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Sunday Telegraph:
Unofficial duties for Mary
By SHARRI MARKSON
March 6, 2005
PRINCESS Mary may wear a crown, but when she escaped her official duties last week, she drank beer and hit the designer stores with her mates.
"She's still down to earth," said one male friend, who did not wish to be named.
The princess's closest friends have helped compile an exclusive diary of her "unofficial" week in Sydney, revealing her love of fashion, fine dining – and Tasmanian beer.
The secret life of Mary included outings to the exclusive nightclub Hemmesphere, dinners at Longrain and China Doll, a private party at Paddington and splurging on a $395 designer jacket.
"It has been incredibly hard for her to come back to her home country and do official things instead of catching up with friends and family," the friend said.
"She's looking happy to be back home, but things have changed since she was last here," he said. "She can't be so anonymous."
Multi-millionaire Sydney playboy Justin Hemmes hosted Prince Frederik and Princess Mary at his private club, Hemmesphere, on Tuesday.
"They were obviously enjoying themselves. They were there until around midnight," Mr Hemmes said.
The royal couple's love affair began during the Sydney Olympics at The Slip Inn, which is also owned by the Hemmes family.
"There were about 12 of them (at the club)," Mr Hemmes said. "They kicked back in casual clothes, but Mary still looked glamorous.
"Fred came earlier in the week with some friends, and then brought Mary back. They ate at Sushi-E and were enjoying the company of their friends. They were very polite."
Earlier that day, Princess Mary treated herself to some retail therapy, shopping in designer stores in Oxford St, Paddington.
She and her best friend and bridesmaid, Amber Petty, visited designer Akira Isogawa's store and Yipse Boutique after arriving in a silver Audi TT convertible.
Mary bought a $1980, cropped pink leather jacket by designer Rifat Ozbek's Pollini label from the Woollahra boutique Como.
She also paid $395 for a silk jacket from designer Leonie Levy's collection at Orson & Blake, in Queen St, Woollahra.
"She loved visiting her favourite shops without being recognised," one friend said. "She bought a couple of tops and a jacket."
Mary kicked up her heels at a discreet party for 30 of her closest friends at Ms Petty's Paddington home last Sunday night.
One close friend said she shared a few beers with her old mates.
"We had a few drinks," he said. "Aussie beers and a couple of James Boags might have been drunk. "Mary was fairly tired because she was a bit jet-lagged.
"No one really talked about life at the palace. "
Mary and Frederik also took time out to sample some of Sydney's best restaurants last week.
On Saturday night, the royal couple enjoyed Asian fusion cuisine with a small group of friends at Longrain, in Surry Hills.
"It was a really lovely dinner," one of her dining companions said.
The couple dropped by Woolloomooloo Wharf on Monday night and ate modern Asian food at dining hotspot China Doll.
On Wednesday night, they were entertained by outspoken radio personality Ray Hadley, who gained two new fans with his lively performance as auctioneer at a Red Cross fund-raising dinner.
"Frederik found Ray Hadley quite amusing," one friend said.
"They don't have auctions in Denmark, and he thought that was a nice variation. He thought it was funny. He laughed.
"But he loved Alex Lloyd the most. He's one of the prince's favourite performers."
While Frederik has spent much of his time sailing at the Farr 40 world championships, Mary has devoted every spare moment to catching up with her old friends.
Those in her inner circle said it had been difficult for the former real-estate agent to spend her first week back in Sydney attending official engagements.
"She's been caught by surprise by how much attention she has received," one friend said.
"For her first trip back, it's hard for her to be normal old Mary."
The royal couple hit Sydney's designer stores and a bookshop yesterday afternoon.
Frederik invested in a pair of blue Mambo boardshorts while Mary browsed in Idelwilde before the two of them spent 10 minutes in the Ariel bookshop.
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SYDNEY, NSW - MARCH 07: Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark unveil a Hans Christian Andersen bust on March 7, 2005 at Observatory Hill in Sydney, Australia. Princess Mary was appointed an honorary Hans Christian Andersen ambassador by Prince Frederik today, the bicentenary of Andersen's birth.
Five more from the announcement of the Australian Hans Christian Andersen Ambassadors at the Sydney Opera House from Reuters:
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Canberra Times
Exposure may help tourism industry
By Patrick Baggoley
Monday, 7 March 2005
School groups, tourism operators and staff are gearing up for Canberra to be thrust into the national and international spotlight tomorrow as Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark arrive in the national capital for a two-day visit.
The media's interest in the couple has been strong throughout their Australian tour and is bound to follow them to Canberra.
A 20-member media crew from Denmark is also following the royal pair, beaming images of Australia back to their home country.
While in Canberra, Prince Frederik and Princess Mary plan to visit the Australian National University, Australian War Memorial, Parliament House and National Museum of Australia.
Each of these institutions is bound to benefit from the wide- spread media exposure the visit is sure to bring.
ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope welcomed the opportunity to show off Canberra's attractions.
"The marriage of Princess Mary and Prince Frederik can only strengthen the cordial friendship between Demark and Australia and stimulate our mutual curiosity about each other.
"The signing of memoranda of understanding between the ANU and two Danish universities is another welcome sign of growing links between the national capital and Denmark."
With tourism figures showing a 17per cent drop in the number of overnight visitors to the ACT in the September quarter last year, tourism operators will be hoping exposure of some of Canberra's major attractions will help reverse the trend.
The Danish Consul-General in Australia, Jorgen Mollegaard, said the number of Danish tourists to Australia had risen 80per cent since the royal couple announced their engagement.
Mr Mollegaard moved to Australia to take on the role soon before the engagement and said the job had changed dramatically since."It's... more entertaining."
Denmark does not have an embassy in Canberra, and Mr Mollegaard is based in Sydney.
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More from Getty. Yes, that is Geoffrey Rush(curly hair) in a few of the photos. In the big group photo, the guy at the far right is none other than Andrew Denton. And two more from Reuters. The little girl is India Dobbie just in case you see her name in articles:
They are of course, the five HCA Ambassadors for Australia and New Zealand. In the group photo, the guy on the far left is New Zealand Consul General Peter Heenan who is representing Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennism
They are of course, the five HCA Ambassadors for Australia and New Zealand. In the group photo, the guy on the far left is New Zealand Consul General Peter Heenan who is representing Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
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Sydney Morning Herald
Oscar-winning Australian actor Geoffrey Rush may play Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen in a new movie.
The film will made by Denmark's ace director Bille August who is also an Academy Award winner - for Pelle the Conqueror, Best Foreign Film in 1987.
Consideration of Rush for the Andersen role was disclosed today by Christian Have, public affairs director for the Danish body organising celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the writer's birthday.
He said: "I can tell you that Geoffrey Rush is not uninterested in the role."
The possible casting was reinforced by Rush's appointment as one of the Andersen ambassadors named by Danish Crown Prince Frederik today at the Sydney Opera House.
During the ceremony, Rush - who won best actor Oscar for 1997's Shine - read Andersen's story The Little Matchgirl to the gathering.
The new Andersen movie, now being written, will be the second biographical picture of Andersen, who died aged 70 in 1875.
The first, entitled Hans Christian Andersen, was made in 1962 and starred the late American actor-comedian Danny Kaye.
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Apart from the new film, television is very much part of the Andersen 200th birthday program of cultural and musical events planned by the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 organisation.
A two-hour star-spangled birthday party in Copenhagen's Parken soccer stadium on April 2 will be televised worldwide under the title Once Upon a Time - in Australia on the SBS network.
Among the visiting "ambassadors" will be actor Roger Moore and singer Harry Belafonte.
Mr Have likened the show to "an Olympic Games opening ceremony" preceding events and activities going on until December.
As well, 27 of Andersen's best-known fairytales are to be made into 30-minute animated films for television, a series already sold to Australia.
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