Crown Queen Mary of Denmark showed off her enormous love for animals after taking a short break from her royal duties to show her affection towards two friendly dogs.
The Australian-born monarch arrived in Assens with her husband King Frederick X to celebrate the Danish trading town’s 500th anniversary on Wednesday as part of the couple’s summer tour on the royal yacht Dannebrog.
Queen Mary toured the city, greeting fans and helping some children plant a tree before turning her attention to two collies wagging their tails.
The mother of four spoke to the dogs’ owner before crouching down on the ground to let them sniff her, give them a friendly pet and even allow one of them to jump up and lick her face.
Later that day, as Mary removed her Harris Wharf coat and swapped her Gianvito Rossi heels for more comfortable ballet flats, she encountered the dogs again and couldn’t resist giving them another pat.
Denmark’s Crown Queen Mary’s love of dogs was on full display during a royal visit on Wednesday, when she was treated to the affection of two collies.
The Australian-born monarch stepped out in Assens with her husband King Frederik on Wednesday as part of the couple’s summer tour on the royal yacht Dannebrog.
Queen Mary was given a tour of the city, greeting fans and helping some children plant a tree before turning her attention to two tail-wagging collies.
The 52-year-old looked elegant in a strapless Zimmerman dress that billowed in the wind as she walked alongside her husband.
She paired the statement dress with a cream Ralph Lauren blazer, which she cinched at the waist with a rope belt from Etro.
But the designer’s outfit didn’t stop the Queen from getting close to the adorable dogs’ muddy paws.
Mary has made her love for dogs and animals no secret.
The mother is often the photographer behind her children’s birthday portraits and likes to feature the family pets in the snapshots.
The mother of four spoke to the dogs’ owner before crouching down on the ground to let them sniff her, gave them a friendly pat and even allowed one of them to jump up and lick her face.
The 52-year-old looked chic in a strapless Zimmerman gown, but the designer outfit didn’t stop her from getting up and getting close to the adorable dogs’ muddy paws.
Mary has made no secret of her love for dogs and other animals. The mother is often the photographer for her children’s birthday portraits and likes to include the family pets in the snaps.
For the 17th birthday photo released in April, Mary’s eldest daughter, Princess Isabella, was photographed alongside her Border Collie.
‘To mark her birthday, Her Majesty The Queen has taken new photographs of the Princess together with one of the Royal Family’s dogs, Coco,’ the Danish Royal Family announced in an Instagram post.
This is not the first time that Border Collie Coco has appeared in birthday portraits of the royal family.
For Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent’s 11th birthday, the twins posed with Coco and their littermate as puppies.
Mary and Frederik’s eldest son, Prince Christian, 18, cuddled another of the family’s Collies, Grace, in his 14th birthday portrait.
For the 17th birthday photo released in April, Mary’s eldest daughter Princess Isabella was photographed alongside her Border Collie Coco.
For Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent’s 11th birthday, the twins posed with Coco and their littermate when they were just puppies.
Their horses, Queen Margaret’s dachshund and even a koala have also appeared in photographs of the royal children.
It is therefore no surprise that the Danish monarch has shown affection towards her four-legged fans during her recent tour.
During their visit to Assens, the couple visited a reforestation project, an energy-efficient wastewater treatment plant, as well as one of Denmark’s leading companies in rainwater cleaning products.
On Monday, the couple put on a bright, summery display when they visited the island of Ærø in the Baltic Sea.
After arriving on the island by boat at lunchtime, the royal family took to Instagram to thank locals for the “great welcome” they had received.
Mary and Frederick appeared cheerful as they greeted the crowds upon their arrival, before shaking hands with local residents on the island in southern Denmark.
The Danish monarch’s affection for her four-legged fans during her recent tour is no surprise.
Mary and Frederick appeared cheerful as they greeted the crowds on their arrival, before shaking hands with local residents on the southern Danish island.
They then put on a warm display as they made the first stop of their summer tour in Bornholm.
The couple were photographed sampling local produce and talking to small business owners during their tour of the tiny island 105 miles southeast of Copenhagen.
During the engagement, Frederik and Mary were photographed laughing and smiling together and later wrote on Instagram how Bornholm had lived up to its nickname “island of the sun”.
Members of the Danish royal family have been touring the country on the royal yacht Dannebrog every summer for the past 100 years.
This is the first time that Frederick and Mary have taken part in a summer tour as reigning monarchs, following the King’s accession to the throne in January.
Last year, it was Frederik’s mother, Queen Margrethe, 84, who completed the journey by boat.
