- Tasmanian royalty surprises Australian athletes in Paris
- Team members lined up to take photos with the royals.
- It comes after the Queen of Denmark cheered on the Matildas last year.
She may have brushed the Matildas aside at last year’s World Cup, but Denmark’s Queen Mary has demonstrated her enduring connection to Australia by visiting its athletes ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Opening Ceremony.
Despite attending the event in an official Danish capacity, the Australian-born royal took the time to express his support for Team Australia.
Mary, now 52 and originally from Tasmania, renounced her Australian citizenship in 2004 when she married King Frederick X.
She was present alongside her husband as preparations for Friday’s opening ceremony took place, but made a notable detour to meet with the Australian delegation.
Photos shared by the Australian Olympic team’s official Instagram account captured Queen Mary posing with athletes in the village.
The account posted: ‘Royalty in the Village! Australian-born Queen Mary of Denmark joined the athletes in the Olympic Village.’
Head of mission Anna Meares added: “Once an Australian, always an Australian… and the Danish Queen,” alongside a photo with Mary.
“It was fantastic to see Queen Mary in the food court for lunch today. I was a little nervous but she wished our athletes well and I invited her into our orchard for an Australian coffee,” Meares continued.
Queen Mary of Denmark was a surprise visitor to the Australian athletes’ village ahead of the opening ceremony in Paris.
Australian Olympic team chef de mission Anna Meares said: “Once an Australian, always an Australian” when meeting Queen Mary
Athletes lined up to have their photos taken with Australian royalty at the Paris Village.
Australian fans were delighted to see her show her support.
One commented: “It’s wonderful to see Queen Mary supporting Australian athletes.”
Another added: “You can take the girl out of the country… but she bleeds green and gold.”
A third said: “This makes me very emotional.”
Mary’s connection to the Olympics is personal; she met her future husband, then known simply as “Fred,” at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
Reflecting on their first meeting at a bar called the Slip Inn, she said: People“The first time we met we shook hands. I didn’t know he was the prince of Denmark.
‘Half an hour later, someone came up to me and asked, ‘Do you know who these people are?’
Princess Mary cheered on Denmark against Australia at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, but she is rooting for our Olympic team.
Princess Mary met her future husband, Crown Prince (now King) Frederik of Denmark, at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 (pictured together at the opening ceremony of the Paris Games).
Following their wedding in May 2004, the couple welcomed four children: Crown Prince Christian, 18, Princess Elizabeth, 17, and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, both 13.
This is not the first time Maria has faced a test of loyalty between her former homeland and Denmark.
During the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, she cheered on Denmark against Australia when the two countries faced each other.
Despite her Australian roots, she and King Frederik announced on their joint Instagram account that they would support Denmark.
The message read: “We’ll be cheering from ‘Top Over’ to ‘Down Under’ when the World Cup game against Australia kicks off shortly. Go Denmark. Signed, The Crown Prince Couple.”