Summary of article in Billed Bladet #44, 2011.
Royale superstjerner - Royal superstars
Written by Marianne Singer.
- And kindly requested by American Dane
The article basically compare K&W and M&F, using fact sheets in order to see how much they resemble each other.
Mary is about 172 cm high = 5'8'', Kate is about 178 cm = 5'10''.
Physical activity:
Mary is an accomplished rider, she runs, play tennis, swim and she has played golf for many years.
Kate plays tennis, swim and sail. She played hockey in school and she was a high jumper. (You know, trying to leap over a horizontal bar placed at an unreasonble height, discouraging those who are gravity challenged).
William used to play rugby and hockey. He has been skiing since early childhood, he plays water polo in addition to playing polo and soccer.
Frederik has run several marathons, rides horses, ride mountain bikes, ski and he is an accomplished sailor.
Military background:
William is currently a SAR = search and rescue pilot, flying a helicopter.
Frederik served in the navy special forces.
(In addition to that Mary is a lieutenant in the Home Guard).
Education:
Both Frederik and William went to university.
Frederik studied political science.
William studied geography.
Mary too went to university,where she got a bachelor in commerce and law and she has studied marketing.
Kate studied art history at St. Andrews.
Jobs:
Mary worked in the advertizing company DDB Needham and also in Young and Rubicam. In the pre-engagement period in DK, she worked as project consultant for Microsoft Business Solutions.
Kate worked in her parent's company Party Pieces and she was a purchaser for Jigsaw Junior.
Children:
Both Mary and Kate are known to be good with children.
Mary in connection with her work in the Mary Foundation focus a lot of her work there on children. Including introducing the Australian Free From Bullying concept to Denmark.
Kate displayed her fondness for children recently at a cancer ward for children in Canada.
(I will add that Frederik has a fantastic rapport with children, easily surpassing both Kate and Mary IMO. He just walks up to them and they like him instantly. A rare and precious gift. - Eating live spiders to impress children also helps....).
The work UNICEF is doing at the Horn of Africa/East Africa:
Kate and William have friends who live in the area.
William has visited projects several times in that area.
Mary recently went to a refugee camp on the border to Somalia.
Frederik recently stayed for a few days in a remote village in Mozambique.
Family:
Kate has two siblings, both her parents live. Her family has been praised for their pleasant and unpretentious behaviour.
Mary comes from a close knit family, she has three siblings, all living in Australia.
Mary's mother died in 1997 when Mary was 25.
William lost his mother at a very young age that same year.
Clothes:
Both Mary and Kate have been hailed as style-icons.
Both are known to dress in femine, elegant and smashing dresses, which look good on their tall, slim frames.
Kate has been critizised for her heavy make-up and unoriginal style.
Kate has dressed in clothes from Whistles and Reiss, Alexander McQueen, Jenny Packham and Diane von Fürstenberg.
Mary prefer Prada, Hugo Boss, Matthew Williamson, By Malene Birger and Heartmade. And she has been seen wearing clothes from H&M.
Know each other:
This was the first time the two couples met in Denmark.
Frederik and William were both godparents for Prince Konstantin Alexios.
They've also met at Prince Charles's 60th birthday.
- Kate is of course in the disadvantage here. She is about to establish her role and interests and put her mark on things.
Mary has seven years of experience under her belt.