Birthday of Queen Mary of Denmark Date in the current year: February 5, 2024

Queen Mary of Denmark was born Mary Elizabeth Donaldson on February 5, 1972 to Scottish-Australian mathematician and professor John Dalgleish Donaldson and Henrietta Donaldson (née Horne). She was raised in Hobart and studied commerce and law at the University of Tasmania, where both of her parents worked. After graduating in 1995, she moved to Melbourne to work in advertising.

Mary met Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark at a Sydney bar after the 2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. The prince was at the bar with his brother Prince Joachim, Felipe, Prince of Asturias (future King Felipe VI of Spain), Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, and Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark, and Mary was with her roommate Andrew Miles, whose sister knew Felipe.

Mary and Frederik shared an immediate connection and exchanged phone numbers. When Frederik returned to Denmark, they started a long-distance relationship that they kept secret so that Mary could remain out of the spotlight. A Danish magazine identified Frederik’s girlfriend as Mary Donaldson in November 2001, and Frederik officially confirmed their relationship by January 2002. After that, the couple continued to keep their relationship low-profile.

Mary moved to Denmark later that year, where she began working for Microsoft and studying Danish. Queen Margrethe II gave her consent to the marriage of Frederick and Mary at the State Council Meeting on October 8, 2003, and the couple became officially engaged.

Crown Prince Frederik married Mary Donaldson on May 14, 2004. The Danish parliament passed a special law giving her Danish citizenship upon her marriage. Mary also had to convert to the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Denmark. The couple have four children together: Crown Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent, and Princess Josephine. Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent are twins.

In 2008, Queen Margrethe II granted the title Count of Monpezat to her two sons, Frederik and Joachim, and Mary became known as Countess of Monpezat. In 2019, the queen appointed Crown Princess Mary as a rigsforstander (regent ad interim), allowing her to act as regent when the monarch is abroad.

Queen Margrethe II announced her abdication from the throne during her annual New Year’s Eve address on December 31, 2023. Her abdication took place on January 14, 2024, and Frederik ascended to the throne as Frederik X. Thus Mary became Queen consort of Denmark.

Mary’s birthday was a designated as a flag-flying day when she married Crown Prince Frederick, and of course continued to be a flag-flying day when she became Queen. Other flag-flying days commemorating the royals’ birthdays include the birthdays of Princes Marie (Queen Mary’s sister-in-law), Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II, Princess Benedikte (Queen Margrethe’s sister), King Frederik, Prince Joachim, and Crown Prince Christian.