Today's Princess: Mary Donaldson

By Frankie Fouganthin via Wikimedia Commons

Say what you want about Lady Diana Spencer, she was not actually a Cinderella bride. The true Cinderellas did not come about until this century when a single mum, a girl from Argentina, a television journalist, and a lass from Australia became the future queens of Europe. There is no way that Professor John Donaldson of the University of Tasmania and his executive assistant wife imagined a royal future for their youngest child when they gave her the very regal name of Mary Elizabeth; those just happened to be the names of her Scottish grandmothers.

Mary Donaldson (1972- ) spent part of her early childhood in Texas, while her father was working there. The family soon returned to Australia, having immigrated from Scotland shortly after her parents' 1963 wedding. Mary went on to university and graduate studies, before launching a career in marketing. She held positions through a progression of firms. After her mother's death, she took a break and traveled to the United States and Europe, working briefly on a contract in her parents' native Scotland.

Upon returning home, it was not long before she met Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark at a party while he was attending the Sydney Olympics in 2000. The two began a secret romance with many transoceanic phone calls, emails and visits. By 2002, Mary moved to Paris to be closer to him and then moved to Denmark. The following year their engagement was announced and they were married in May 2004.

In fairly quick succession, they had a son and a daughter, Christian and Isabella. Then, they rounded out their family with the birth of twins Vincent and Josephine in 2011.

Mary has become a style icon around the world, and is especially popular in Denmark and in her homeland, to which she pays frequent official and private visits. She is a patron of many causes and organizations including those devoted to anti-bullying, health, sciences and sport.

More about Mary:
Official Biography on Kongehuset.dk
The Crown Princess on Denmark's Official Website

Blogs about Mary: (not all are favorable)

Crown Princess Mary 
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
Frederik et Mary de Danemark (French)
Frederik Loves Mary
Ksieznamary (Polish)
Mary from the Start
Princess Mary of Denmark
Style of Mary
Unofficial Crown Princess Mary Message Board

Books and Other Media about Mary: