Frederik and Mary's Pre-Wedding Festivities: May 2004


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
If I sounded tough on Mary I am sorry. As I stated earlier, I really thought she looked very lovely in her outfit on the balcony. The high-neck of the coat-dress really suits her and that is difficult to carry off. I did think her gown was glamorous but not my personal favorite. Overall, she had a beautiful day.
 
www.hellomagazine.com

FREDERICK AND MARY CELEBRATE THEIR ENGAGEMENT TOGETHER

9 OCTOBER 2003
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and his Australian fiancée Mary Donaldson have celebrated their engagement with a state dinner.

The couple were joined by both sets of parents for a banquet in the Royal Palace of Fredensborg, which was attended by the country's top politicians and dignitaries. And the bride-to-be impressed waiting journalists by answering their questions in Danish.

Earlier in the day the couple made their first public appearance together at Amalienberg Square in Copenhagen. Afterwards, the future princess admitted to being a little overwhelmed by the huge crowd who turned out to show their approval.

"Wow!" said the 31-year-old. "The sight looking out from the balcony was exciting. It was beautiful to see so many Australian flags. It was a nice feeling, a beautiful experience." And her handsome prince seemed equally delighted by the reception. "From today starts something new and fantastic," he said. "I'm so glad and happy, and today I feel like telling everybody how happy I am."

By getting engaged to Prince Frederik, Mary has become the first ever Australian to stand in line to become a European queen. The couple will be married at Copenhagen Cathedral on May 14.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thankyou for Julia for posting photo. :flower: This photo's Mary is so lovely.
 
Thanks to eternalstar and all of our posters for the wonderful pictures and articles! :)
 
I liked Mary's outfit on both occasions but I think the one she wore to the gala was very inappropriate for that particular occasion. She looked more like she was going to attend the Oscar's than a royal gala dinner at the palace. Plus her make up was a bit too pink especially the lipstick which clashed with the teal blue dress. Also from the pictures at the gala, it looks like the bottom strand of Mary's pearl necklace, the darker strand, is not real pearls. Before anyone complains to me about this, let me explain my reasons for saying this. I come from the Philippines where pearls are quite easily available both cultured and the very rare South Sea Pearls. For those interested in pearls, the Philippines is the place to go as you can find pearls everywhere, Vogue at one point even did an article about it and the Queen of Spain was even seen buying pearls, and this wasn't from a major jewelry store but from the flea market area where it is cheaper, on her last visit to the Philippines. The reason that I think the bottom row of Mary's necklace is fake is because I have seen very many pearls, I often go to the people who sell these pearls and semi precious stones as I make jewelry, and I have yet to come across a pearl that has the same coloring as that on Mary's necklace, cultured or South Sea. Real black pearls do not have that greenish hue to them and her pearls were not completely black they were almost a deep hunter green. That color is only achieved if the pearl is not a real pearl or if a cultured pearl is dyed to that certain color, which lowers the price of the pearl tremendously.

I was also a bit disappointed in the engagement ring that Fred gave to Mary. I was not expecting a 10 carat rock but something a bit bigger would have sufficed. The guy isn't a pauper and I'm sure he can definitely afford a bigger sing as all he would really have to do is to go into the jewelry of Queen Ingrid. I'm sure she had some bigger stones that he could have used. Maxima got a beautiful ring and it wasn't that big, judging from the pictures the entire ring was probably only 6 carats. The orange diamond on that ring was only 3 carats which from the pictures of Mary's ring seems to be the total carat size of Mary's ring. I, at the young age of 25, own two rings, which I purchased with my own money, by the way, which have bigger carat sizes than Mary's engagement ring. I think she should have gotten a bigger ring, I mean she's about to be married to the Crown Prince.

Her Danish skills also disappointed me quite a bit. If I remember correctly, Alexandra was able to understand and answer the journalists questions in Danish, it may not have been perfect Danish but it was Danish none the less. I know that Danish is one of the hardest languages to speak and that reading Danish is a lot easier. That for me does not give her the excuse of not being able to speak Danish quite well. She has been in the country now for 14 months as she has said herself, what has she done in that time to perfect her Danish? From what I heard yesterday nothing! Alexandra had it easier yeas as she knows German but Mary has been living and working in Denmark for quite some time now. You would think that when she realized that her relationship was serious with Frederik she would have begun to take Danish classes such as Maxima did, even before moving to Brussels. If I was a Dane, I would be completely ashamed and apalled that this woman was to be my future queen. After the triumph of Maxima's engagement, this one for me is a complete flop. I expected more out of Mary as I am sure many of you have. Well, let's just hope that by the time of their marriage next year her Danish is quite good that she will be able to answer reporters in Danish instead of switching to English. If not, then I hope Frederik snaps out of it and finds someone more suited to him. Someone who isn't only after the title and the jewelry and is actually interested in him and Denmark, its language, culture, history and so on and so forth. Something which Mary has to prove to the world other than that she got the goal she was aiming for, which is to be future queen of Denmark.
 
Thank you Just C. I still believe that Fredrik can do better and after the performance yesterday if someone new comes into the picture, someone with a CV and 'it' qualities a la Alexandra and Maxima and actually interested in Fredeik, the man and not the prince, as well as in learning about Denmark, its language, culture, history and etc. I think the press would change its tune on Mary and hopefully if this does happen Frederik will snap out of it and change his tune as well. As I firmly believe there are a lot better women who are more fit to fullfil the role other than Mary.
 
Poor Mary, I wonder why so many are so ready to attack her? I guess she looks fragile and so that makes her an easy target. I could see her going into permanent hiding as a crown princess if this keeps up.

The other 3 crown princesses (M's), Princess Alexandra, and Princess Caroline, (Diana too) all have a look of strength or a certain self-containment to protect themselves which is something Mary doesn't appear to have. I for one hope she can develop some of that inner confidence.

I thought her dinner dress had a Cleopatra look -- so what? Why not? It might even be a nice change of pace over the prom-dress looks worn by the other crown princesses at the time of their engagement. What would have been more "appropriate", a light pastel suitable for a 16 yr old?

I don't know what to say about the engagement ring and faux pearls, which I do agree were lacking in something. Maybe someone is trying to mock something? B)
 
What is Queen Margrethe wearing in her hair?
 
She's wearing the golden poppies. They're part of her jewlery collection.
 
Formal Portrait

Unknown Source

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Impressive list of guests! Wonderful banquet.

I liked the design of Mary's gown but I think she should have opted for a lighter color. I don't know but Mary loves dark colors. But I would respect her right of preference. I don't like that much the design of her hair. She should have had it lower. It looks like a bump on her head. But no offense, she was still gorgeous. With Prince Frederick looking more handsome every minute. Queen Margrethe also wore a nice gown.
But I loved Alexandra's gown for the event, the style is gorgeous and it makes her attractive to look. I also loved the style of her hair. Simple and elegantly done.

Could you pls. paste more pics of Alex? More closer picture.
 
I think Mary's not the cheerful type. She looks kind of frowning in the picture. look at Princess Alexandra very gorgeous..I really like her.
 
I think, perhaps, Mary was trying to come-off as dignified and instead it comes across as stiff or something.

Alexandra, as always, looks very charming.
 
Mary looks like she's been sucking on a lemon or is trying to impersonate her namesake Queen Mary. Also it looks like someone didn't let her in on the evening's dress code. I am willing to give the girl a break, Diana blew it in her first formal appearance. Alexandra is wonderful as usual. Mary has a tough act to follow.
 
To be honest, I really do not like the dress of either Mary or Alexandra. What has gone wrong with the world? :(
 
I think both Mary and Alexandra looked good!
Maybe Mary looked a little bit "stiff" but remember, she´s new to this game and Alexandra has been a princess for 8 years... I think Mary will losen up when she feels more secure in her role as a princess
 
I loved both Mary's outfits for the engagement announcement and the gala dinner. I think the asymmetrical style is modern and refreshing. She is young and she should be a little glamourous. Many of the Royals dress matronly and conservatively. My only hesistation was the colour of her lipstick - a little too pink, otherwise a very beautiful ensemble
 
I liked Mary's dress as well. I thought the cut was very nice and soft. It didn't show too much skin at all and the colour really suited her. In the fashion department I think she's doing better than Alex as her style is more modern (but I'm sure the age gap has sth to do with it, even though Alex looks MUCh younger than her 39 years). It's her orange-y make up she needs help with - ease up on the blush and don't apply it in such tight circles! You're a future CP not a clown.
 
I very much liked Marys outfits (both of them) on the engagement day. As for her jewelry at the gala, the pearls were probably a present on the engagement, either from the Queen or some other family member.
As for her and Alexandras danish, Alexandra didnøt speak danish at the pressconference at their engagement, she did a speach when they recieved their gift from the danish people, and it was witten out phonetichly, so she just had to pronounce the sounds correctly.
All in all, give Mary a chance, she'll get the hang of it.
 
Originally posted by mcq@Oct 9th, 2003 - 10:59 am

Her Danish skills also disappointed me quite a bit. If I remember correctly, Alexandra was able to understand and answer the journalists questions in Danish, it may not have been perfect Danish but it was Danish none the less. I know that Danish is one of the hardest languages to speak and that reading Danish is a lot easier. That for me does not give her the excuse of not being able to speak Danish quite well. She has been in the country now for 14 months as she has said herself, what has she done in that time to perfect her Danish? From what I heard yesterday nothing! Alexandra had it easier yeas as she knows German but Mary has been living and working in Denmark for quite some time now. You would think that when she realized that her relationship was serious with Frederik she would have begun to take Danish classes such as Maxima did, even before moving to Brussels. If I was a Dane, I would be completely ashamed and apalled that this woman was to be my future queen. After the triumph of Maxima's engagement, this one for me is a complete flop. I expected more out of Mary as I am sure many of you have. Well, let's just hope that by the time of their marriage next year her Danish is quite good that she will be able to answer reporters in Danish instead of switching to English.
Click to expand...
Learning another language for most adults is quite difficult. Some people do have a facility to learn another language and some people don't. That is why they say the best time to learn anothe language is when you are a child, especially below the age of 8. After a certain age, language is not natural it becomes something you have to memorize. SO give the girl a break and stop being so judgemental.
 
After hearing Alexandra's speech from 1995 it is obvious that she had still not mastered Danish and it sounded as if she was reading the speech for the first time. She has more than made up for it in the years since her first speech.
Mary will come along just as Alexandra did. Maxima seems to be the exception when referring to princesses. She seems to have a little more self confidence when it comes to practicing a language as was evident by the various interviews she was able to give in dutch.
I know there are danes on this board. Can anyone attest to the fact that danish is a difficult language to learn? And is it true that it is pronounced much differently than it is written?
 
At her engagement Maxima's Dutch was very fluent, but at the announcing of her pregnancy it was really bad, and difficult to understand what she meant!
 
Originally posted by Hannelore@Jan 9th, 2004 - 3:31 pm
At her engagement Maxima's Dutch was very fluent, but at the announcing of her pregnancy it was really bad, and difficult to understand what she meant!
Click to expand...
What dos that haf to with mary?
 
Mary and Frederik at the Rock 'n Royal concert.

www.jp.dk





 
Last edited by a moderator:
Originally posted by samitude@May 7th, 2004 - 2:29 pm

I wonder what happened here. Frederik's ears are red a
Click to expand...
Looks like he got some of that stuff that is on his shirt in the last photo on his ears!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom