Mary, The Crown Princess of Denmark was Born in the Year of Queen Margrethe II's Accession to the Throne

The Crown Princess of Denmark turns 50 today, February 5, 2022. She was born Mary Elizabeth Donaldson to Scottish parents in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.

Her mother died in 1997 and her father remarried in 2001. She has three older siblings.

New official portraits releases by the Danish royal house on the occasion of her 50th birthday

Mary obtained a double degree in Commerce and Law at the University of Tasmania in 1995 and moved to Melbourne to work in Advertising. 

She met Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark in a pub in Sydney during the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics. Prince Frederick was with his brother, Prince Joachim, and cousins: Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark, Prince Felipe, now King Felipe VI of Spain, and Princess Martha Louise. They were introduced by her flatmate who was a friend of Prince Felipe.

In 2001 December she moved to France and taught English at a business school in Paris for two months before moving to Denmark for good.

Royal wedding on May 14, 2004

The Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark during their wedding

Upon arrival in Denmark, she studied Danish to learn the local language of her then boyfriend and endeared to the Danish people. By then her relationship with the future King of Denmark was already known to the public.

Mary's father wore Tartan and Kilt to honor his Scottish heritage

Interestingly, Mary was born less than a month of Queen Margrethe II's accession to the Danish throne on January 14, 1972.

Mary and Frederick got married on May 14, 2004 in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was escorted by her father, who wore a Scottish tartan and kilts to honor his Scottish heritage.

Prince Frederick, Princess Mary, and their four children

The Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark have four children together: Prince Christian (born in 2005), Princess Isabella (born in 2007) and the twins, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine (born in 2011).

Princess Mary accompanied by her twins visiting the Copenhagen Zoo

A number of events have been celebrated in Denmark to mark the occasion of Mary's 50th birthday. 

A section in Copenhagen Zoo was named "Mary's Australian Garden" in her honor to house the Australian native animals such as kangaroos and Tasmanian devils.

Princess Mary and Prince Frederick at the opening of "Mary and the Crown Peincesses" exhibit

Mary and The Crown Princesses exhibition gallery was also launched to showcase memorabilia, jewelry and artifacts belonging to the previous Crown Princesses who eventually became Queen Consorts (Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, Lovisa of Sweden, Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Ingrid of Sweden).

When the time comes for Prince Frederick to inherit the Danish throne as King Frederick X, she will be known as Queen Mary, the first non-aristocratic commoner to become a Danish Queen Consort.

It's also very interesting to note that no Danish prince ever married a Danish. All of them took foreign brides.