Frederik and Mary's Introduction and Courtship

Rebecky · #1 01-20-2006, 06:11 PM

Hi

I have been looking for a while for information and pictures on Princess Mary before she became engaged. When the Danish Press first became aware of her. I have not been able to find much which has made me even more curious. Then again i am most probably not looking in the right places!

Is anyone able to help me?

norwegianne · #2 01-20-2006, 06:33 PM

It was actually a reporter who first became aware of it, by a slip in the royal calendar. She wondered why Joachim was being regent when the Queen was out of the country, and nobody would give her a reasonable explanation as to where Frederik was. (Turned out he'd left for Australia and a visit with Mary.)

That was the first time the Danish press found out about Mary.

Warren · #3 01-21-2006, 05:25 AM

I knew I was keeping these clippings for a reason! The very first mention in the Sydney press of something going on was 22 April 2001 when one of the newspaper gossip columns published a scoop. Here are the opening paragraphs (Sydney Sun Herald):

"An Australian woman as the future Queen of Denmark? Not so far-fetched. The Diary can reveal an Australian has stolen the heart of Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik.

The 32-year-old heir to the Danish throne has made four trips to Australia since meeting the woman on a visit to Sydney last year to attend the Olympic Games. And now the Danish press is buzzing with talk of the woman, who is going to remarkable lengths to protect her privacy.

The 30-something woman works in the legal profession and is said to be extremely attractive."

sm1939 · #4 01-25-2006, 10:45 AM

its all rather funny now looking back on these clippings , knowing the out come ! eheh

Warren · #5 01-25-2006, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sm1939

its all rather funny now looking back on these clippings , knowing the out come ! eheh

If he had married someone else these clippings would be in the bin! :)

sm1939 · #6 01-25-2006, 11:24 AM

Lucky for us you didnt get rid of them

ysbel · #7 01-25-2006, 11:29 AM

What I find interesting is how the Australian press found out about Mary.

They couldn't understand why the Danish press were descending en masse on Australia to check out an attractive but very normal looking real estate agent.

It was only later that they found out who she was dating. :)

Warren · #8 01-25-2006, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ysbel

What I find interesting is how the Australian press found out about Mary.

But note the first story that appeared here was not quite accurate... they have her working in "the legal profession". So at that stage things were very shadowy, and if the Danish Press knew who Mary was, they weren't giving everything away to their Australian counterparts.

The first mention of Mary's name that I have is an "exclusive" in The Australian newspaper dated 16 November 2001 (which they didn't share with their News Corp stablemates). The other papers followed up the story the next day, and life for Mary Donaldson changed forever.

ysbel · #9 01-25-2006, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Warren

But note the first story that appeared here was not quite accurate... they have her working in "the legal profession". So at that stage things were very shadowy, and if the Danish Press knew who Mary was, they weren't giving everything away to their Australian counterparts.

The first mention of Mary's name that I have is an "exclusive" in The Australian newspaper dated 16 November 2001 (which they didn't share with their News Corp stablemates). The other papers followed up the story the next day, and life for Mary Donaldson changed forever.

You're right, Warren!

I imagine even the Danish press was fishing a bit in the dark when they first landed in Ozland. All they knew at first was that Fred was off to Australia when he should have been in Denmark. I don't think Danish reporters had much local knowledge of how to get the real scoop in Tasmania.

So I imagine they must have run down some dead ends before getting the real scoop. But a bunch of foreign reporters asking questions about a local girl would have been enough to get the Aussie press interested even if the foreigners didn't know exactly what they were looking for.

MaximaRocks · #10 02-01-2006, 05:38 PM

This is the first pic I recall seeing of Mary.
http://www.hola.com/2001/11/17/feder...imgs/din5b.jpg

Warren · #11 02-02-2006, 03:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaximaRocks

This is the first pic I recall seeing of Mary.

This is also the pic that was first published in the Australian papers. The photographer must have received lots of royalties for this snap! :)

Yennie · #12 02-02-2006, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaximaRocks

This is the first pic I recall seeing of Mary.
http://www.hola.com/2001/11/17/feder...imgs/din5b.jpg

poor Mary.. not a very flattering photo :)

Royal Fan · #13 02-02-2006, 11:35 AM

lol she looks Beautiful even when schoked :)

Lasse Pedersen · #14 02-03-2006, 07:57 AM

The Danish reporter who first found out who Mary was Anna Johannesen of Billed Bladet. According to HRH Crown Princess Mary, Anna Johannesen approached Mary Donaldson in front of her workplace, looking like a tourist wanting directions, so Mary asked: "Can I help you?". Anna Johannesen replied: "We know that you are the Crown Prince's girlfriend". Anna Johannesen then said: "Can we have a photo". Mary, who was startled by the sudden unveiling of her identity, politely replied: "No thank you, sorry". Then she walked away, feeling quite uncomfortable as the photo taken by the hidden photographer, and posted here by MaximaRocks, clearly shows.

/Lasse Pedersen

**Zonk** · #15 02-03-2006, 10:17 AM

That's pretty rude! But before anyone says it.......if you are going to date someone famous you got to expect that.

Jamerican · #16 02-03-2006, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zonk1189

That's pretty rude! But before anyone says it.......if you are going to date someone famous you got to expect that.

Yeah, that's true, but it must still be a shock to the system the first time that flashbulb blows in your face. I think it can be fasinating to have so many people interested in you, but extremely scary at the same time. Mary went through that period like a trooper, though. She handled it well. Nuff respect.

evelynh · #17 04-06-2006, 12:49 PM

Here is a Mary-fansite who has some photos of her before her engagement.

http://mary3689.tripod.com/id1.html

I read somewhere that the Danish press first posted a photo of an Australian who competed in the Olympics saying she was Frederiks girlfriend.

ingenue · #18 05-18-2006, 04:14 PM

Mary is amazing. She looks so polished and regal now as a crown princess! She was pretty before, but wow nothing compared to now. I really admire her transformation. It's like she was born into this role.

Harold · #19 12-03-2007, 10:13 PM

If I understand correctly, Frederik and Mary met in Sydney during the Olympics. And if I understand correctly further they met in a bar! So, how did it come to pass? Have they talked about it? I picture him with his Danish friends drinking beer and seeing Mary and then saying hello. Then, my question really begins. At some point she has to say something like "so what do you do?" Did he say I'm the crown price of Denmark or did he demur and say something like "I work for the government?"

GlitteringTiaras · #20 12-03-2007, 10:57 PM

The Crown Prince couple met through friends, specifically through Beatrice Tarnawski who was (and/or still is) friends with King Juan Carlo's nephew, Bruno Gomez-Acebo.

Beatrice called her friend Andrew Miles and asked him to bring some friends with him to a bar where Bruno and his friends were going to met her. The reason for her doing this: so there would be more people within their party besides her and Bruno's friends. Those friends include Joachim, Frederik, Martha Louise of Norway, and Nikoloas of Greece. Andrew brought Mary, who decided at the last minute to go with him. I believe there were a couple of more people, but I am not sure who they were exactly.

Apparently, Mary was seated next to Frederik and Joachim the night they met at the Slip Inn. He simply introduced himself as Fred. As time went on, they all ate pizza, drank beer, danced as more and more friends arrived. It wasn't until sometime later (that evening) that someone informed Mary who Bruno's friends were rather their status. Essentially, she had no idea. As the night progressed the two started talking. After a few round of drinks the party moved on over to a club called the Establishment. On the way there Mary and Fred were in a deep conversation that "...never stopped..." since the day they met.

Finally, they have talked about how they met many times before.