Frederik & Mary celebrate 5th wedding anniversary

Today Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. Mary has been at the official opening of the 2nd Nordic Aphasia Conference as its patron at the University of Copenhagen. It may be a normal working day, but Mary appears to have decided a change is as good as a holiday by changing the colour of her hair. The anniversary will be celebrated quietly and privately according to court spokeswoman Lene Balleby. Mary thanked Frank Humle, head of Centre for Brain Damage, for his good wishes as she arrived at the conference and wouldn't be drawn by media questions as she left after attending a lecture. "Five happy years of marriage is gift enough" was all she would say, according to Billed Bladet (photo Jesper Sunesen/BilledBladet).

DRWs pre-wedding feature
DRWs Happy Anniversary wedding feature

B.T. 'Mary og Frede fejrer træbryllup' - Mary and Frede celebrate fifth wedding anniversary
May 14th 2009 | by Marianne Singer
It's a big day, but not so big that you can't also squeeze in a single task on the way.
Mary is a diligent Crown Princess and just as she did last year, she has an event to attend on her wedding anniversary.
The event is the official opening of 2nd Nordic Aphasia Conference at the University of Copenhagen.
But probably there is still time for some cosy togetherness with the family and a romantic momenτ with her husband during the day.
Last year the Crown Princess hurried home from her working visit to the UN in Geneva in time to be together with Frederik late in the evening [of their anniversary].
It is also a [significant] anniversary as a Crown Princess because this year it's the fifth wedding annivarsary that the royal pair celebrate.
It's a wedding annivarsary which isn't as well known as a copper, silver or golden anniversary, but it means that the couple have now lived side by side for five years.
At the same time Mary can also celebrate her five year jubilee as a Crown Princess, so in this way the date is an important red-letter day.
For both Frederik and Mary there have been huge shifts in their life in that period.
From May 14th 2004, when Mary said 'yes' to the Crown Prince, she has had to be prepared to live a public life with many commitments, the couple have become husband and wife, settled themselves in Chancellery House, and most especially, have had two children, Christian, 3, and Isabella, 2.
But while the couple often have enough to do with two small active toddlers and are [regularly] out on official tasks, they have also shown time and again that they are still a couple in love.
There are still are easy touches, amorous glances, attentive comments to each other and hand holding when the couple are out.
It isn't difficult to find photos of the Crown Prince Couple where they are in close touch with each other.
And Mary has often shown that Frederik is someone absolutely special for her, such as last year in May when she arranged Frederik's 40th birthday party in the Orangery at Fredensborg Palace, and the Crown Princess sang for her husband in front of all the guests.

The Sydney Morning Herald - a nod to some of the rubbish generated by someone peddling a book.
An editorial in Jyllands Posten criticised the author in question saying she is wrong has spent too long in Greece and lost touch with Denmark.

Billed Bladet's anniversary gallery - 29 photos from wedding to present
B.T.'s anniversary gallery - photos 1-8 are pre-wedding from 2002, 10-32 are engagement in October 2003 to present
Se og HØR gallery
News.com.au Mary and Frederik gallery
Zimbio gallery - 214 wedding photos!

Find lots of material on You Tube:
TV2 engagement interview
Sanne Salomonsen Rock'n' Royal 2004 - Welcome to Mary
Frederik & Mary wedding vows
The balcony scene
Frederik's speech to his bride
Frederik & Mary wedding waltz

Frederik's lost wedding ring

Various media sources in Denmark are reporting that Frederik lost his wedding ring during a coral reef dive in Key West, Florida, while there for a Farr 40 regatta last January. It was invaluable not only because it was his wedding ring, but also because it was made from the first nugget of gold mined in Greenland. Frederik is said to have offered a 'reward' of a trip to Copenhagen and Fredensborg for the diver who finds it. The tour guide has suggested it has been eaten by a barracuda as it seems they like shiny things. He expects the ring is only likely to appear on a dinner plate!

Politiken 'Kronprinsens vielsesring på havets bund' - The crown prince's wedding ring at the bottom of the sea
During a sea dive trip in the US Crown Prince Frederik has lost his wedding ring. The gold originates from the very first gold extracted by the Nalnuaq-mine in south Greenland. Crown Prince Frederik's wedding ring lies at the bottom of the sea off the North American coast, Se og Hør reports. The ring is somewhat priceless since it's made from the first gold ever extracted from the Nalnuaq mine in Nanortalik in Sydgrønland. It was personally delivered by the Greenlandic government member Jørgen Wæver Johansen to jeweller Flemming Hertz in Copenhagen and is the same as the ring created for Mary which Frederik put on Mary's finger in the Church of Our Lady on May 14th 2004.
The ring was lost in Florida during Frederik's trip for a regatta in January when he went diving at coral reefs in Key West. Down below at the bottom of the sea he realised that the ring had fallen off his finger.
According to the magazine's source, Frederik has offered a trip to Copenhagen with visits to Fredensborg to the diver who finds the ring. (Ritzau)

B.T. 'Frederik har tabt sin vielsesring'
Se og Hør (page content alert)
TV2 article 'Kronprinsen har tabt vielsesringen' (includes 01:52 news clip)
TV 2 wedding gallery

Captain's Corner Dive Center - the dive company Frederik used.

DR1 update (00:31)

It would seem that from this recent photo taken in Verbier after the loss of the ring in January, that Frederik is now wearing a replacement ring:

Happy anniversary Mary & Frederik!

Today is the third wedding anniversary for Mary and Frederik, so happy anniversary to them! To see our anniversary post with more wedding photos last year, click here.

Happy wedding anniversary Mary and Frederik!

The wedding of Crown Prince Frederik and Mary Donalsdson on May 14, 2004 was the culmination of the romance which began for them following a chance meeting in a Sydney bar during the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Although Frederik has said in a speech that Mary was not subjected to the 'pea test' of Hans Christian Andersen's story The Princess and the Pea, Mary no doubt did 'pass' all sorts of tiny tests of her ability to be not only his wife, but also the crown princess of a nation.

The countdown for the wedding began long before May 14 with Court Chamberlain Ove Ullerup leading the team which prepared for the big event with military precision. Vor Frue Kirke (Church of Our Lady/Copenhagen Cathedral) in the centre of the old Copenhagen was chosen for the wedding, indicating some new royal traditions were in the wind.

'Fairytale' wedding

The metereologists predicted bad weather in Copenhagen on Friday May 14, but the dry weather held and later that day the sun even appeared by the time Mary and Frederik began an open carriage ride. The police had closed streets so they were free for the people and for the royal vehicles transporting guests back and forth between Amalienborg and Copenhagen Cathedral.

There was a real party mood in the city of Copenhagen as people arrived early in the morning to get a good vantage point to see the festivities. This great big party seemed more than just a wedding as Denmark's Crown Prince married the young woman from Tasmania, Australia. Just like the day of Frederik's and Mary's engagement, the people had a mixture of Danish and Australian flags which seemed to show this was also a kind of 'marriage' between two countries as well as two people.

Politicians and representatives of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, also from Australia, royalty from all over Europe and family and friends of the couple began arriving and smiling briefly before entering the church.

The groom arrived with his brother Prince Joachim and stood for what seemed a very long half-hour waiting for royal guests, including his mother Queen Margrethe and father Prince Henrik. As he waited, Frederik seemed to finally show emotions which had been kept in check for so long to the point where he even used his handkerchief! The tension was palpable in the final minutes as he waited for Mary's arrival. The music added to the drama and intimacy of the service. After the arrival of the Queen and Prince Henrik the pealing of the church bells announced Mary's arrival but on the other side of the closed doors of the cathedral. The notes of Händel's 'Zadok the Priest' struck up, the great doors were thrown open and Mary, her father John Donaldson and her bridal party made their entrance and walked down the aisle.



When the bride reached the alter Frederik took her hand, kissed her cheek and whispered something in her ear. They exchanged smiles, an intimate glance, they settled themselves before the altar and they were ready.

The ceremony was somehow intimate and personal despite being before all those in the church and a huge television audience throughout Denmark and in Australia.



Mary was composed throughout the ceremony although she and her sisters were affected by the hymn 'Eternal Father' included in the service for her mother. Mary had her mother's wedding ring stitched into the bodice of her wedding dress next to her heart. Frederik seemed more and more relaxed as the ceremony went on. He was a happy looking man as they kissed before walking back down the aisle as husband and wife, then walking through the honour guard together and getting into a horse-drawn coach for an open carriage ride through the streets of Copenhagen and back to Amalienborg.



The carriage ride wound through the narrow streets of Copenhagen with lots of smiling and waving before arrival at Amalienborg. There was fun in the air as seemingly everyone joined in waving at Frederik and Mary and they waved back. Another enduring image is the fantasy-play-day of many little girls dressed as princesses-for-the-day.



When Frederik and Mary reached Amalienborg they made their way upstairs to appear on the balcony for what is quaintly known as 'the balcony scene'. Again, there was more enthusiastic flag waving and many happy kisses between Mary and Frederik, categorically confirming their togetherness at last.



After the balcony scene and official wedding photos at Amalienborg, Mary and Frederik left Copenhagen by car to drive north to Fredensborg for the reception. Frederik and Mary jumped out of the car in the town of Fredensborg for a second carriage ride through the town and then to their arrival at palace to be greeted and kissed by the Queen, Princess Benedikte, Queen Anne-Marie and the rest of the family. Frederik continued to show his softer side at the gala party at Fredensborg Slot when he made a very personal speech to her, when he said "…This moment it’s 'us two', new together, innocent together, in love together. You give me calm and happiness. I love you, Mary" and it was finally Mary’s turn to shed some tears.



They danced the traditional wedding waltz before midnight as custom dictates and then partied before departing for their honeymoon around 2am. Prince Joachim led the effort to decorate the car. The destination of the honeymoon is still a secret. When questioned Frederik answered that it was a place "in the tropic of Cancer", a wonderful place, where he and Mary might return someday, and so he had no intention to disclose it.

It had been a great day with, um, well, love in the air in times when that is not a very common experience. Here's to many happy years for Frederik and Mary.





Lots of links:
Official wedding information
Denmark.dk 'Crown Prince & Crown Princess Mary'
Denmark.dk 'Focus on Crown Prince & Crown Princess' - follow the links to the various items on the left
Denmark.dk 'The Royal Wedding'
Uffe Frank designer of the wedding dress
Music for the Royal Wedding in Copenhagen Cathedral
Didgeridoo Orchestra at Denmark's Royal Wedding
Prince Henrik's speech at the reception
Queen Margrethe's speech at the reception
Pandora Collection, the National Library of Australia's online wedding archive
The Copenhagen Post 'Royal couple reveals romantic secrets' (a report based on the ABC TV Enough Rope/Andrew Denton program)
Hello! magazine online wedding stories
Frederik and Mary commemorative stamps
BBC photo gallery
Australian Prime Minister's congratulations
Russia's Pravda wedding report
The Sydney Morning Herald 'Homegrown royal new jewel in the crown'
The Sydney Morning Herald 'All tears and kisses for our Mary Glucksborg' (Actually a deceptive headline, Mary doesn't have a surname, the Royal House has a name but that is not a surname for the family. Mary is Crown Princess Mary Elizabeth of Denmark.)
The Sydney Morning Herald 'The dashing prince and the girl next door'
The Sydney Morning Herald 'Millions around the world tune in for live coverage'
The Sydney Morning Herald 'Mary leads the wave'
The Sydney Morning Herald 'So beautiful in satin and lace'
SMH photo gallery
NRK.no online Norwegian multimedia - click on 'Galleri' to see photo galleries
NRK.no/DR1 wedding coverage you can follow the links here under the picture of Frederik and Mary and watch the wedding. It is from DR1/Danish public broadcaster and has Danish commentary. After clicking on the link, click on 'Klik her for å åpne NRK Nett-TV' ( a fast connection will help)
American in Denmark: Moron Abroad a funny account of the wedding day