In 2000, Princess Mary, then Mary Donaldson, was living in Sydney during the Olympic Games. One evening during the once-in-a-lifetime sporting event, the 28-year-old, Tasmanian-born advertising executive decided to go to a local bar, the Slip Inn, along with her roommate. Little did she know it would be the night that changed her life forever.
Crown Prince Frederik and his friend, the Prince of Asturias (now King Felipe of Spain), were headed there too. Mary’s roommate and the Spanish royal already knew each other, however, leading the two friendship groups to combine. The pair immediately hit it off, despite Mary not knowing who the Prince was at first. “The first time we met we shook hands,” she recalled to Australian comedian Andrew Denton in 2005 during an interview. “I didn’t know he was the Prince of Denmark. Half an hour later someone came up to me and said, ‘Do you know who these people are?’” Soon after, they exchanged numbers, and a long-distance relationship began.
Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark in Sydney, Australia, in 2013.Photo: Getty Images
The two kept their relationship under wraps for well over a year. Yet, in November 2001, a Danish tabloid reported that Frederik was dating an Australian named Mary Donaldson. At the time, the Danish royal family declined to comment. However, the rumor mill began to swirl incessantly—and three months later, they confirmed Mary and Frederik’s relationship. By early 2003, Mary had relocated to Copenhagen to work for a subsidiary of Microsoft. Come September, the palace formally announced their engagement.
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