‘Mary is mine and I am hers’: What tearful King Frederik of Denmark said 20 years ago today when he married his Australian queen

With tears in his eyes at the altar, Frederik, the future King of Denmark, vowed: ‘From today, Mary is mine and I am hers. I love her, and I will protect her with all my love.’

It has been 20 years since that heartwarming moment at Copenhagen Cathedral, when the people of Denmark rejoiced as the royal couple tied the knot.

But King Frederik and Queen Mary’s ‘fairytale romance’ has since been under the microscope.

Last Autumn, the king enjoyed a night out with Mexican socialite Genoveva Casanova in Madrid, sparking global rumours of an affair that were immediately denied. 

Frederik and Mary’s decision not to celebrate their anniversary – but to instead embark on a royal tour of Norway – has raised eyebrows across Denmark. 

Despite their decision to work through their special day, we’re looking back at the couple’s luxurious wedding.  

First meeting

Frederik and Australian-born Mary Donaldson first met at a pub in Sydney called The Slip Inn during the 2000 Olympics.

Speaking about meeting her future husband, Mary revealed: ‘The first time we met we shook hands. 

‘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?'”

The pair maintained a long-distance relationship for a year before Mary, formerly an advertising executive, moved to Denmark to study Danish at Copenhagen’s Studieskolen in 2001.

Engagement 

Two years later the couple announced their engagement at Fredonsberg Castle, and Mary immediately endeared herself to the public by speaking their language.

Her engagement ring featured an emerald-cut diamond set between two ruby stones. 

Frederik chose it due to its resemblance to the Danish flag. 

After the birth of their twins Vincent and Josephine in 2011, Mary had two more diamonds added to either side of the ring.

The wedding 

Mary and Frederik were married at Copenhagen Cathedral on May 14, 2004.

The then 32-year-old bride wore a sleeved satin gown by Danish designer Uffe Frank.

Her skirt was lined with 100feet of tulle and featured alternating lace panels followed by a 20-foot train.

Mary’s veil was originally worn in 1905 by Princess Margareta of Sweden, who also married into the Danish royal family.

The heirloom was later worn by Mary’s mother-in-law Queen Margrethe II, making Mary the first non-royal bride to wear it.

The veil was pinned to a diamond tiara gifted to her for the wedding from her new parents-in-law and featured five large peaks with smaller diamond prongs in between.

In 2011, the stunning tiara was adapted by jeweller Marianne Dulong so the tips could be swapped for pearls.

Dulong also designed Mary’s earrings for the big day. They featured antique diamonds surrounding large pearls from the South Sea.

The bride arrived with her father John Donaldson. As he is of Scottish descent, he wore a kilt to walk his daughter down the aisle.

In a nod to her heritage, Mary carried a bouquet of Australian snow gum eucalyptus interspersed with blooms from the garden at Fredensborg Palace.

After the wedding, the bouquet was laid on the grave of her late mother, Henrietta, who died from complications following a heart surgery in 1997 when Mary was just 25.

In honour of her late mother, Mary had Henrietta’s wedding ring stitched inside the lining of her wedding dress’s bodice, close to her heart.

As the cameras turned to her husband-to-be, Frederik’s eyes were filled with tears as he watched his bride walk down the aisle.

By his side was his grinning brother Prince Joachim who handed him a tissue.

Frederik wore his Danish Navy uniform complete with a series of medals.

The bride also became emotional during the ceremony, which was conducted by the Bishop of Copenhagen, Erik Norman Svendsen. 

Royalty from across the world were in attendance at the hour-long service, including Felipe and Letizia, the future King and Queen of Spain, as well as Britain’s Prince Edward and Sophie, then the Countess of Wessex.

Mary’s sisters, Patricia Bailey and Jane Alison, served as her bridesmaids alongside her friend Amber Petty.

The women wore pink and red  to match the flowers used as decoration within the cathedral and their hair was slicked back into elegant buns.

As the couple emerged from Copenhagen Cathedral they were met with cheers from the crowd and a group of marine officers armed with swords who saluted them.

The newly-weds left the ceremony together in a horse-drawn carriage which drove them through the city to Amalienborg Palace where they made their first appearance on the balcony as husband and wife.

They were joined by Frederik’s parents, Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik, as well as Mary’s father John.

The reception

The royal reception was held inside Fredensborg Palace. It was shellfish for starters, roast venison with white Danish asparagus and Bornholm chicken for the main course and white chocolate delice for dessert. 

At the dinner, Prince Frederik gave a toast to his new bride and said: ‘I had only been in Australia two days before our fates were sealed, even though neither of us was aware of it. 

‘But your radiance shone clearly for me from our very first meeting.

‘Since then I have been blinded by it and totally dependent on it.’

He continued: ‘The joy and the strength you give me is like the sun in the daytime which, with its radiance, melts all doubts and darkness on earth.

‘And like the moon at night, you shine with a watchful and delicate beam of gentleness, which extinguishes the mischief and deceit used by the symbols of darkness.’