Prince Frederik & Princess Mary's Official Visit to Australia: Feb. 27-March 11, 2005

[Alexandria]

Thanks everyone for the great pictures.

I especially loved the blue retro-print dress Mary wore to the children's hospital. The colour was so vibrant and great with Mary's hair colour and complexion. A very fun dress and a very colourful choice for a visit with kids.

[ap3]

I like the comparison between the pink dress in 2002 and now 2005: the dress was clearly snugger around her waist and I thought a better fit in 2002. Now it looks like the dress is a little too loose on her. Though still a lovely color and cut. I love her pink dress, but the jewellry look like cheap plastic beads (I'm sure they're not) and may be adding too much color to an already coloful outfit.

I liked the retroprint dress too - good colors, lovely fit. Dont love the sweater, and I think her hair is pulled back a little too tight. Overall very nice.

[MoonlightRhapsody]

Originally Posted by pdas1201

Mary wore the same dress for her friend's wedding in 2002.

I love the pink dress, but I think it looked better on her when she wore it in 2002. Maybe it's because she had a little bit more weight that year.

[bolla]

I thought she looked much better with the dress in 2002. She just looked so fresh and healthy. Now she is getting her make-up and hair done preofessionally everytime and she does look lovely but perhaps a bit "stiffer" and not as natural as in 2002.

[Genevieve]

Mary sure got a lot of new outfits for this trip. Is it just me or does Mary's wardrobe seem to be bigger than the wardrobe of other Crown Princesses? Her wardrobe seems a bit excessive. In Spain you have Letizia wearing outfits three or four times while Mary has worn, with the exception of the pink evening dress, a new outfit for every occasion private and public that she has attended.

[Jasl]

Yep, I think she has a bigger wardrobe than the other CPss. But as we all know, some designers also send her stuff for free, especially as she's the patron of several Danish fashion organisations.

And also, Mary's the Queen of mix-n-mathing! I love it... she doesn't wear the exact same outfit from head to toe, she changes it all the time. And that is how it should be IMO. Because I don't think Mary's budget is bigger than the other princesses (I think she gets $150,000 or something doesn't she?), she just has to be smart about it (and I think she gets lots of stuff for free).

I can't find a thread here devoted to Mary's recycling (lol, re-using outfits), and until then, you can check these out: http://crownprincessmary.ipbhost.com...p?showtopic=93 , http://crownprincessmary.ipbhost.com...showtopic=1082 .

[Larzen]

http://pub.tv2.no/nettavisen/side2/k...&slide=0#slide

Big pictures from the trip without watermark

I hate how she accessorised her pink dress, the necklace is outright ugly and I do not understand the purpel purse, she looked so much better and put together in the red dress

She hasnt accually mixt and matched alot during this trip, she has used some shoes and purses before but with the exception of the pink dress and the beige cardigan all seems to be new clothes...

[Danielle]

Originally Posted by Larzen

I hate how she accessorised her pink dress, the necklace is outright ugly and I do not understand the purpel purse, she looked so much better and put together in the red dress

I hate the necklace as well. It would have looked much better with the dress she wore to the Children’s Hospital (if it had a V-neck). I think it looked very wrong with the pink dress.

[Genevieve]

Originally Posted by Jasl

Yep, I think she has a bigger wardrobe than the other CPss. But as we all know, some designers also send her stuff for free, especially as she's the patron of several Danish fashion organisations.

And also, Mary's the Queen of mix-n-mathing! I love it... she doesn't wear the exact same outfit from head to toe, she changes it all the time. And that is how it should be IMO. Because I don't think Mary's budget is bigger than the other princesses (I think she gets $150,000 or something doesn't she?), she just has to be smart about it (and I think she gets lots of stuff for free).

Is accepting free clothes from designers really ethical, even if you belong to fashion organizations? Since royals are supposed to be impartial and neutral on all things, what if one Danish fashion house sends Mary a dress that she wears but another fashion house cannot afford to send Mary a free dress to wear, then it would seem that they are being unfairly punished because Mary cannot endorse their clothing because they cannot send her free samples.

And why should Mary accept free clothes when she gets a budget of $150,000 annually? It would be one thing if fashion houses gave Mary a steep discount for her clothing, but to out and out accept free clothing seems quite biased and not the appropriate actions and behaviour for a royal. More like a celebrity who is given a dress by a fashion house to wear on the red carpet to the Oscars because the fashion house knows that without spending a single penny on advertsing, by an Oscar nominee wearing their clothes on the red carpet they will get tons of free press.

Originally Posted by Larzen

I hate how she accessorised her pink dress, the necklace is outright ugly and I do not understand the purpel purse, she looked so much better and put together in the red dress

The necklace and earrings was all too much with the pink dress. They didn't match very well. It made me think that she just took all the jewellery she had brought to Australia but hadn't worn yet and put it all own without looking in the mirror.

[Danielle]

Photos from Belga. Some of these are the same as others that have been posted. Sorry.

[Danielle]

some more ...

[bolla]

Originally Posted by Genevieve

Mary sure got a lot of new outfits for this trip. Is it just me or does Mary's wardrobe seem to be bigger than the wardrobe of other Crown Princesses? Her wardrobe seems a bit excessive. In Spain you have Letizia wearing outfits three or four times while Mary has worn, with the exception of the pink evening dress, a new outfit for every occasion private and public that she has attended.

I totally agree with you. I think she is definately the one with the biggest wardrobe. Mary is beautiful and has impecable taste and style, but there are more to being a crown princess than sporting the latest prada bags. I think it is good that she likes fashion but then again how wrong can you go when you have stylists and the newest collection from prada to selct from?

[Jasl]

Yes, of course there is more to being Crown Princess than looking good, but its even better if you can combine the two together! : )

And we can't deny it, Mary definitely combined the two together during this tour. Believe it or not, every single event she has attended has been charity-related or related to her position as a member of the DRF (I'm talking about the state dinner with the NSW Governor who's the representative of QEII in NSW). She has raised/ will raise around $2 million AUS dollars during this tour. So just dwell on that for a moment.... she will have raised more than the yearly allowance they receive from the Danish government, and its only March!

So apart from the yacht race, to my knowledge, she has not attended a soiree for the mere fun of it - all of the events she has gone to has been connected to raising money for charities. And this is why I have a hard time comprehending some of these criticisms... like hello, she's raising money here? Some of us might not care about young underprivileged women, research into heart diseases, cancer research etc, but fact is that she has helped these people in the most practical way possible, by raising money to help fund the programs that supports these causes.

But of course her "chicness" shines through (the newspapers here in Australia call her "Her Royal Chicness" ... lol) and she makes it look like one big party.

[Larzen]

Originally Posted by Jasl

She has raised/ will raise around $2 million AUS dollars during this tour. So just dwell on that for a moment.... she will have raised more than the yearly allowance they receive from the Danish government, and its only March!

Im a little confused about this number, shall I understand it like that if Mary had not attended theese charity balls there would have been raised 0$ ? Or is this two million dollars comming from arrangements that would not have been hosted if Frederik and Mary was no there, like the lunch? I mean the redcross and Victor Chang ball would surly have been a sucess and raised money without Marys attendance I suppose?

[norwegianne]

For those in Denmark: TV2 will send the interview Frederik and Mary did on Australian television on this Monday, 20:00.

Originally Posted by Larzen

Im a little confused about this number, shall I understand it like that if Mary had not attended theese charity balls there would have been raised 0$ ? Or is this two million dollars comming from arrangements that would not have been hosted if Frederik and Mary was no there, like the lunch? I mean the redcross and Victor Chang ball would surly have been a sucess and raised money without Marys attendance I suppose?

You can always pull some more people, or charge them a bit extra, if you have some "attraction" don't you know?

[Genevieve]

Originally Posted by Jasl

Yes, of course there is more to being Crown Princess than looking good, but its even better if you can combine the two together! : )

And we can't deny it, Mary definitely combined the two together during this tour.

That Mary looked looked good on this trip is a matter of opinon. Some people probably could deny that Mary looked good, like in the pink dress with all that non-matching jewellery and purple purse.

Originally Posted by Jasl

Believe it or not, every single event she has attended has been charity-related or related to her position as a member of the DRF (I'm talking about the state dinner with the NSW Governor who's the representative of QEII in NSW). She has raised/ will raise around $2 million AUS dollars during this tour. So just dwell on that for a moment.... she will have raised more than the yearly allowance they receive from the Danish government, and its only March!

Isn't that the point of a state visit though? The point of a state visit for any royal is to attend events and functions which promote relationships between your own nation and the hosting nation, or to represent charitable organizations. During Letizia's visits with Felipe to South America the couple have attended tons of events which better the relationship between Spain and Brazil/Mexico/Guatemala and the like. Mary's own sister in law Princess Alexandra has attended numerous countries as part of her Red Cross efforts like Bangladesh and India. During Phillippe and Mathilde's recent trip to China they also attended charitable events and functions that aided in economic and social relationships between Belgium and China.

What Mary has done on this trip is not the exception. It may be the exception for Mary to have attended so many events in so many days, but it isn't the exception for all royals.

I highly doubt that even with the draw of an Australian born girl turned Danish princess $2 million could not have been raised for the various charities Mary has attended. It may take them a few more months but Mary alone did not raise that money. Not unless she donated the $2 million herself.

Originally Posted by Jasl

So apart from the yacht race, to my knowledge, she has not attended a soiree for the mere fun of it - all of the events she has gone to has been connected to raising money for charities.

How about when Mary went shopping? Or how about the times when her best friend Amber Petty was hanging around, like that first full day in the pink floral top and skirt when she had a luncheon - or is it normal for royals to invite their best friends to accompany them on their royal duties now?

Your illustration of Mary having worked non stop during this trip is misleading. Yes she has worked a lot during her visit to Australia. Far more work than I've ever seen her do continuously while in Denmark. But her best friend and her sister Jane have also attended some of these events too. How often do we see Letizia or Mathilde's sisters or Maxima's brother attending royal events with them? Never.

Originally Posted by Jasl

But of course her "chicness" shines through (the newspapers here in Australia call her "Her Royal Chicness" ... lol) and she makes it look like one big party.

Again a subjective feeling that Mary's "chicness" shines through. And of course the Australian papers would dub her "Her Royal Chicness" - she's the first Australian born individual to marry into a royal family. Of course they would be proud of her. It would be much more interesting when the press from around the world also declare Mary this. A much better title to be dubbed would be "Her Royal Hard Worker."

And she makes it look like one big party because it is one big party for her. One big party where she gets to dress up in brand new gowns, dripping in jewels, and gets to have her best friend and family attend these events with her.

[Jasl]

As far as I'm aware, the balls were advertised as balls where F & M were going to be in attendance. For example, the Red Cross ball was called the "One Enchanted Evening ball" in recognition of, lol, the fairytale union, the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute ball was called "The Victor Chang Royal Ball",the dinner at Boomerang House for Cancer Research was advertised as a dinner to meet and greet the royals, and the HC Andersen dinner - well, judging by the fact that not every investiture of the HC Andersen amassadorship involves a fund raising dinner (even when members of the DRF goes overseas to do it, there's not always a dinner afterwards), I would have to say that that dinner was organised because F & M are here.

Of course these organisations probably had balls in previous years without F & M in attendance and raised money then, but I don't think they would have raised anywhere near as much as the F&M attended galas.

[Genevieve]

I've read about tons of balls and charity gala events where Frederik and Mary were not in sight and an excess of $2 million dollars has been raised.

In my city there was recently a tsuami relief ball recently that raised $2.5 million and you know what? Mary was not even on the continent.

While royals and celebrities can draw out the crowds to charitable events, it doesn't guarantee a lot of money will be raised or that money was donated because of the royals or celebrities in attendance. Likely, people would've given as much money as they could even if there wasn't the fame factor. That Frederik and Mary attended some of these events only means that there was a quality of glamour at these events.

[Alexandria]

I haven't seen much of Frederik on this trip -- at the yachting race, at one of the lunches and two of the gala evenings. What else has Frederik been up to while in Australia? It seems like it's been a whirlwind Mary tour?

[Jasl]

Originally Posted by Genevieve

I've read about tons of balls and charity gala events where Frederik and Mary were not in sight and an excess of $2 million dollars has been raised.

In my city there was recently a tsuami relief ball recently that raised $2.5 million and you know what? Mary was not even on the continent.

While royals and celebrities can draw out the crowds to charitable events, it doesn't guarantee a lot of money will be raised or that money was donated because of the royals or celebrities in attendance. Likely, people would've given as much money as they could even if there wasn't the fame factor. That Frederik and Mary attended some of these events only means that there was a quality of glamour at these events.

Of course a famous face doesn't guarantee an increase in the funds raised, but for the most part, the fame factor has a huge influence on how much we're willing to donate (and people better believe it, Fred and Mary are HUGE in Sydney). I'm not saying that we only donate when there's a celebrity, but I do believe we donate MORE if there is famous patron behind the organisation (this is the whole idea behind using famous people in advertisements isn't it? or are we now saying that famous people don't sell?). This is the reason that they have royals and celebrities as UN ambassadors etc.

But back to the main issue, my point is that most of the balls F & M have attended would not have been organised if it weren't for them being here (talking specifically about the Boomerang dinner, the HC Andersen dinner and to some extent the Royal Ball and the One Enchanted Evening gala, but I have to check exactly how much more was raised this year than previous years for the last two events... still downloading their anuual reports).

The reference to fundraising events in connection to the tsunami appeal is not relevant, especially since that was such an "in your face" disaster and many people that don't normally donate to charities donated for that (including me... you couldn't not donate when you see such devastation...). Australia raised THE MOST money per capita out of all the countries in the world (I think), and that was done without the help of F & M. So yes, of course that's do-able. But I'm saying that with most of the events they attended this week, those events would not have happened at all if it weren't for them (as I said, I will have to check with some because I beleive the amount raised just from their balls in previous years to this year is quite considerable).