with Genoveva Casanova, it is reasonable to believe that Queen Margaret found time to throw a lifeline before the relationship between the Crown Prince’s couple broke down. entirely because of the scandal.
‘In reality, the Queen had no choice: in a strategic move, the monarch managed to remove the focus of romance rumors and, at the same time, grant Mary the rare status of queen.
‘A royal divorce scandal of that magnitude could ruin the strongest royal house forever.
“The risk that the popularity and reputation the Queen has built during her 52 years as monarch could be destroyed forever if she had not done damage control in this regard.”
Pictured: King Frederick of Denmark enjoys an evening in Madrid with a Mexican socialite last November.
After the pictures appeared in a Spanish gossip magazine, the mother-of-two (pictured) denied “malicious” rumors about her friendship with royals.
Earlier this year, the Royal Household’s head of communications confirmed to FEMAIL that John Donaldson would not travel to Denmark for his daughter’s accession to the throne due to his age and health.
After Mary married King Frederick in May 2004, her father John Donaldson and stepmother Susan Moody moved to Denmark for several years to support her in her new life.
The Crown Princess’s mother, Henrietta Donaldson, died of heart disease in 1997, when Mary was just 25 years old.
Mary’s parents emigrated to Tasmania from Scotland before she was born, meaning she had dual British and Australian citizenship.
John was first a professor of mathematics, before being appointed professor and teaching at universities such as Oxford, Montreal and Houston.
King Frederick and Queen Mary of Denmark met at Sydney’s Slip Inn pub in 2000, when the then-32-year-old royal traveled to Australia to support Denmark’s sailing team at the Olympic Games.
Mary, who worked in advertising, supposedly had no idea that the handsome European tourist she had been chatting with for hours was actually the future king of Denmark.
After the pub encounter, Fred, 32, asked Mary for her phone number and a romance blossomed.
Frederik and Mary make their first official appearance together at the Tasmania Yacht Club ahead of the World Dragon Boat Championships on January 19, 2003.
Princess Mary shows her engagement ring to the media during a press conference at Fredensborg Castle on October 8, 2003.
‘The first time we met we shook hands. He didn’t know that he was the prince of Denmark. Half an hour later someone came up to me and said, “Do you know who these people are?” Maria revealed in an interview about her meeting with the heir to the Danish throne.
They maintained a long-distance relationship for a year, with Frederik making secret trips to Australia before Mary moved to Denmark to study Danish language at the Studieskolen in Copenhagen in 2001.
In early 2003, Frederick’s mother, Queen Margaret, publicly acknowledged the relationship and the couple announced their engagement at Amalienborg Castle later that year, on 8 October.
Frederik and Mary married on May 14, 2004 at Copenhagen Cathedral, with the newly named Crown Princess opting for a beautiful dress by Danish designer Uffer Frank and a veil first worn by Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden in 1905.
In a nod to her heritage, Mary carried a bouquet of Australian eucalyptus interspersed with flowers from the palace garden.
King Frederick and Queen Mary (center) pose with their children, Princess Elizabeth (left), Crown Prince Christian (second left), Prince Vincent (second right) and Princess Josephine (right).
In a nod to her heritage, Mary carried a bouquet of Australian eucalyptus interspersed with flowers from the Palace garden.
At the altar, Frederik announced: ‘From today, Mary is mine and I am hers. I love her and I will protect her with all my love.’
Following his daughter’s marriage, the Danish royal family granted John Donaldson a coat of arms to indicate his social elevation.
It contains an eagle and ship representing his Scottish ancestry, along with a lion from the Scottish coat of arms which, by happy coincidence, also appears on Tasmanian heraldic arms.
Their first child, Prince Christian Valdemar Henri John, was born on October 15, 2005; Princess Elizabeth Henriette Ingrid Margrethe followed on April 21, 2007.
Almost four years later, Mary and Frederik welcomed twins, Princess Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda and Prince Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander at the Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen on January 8, 2011.
The family has returned to Mary’s native Australia on many occasions, visiting famous places in Sydney, Canberra and the Northern Territory and even spending Christmas in Australia.