Mary’s Reign: Queen’s Unprecedented Lead on Historic Aussie Tour

Queen Mary’s Unprecedented Homecoming: A Royal on Australian Soil

This month marked a historic occasion as Queen Mary, born in Tasmania, undertook a six-day state visit to Australia, assuming a leading role that observers suggest is unlikely to be repeated. This was the first official visit since her husband, Frederik X, ascended to the throne as King of Denmark, positioning Mary as Queen consort on foreign soil. For Australians, it was a rare chance to witness their native daughter in her new royal capacity.

However, those who followed the tour noted a distinct shift in Queen Mary’s demeanour compared to her public persona in Denmark. Royal correspondent Marie Rønde, from Danish television network TV 2, observed a profound emotional connection. “I think she seemed so overwhelmed by the well-wishers, the warm welcome everywhere and to be home in Hobart,” Rønde commented. “For a moment she was just Mary. And not Queen Mary. I have not seen the Queen like that before.” Rønde, part of the Danish press contingent covering the entire visit, witnessed these intimate moments firsthand.

The royal tour commenced on March 14th in the iconic landscape of Uluru, before progressing to the nation’s capital, Canberra, and then to Melbourne. The journey culminated on Thursday, March 19th, in Hobart, the city where Mary was born and spent her formative years. The final day proved to be the most demanding for the King and Queen. A boat excursion to the Alum Cliffs Marine Reserve, offering views of a magnificent giant kelp forest, passed by Mary’s former high school, adding a poignant personal touch to the itinerary. Later that afternoon, the royal couple engaged in their second public walkabout, drawing massive crowds eager to see Mary during her first official visit to Tasmania since 2005.

Queen Mary was visibly moved as she interacted with locals along Hobart’s waterfront, offering handshakes, posing for photographs, and engaging in heartfelt conversations. “The Tassies really found a way to her heart and their love lowered her guard,” Rønde remarked. “And the king was perfectly happy being just next to her and leaving the spotlight to his Queen. He was so proud of her.” Photographic evidence from these meet-and-greets shows King Frederik stepping back, allowing his wife to take centre stage. In a touching display of support, the monarch even used his own camera to capture footage of his wife’s emotional homecoming.

This willingness to cede the spotlight was not an isolated incident during the tour. In Canberra, at the Australian War Memorial, King Frederik patiently waited while Queen Mary took her time connecting with the public. At times, he appeared surprised when members of the crowd called out his name rather than Mary’s.

Under conventional royal protocol, it is highly unusual for a reigning monarch to take a secondary role. However, the relationship between Frederik and Mary has consistently defied tradition. Since the ascension to the throne on January 14, 2024, the couple has been actively engaged in modernising the Danish monarchy, one of the world’s oldest institutions. This transformation includes King Frederik’s deliberate decision to step aside for Queen Mary on multiple occasions throughout their Australian visit.

“What I will remember [from this state visit] is the king leaving the stage to the Queen,” Rønde stated. “He was well aware that she was the star of the tour – he was just the boy standing next to her, as he said at the reception in the Botanical Garden.” Rønde was referring to comments made by King Frederik during a ‘thank you’ reception in Melbourne.

During his speech, King Frederik recounted a humorous anecdote from his and Mary’s first visit to Australia in 2005, shortly after their wedding. “Mary was chatting to some of the people who had shown up to say hello, and I stood next to Mary and I overheard a young boy standing next to his mother asking her, ‘Mummy, Mummy, who’s that boy next to Mary?'” he shared. “That’s how it is occasionally, [and] in the eyes of Australia, I suspect I shall always be the one standing next to Mary, and this is perfectly OK … I take that very much as a compliment.”

Following his address, Queen Mary then stepped up to the lectern. This moment was particularly significant, according to Rønde. “According to protocol, it is the monarch who does that, but for the first time in history, it was the Queen giving that very professional and personal speech.”

The following evening, Queen Mary once again surprised attendees by speaking when King Frederik was scheduled to address the gathering. “I’m a bit lost for words, I’m a bit overwhelmed,” Queen Mary confessed at a reception held at Government House in Hobart. This was the final engagement of the state visit, attended by Mary’s Australian friends and family, including her elder sister, Patricia Bailey.

Queen Mary expressed her gratitude, stating, “Thank you everyone for being here. Last night [on Wednesday] I ended a speech in Melbourne saying how privileged I am that my roots are grounded both in Australia and Denmark. But they do go a little bit deeper in Tasmania. There really isn’t a more special place to end what has been a unique, rewarding, moving, exciting, curious tour – state visit – to Australia from Denmark. It has been extremely touching for both Frederick and I to feel so much warmth and interest, so thank you for making our time here unforgettable.”

Veteran royal photographer Jesper Sunesen, who travelled with the Danish media pack, highlighted Hobart’s significance as a special stop on the tour. He described it as Mary “coming back home.” Sunesen, who has been documenting the Danish royals for 25 years and has captured many of Frederik and Mary’s most personal moments, told nine.com.au, “I’ve been following Queen Mary from the first day that we found out she was in love with the Danish Crown Prince. This has been a very good journey for many years and I hope that we’re going to see more over the coming years.”

The Danish public’s affection for Mary is well-documented. A poll conducted by Danish public broadcaster DR in December revealed Queen Mary held an approval rating of 85 per cent, closely following King Frederik at 87 per cent and his mother, Queen Margrethe II, at 88 per cent. “Of course, she’s very beautiful, but it’s also the way she interacts with all the people she meets,” Sunesen observed. “It gives us a lot of good pictures and got a lot of good moments. She has a very good personality and she’s very likable. That’s one of my main focuses [as a photographer] – how to capture the right moment and I think Mary is delivering that all the time.”

This state visit represented King Frederik and Queen Mary’s first official trip to Australia in 13 years, a significant departure from their more private family holidays. According to Danish protocol, a country can only host one state visit from a monarch during their reign. The last Danish state visit took place in 1987, during Queen Margrethe II’s reign.

“This tour was like no other I have experienced,” Rønde concluded. Having covered the royal couple extensively and accompanied them on numerous foreign tours, Rønde has witnessed subtle yet significant changes in Queen Mary since the transition of the throne. “A state visit can be rather stiff and formal, but this was relaxed, easy going, joyful and happy,” she noted. “At times I almost forgot it was a royal visit but saw it as a family reunion. At other times you could feel how emotional it was for the Queen.”

Rønde pointed to the official welcome ceremony in Canberra at Government House. “When the national anthems [of Denmark and Australia] were played, you could see her emotion – it was an example of the Queen in her birth country but representing her new home country. As the Queen later said, she has roots in both places. It was a special moment.”