The Other Stylish, One Day Queen, Brown-Haired Royal: Princess Mary of Denmark

When you spend as much of your time as we do browsing for articles, photos and glimpses of our site’s namesake, Kate (Better and more properly known as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge) it’s easy to forget that there are other Royal families out there beyond the British Royal family. And even easier to forget that there is another Royal who shares many of the same qualities as Catherine: born to a non-Royal family, long glossy brown locks, will one day be Queen Consort of her country, widely regarded as stylish by media publications… But there is- and it’s Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark.

We thought we’d take a step onto Continental Europe today and take a look at Crown Princess Mary- see where she came from, take a look at some of her most stylish looks, see just how similar she and Kate really are.

Prince Frederik and Mary Donaldson upon their Engagement, image from Hello! 

Background

Mary was an interesting addition to the Danish Royal Family if for no other reason than she wasn’t born in Denmark. Mary was born and raised in a Commonwealth country, Australia. Like many other Royals (and future Royals, like Kate) she thoroughly enjoyed the outdoors, spending much of her time as a teenager playing sports and competitively riding horses. After graduating from Hobart’s College with a degree in Commerce and Law, she went on to gain graduate certificates in Marketing which translated into a career for various Australian and international Marketing firms.

In what we can only describe as a modern day fairytale, Mary and Crown Prince Frederik met during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Upon meeting, Frederik did no disclose his royal titles and introduced himself as “Fred”. As the relationship began to get more serious, he disclosed that he was to one day be the future King of Denmark- surely a surprise for Mary! She got a job in Copenhagen in early 2001 and the two became engaged in October 2003 and there was a royal wedding in 2004. Princess Mary and Prince Frederik have gone on to have four children: Prince Christian, Princess Isabella and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine. She became a Danish citizen upon marriage and has also learned to speak fluent Danish.

Mary has been very actively involved in charity work in Denmark, including anti-bullying campaigns, humanitarian causes (earning her a comparison with the late Diana, Princess Of Wales), maternal health and also, interestingly, the fashion industry.

Capture of some of the best looks of Crown Princess Mary. Image from www.WhatWouldKateDo.com

Seeing as textiles and design are Denmark’s third-highest export, Mary has played an active role in supporting the fashion industry. She was also named to the 2010 Vanity Fair International Best Dressed List – quite a prestigious honour for those who don’t follow fashion as devoutly as we do. She’s been known to wear and promote Danish designers such as Malene Birger and Georg Jensen.

We thought since there are so many similarities between Mary and Kate it would be fun to compare Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge side-by-side.

The similarities are striking, and yet both women have very distinct styles, support different causes and enjoy relationships which define them and make them both so interesting to watch. We wouldn’t be surprised if, should Princess Mary and Duchess Catherine ever meet, there was a very immediate friendship which would form. We are also sure that we’ll be keeping an eye out for Princess Mary more now that we’re onto a “new” stylish, likeable and overall interesting future Queen.