The (Australian) Examiner
Mary rains on sister's parade
Sunday, 18 January 2004
PATRICIA Woods was denied the bride's limelight in Hobart yesterday as her sister Mary Donaldson and her fiance, Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik, unquestionably overshadowed her wedding day.
Ms Woods will have to learn to forgive her sister for putting her in the shade, since on May 14 Mary is due to marry Prince Frederik in Copenhagen.
Neither did the weather cooperate for Ms Woods's wedding to Scott Bailey as a blustery southerly developed early into a cold, showery day which left the media scrum wet, cold and miserable as it waited for a glimpse of the Prince and his bride-to-be.
Photographers and members of the public crowded the leafy street outside the wedding venue in Vantona Rd, Sandy Bay, while neighbours craned their necks for a glimpse, video recorders at the ready.
About 80 guests arrived early at the private residence for the wedding, details of which have remained secret.
The bride arrived in a white off-the-shoulder dress with shoestring straps and her hair in a bun.
Her bridesmaids wore gold copies of the bride's dress with the addition of embroidery applique.
Ms Donaldson wore a green knee-length skirt with a sheer shawl around the shoulders, while Prince Frederik wore a dark camel suit with blue shirt and gold and blue tie.
Earlier in the day the couple had ventured out to pay a quick visit to Hobart's Salamanca Market as the family prepared for the wedding.
The market walkabout was filmed by a Danish TV crew compiling a palace-sanctioned documentary, and the couple's every step was recorded by a determined phalanx of more then a dozen photographers and reporters.
The reception is believed to have been planned for Hobart's popular harbourside restaurant, Rockefellers, with a dinner later at Wrest Point Casino.
The couple, who met at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, are due to be married in Copenhagen on May 14.
The 31-year-old Ms Donaldson, a former Sydney real estate agent, will become Crown Princess Mary.
Prince Frederik, 35, is first in line to the throne, but his mother, Queen Margrethe, 63, has stated she has no plans to abdicate.