Thanx Alex and Dennism. I still have'nt found the interview, but here are two Aussie newspaper that put some of the interview in their papers.
From The Mercury
MARY Donaldson has publicly opened her heart for the first time about the extraordinary romance that will this Friday culminate in her crowning as a Danish princess.
In the only interview the Hobart-born former advertising executive and real estate agent has granted before her celebrated wedding to Danish Crown Prince Frederik, Mary's story can be told for the first time in her own words.
The woman who has captured Danish hearts has candidly told Danish newspaper Politiken how her relationship with Frederik deepened secretly for 14 months before it became public knowledge, the doubts she harboured about their future together and her dread of meeting her future husband's mother, Queen Margrethe.
During a 25-hour interview conducted during seven sittings since December, the princess-in-waiting reveals her conviction that her remarkable fate was destined, that she was meant to meet Frederik and embark on her fairytale journey.
But she also speaks of her agony over the loss of the two key women in her life, her mother and her grandmother, and how their deaths transformed her spiritual beliefs and approach to life.
And she speaks for the first time about her first great love, a Melbourne man with whom she lived during a seven-year relationship.
She also dreams of using her position to help the mentally ill, in the same way Princess Diana helped various causes after she married into royalty.
On the eve of her transformation from Australian commoner to future queen of the world's oldest kingdom, Mary says she is overwhelmingly happy, in love and looking forward to her life as a wife, mother and role model for her adopted country.
"I HAVE always known that I would only marry if I met the one and only love," she says.
"I have known that the most important thing had to be totally unconditional love -- unreserved -- and that you recognise it, when it hits you, and that love and happiness go together."
Mary, 32, describes the night she met Frederik at Sydney nightclub the Slip Inn on September 16, 2000, during the Olympic Games.
"Frederik and I started to talk and we simply didn't stop talking," she said.
"And that was that! A very long talk, which went on for a year or actually 14 months.
"He and his brother went to Melbourne the next day. But about a week later I met with him and his friends for dinner."
Mary reveals the couple suspended plans to spend a prolonged time together when Frederik was hit by a family crisis.
"He was called home because his grandmother was seriously ill," she said.
"He was very upset about it and wanted to leave as soon as possible.
"So we had one and a half days together, having hoped for a whole week to get to know each other a little better."
Frederik's grandmother, the queen mother, died soon afterwards and he remained in Denmark for much of the next year.
But his romance with Mary defied the distance barrier and he returned to Australia in 2001.
"It wasn't like it went 'bang!' that first evening, that I knew I had met the man in my life," Mary said.
"That point in time is hard to pinpoint. Also because there was this enormous distance between us and long spells between our meetings.
"With this distance, both geographically and in terms of the family environment, you just can't tell that this is the right person.
"But we were constantly in contact with each other."
The couple exchanged phone calls, letters and CDs of their favourite music.
Mary sent Frederik a Powderfinger album -- "which is still my favourite band"-- and he sent her some Danish ones, among them Sort Sol.
Mary decided to deepen the commitment in November 2001, when a Danish magazine revealed her as Frederik's new girlfriend for the first time.
"The time had come where we both felt it couldn't go on long distance. We decided to take the chance and see if we were meant for each other. That's when I left Australia."
Mary left her job as an upmarket property agent in Sydney's eastern suburbs for Paris, a one-hour flight from Copenhagen. She spent the next five months spending the weekends at Amalienborg Castle, the royal family's Copenhagen palace.
But the intensifying media scrutiny tested her resolve.
"While I was in Paris I tried to keep a low profile," she recalls.
"I was waiting for the point of no return in my life, the line that would be crossed when I was seen with Frederik in public.
"If all this turned out to be a fata morgana [mirage] I would like to be able to become 'Mary' again.
"Then maybe I could settle down in London or some other place where nobody would recognise me anyway."
But one of the most foreboding tests was still to come: the interview with Queen Margrethe.
Mary knew that if her prospective mother-in-law rejected her it would doom her future with Frederik.
"Intuitively I knew the interview with Margrethe had to go well and I also asked myself questions about how I would handle it," Mary said.
"Frederik didn't talk much about the meeting beforehand. He basically just mentioned that his mother is a regular person, like you and me, and that she probably would be just as nervous about meeting me."
Mary reveals that while awaiting the meeting with Margrethe, she considered whether she would ask Frederik to leave the monarchy.
"Had the meeting been negative I have no idea what would have happened," she says. "But I don't think I would ever have asked Frederik to abdicate. He knows his role in life.
"He feels obligated to it and I think -- no, I know -- it would demand too much of him to give it up."
But her fears were unfounded. Margrethe immediately approved of the former Taroona High School girl during their interview at Amalienborg.
"She could see that it was serious and didn't want to put further pressure on us from the media or others," she said.
Mary also reveals how close she came to marrying before she even met her fairytale prince.
"I had a boyfriend for seven years, but we drifted apart," she said.
"We still have a good relationship. We will always mean something special to each other because we have been through a lot together.
"Seven years is a long time and he was there when my mother died."
Mary speaks of the qualities she has come to cherish in her husband-to-be.
"His vast energy -- spiritually and physically ... his attitude towards life -- he is a very interesting person with a complex personality," she said.
"He fights many battles with himself, like many of us.
"He has a warm, warm heart, he is loyal and honest, almost to the point of being beyond reproach. He is funny.
"I believe Frederik touches people's hearts. He doesn't want me to say this but he is also a lonely person, like we all are."
Now, four days before her historic nuptials, divorce is unthinkable to the princess-in-waiting.
"For us, divorce is impossible to imagine. It has always been my view that in love there is only one time -- and that is it.
"People today give up too easily and just say 'OK, we have grown apart'.
"I believe you can experience two or three 'great loves' in your life, but also that we really hope to find just one that will last."
From The Australian (a bit longer version)
MARY Donaldson, the Hobart-born former Sydney real estate agent who marries Denmark's Prince Frederik on Friday, reveals for the first time today her most intimate secrets of the world's greatest fairytale love affair.
I AM, more than anything else, happy.
But "happy" is a really difficult word to explain.
Happiness is just a warm feeling. It makes walking on earth easier. You float. Everything feels good! You see things in a new light.
You don't speculate so much. To be happy is, I guess, the most important thing in life. Happy!
Since I was a child and up until today I have known that I am a very open person.
I am curious. I have always wanted to see what's behind the door,
Or what every little thing is about - just to learn new things, to look into it, to know how it is to try it. And then do it. And I think I will go on being that way.
I want to give everything a chance. Try to do my best at all times. I may not be very good at it, but at least I have tried.
I have always known I would only marry if I met the one and only love.
My parents knew each other from when they were 12. They have been together since they were 14, and they were only 22 when they got married.
That is quite young. So I have known that the most important thing had to be totally unconditional love.
Unreserved. And that you recognise it when it hits you. And that love and happiness go together.
On the other hand, I think you can encounter the great love more than once, because life doesn't always deal you the cards you want.
But it takes strength to find the other love. And it doesn't take anything away from the first.
People change through life. You change track, and that is one of the great challenges in a relationship, that you have your own independent track to follow and at the same time you follow each other in the same direction.
The biggest challenge in a relationship is to acknowledge the changes, to work with them, but also to appreciate them, to compromise.
The word "happy" sums up how I feel right now.
But at the same time, I know that a lot is expected of me - a lot of different expectations.
And you can't live up to them all. You can do the best you can.
I guess you could say it's a modern fairytale.
A fairytale goes on inside your head, I guess, but I would never have been able to imagine this.
It's a fairytale for everybody to meet the person they want to spend the rest of their life with.
My version is just a little bigger than most.
But at the core of what we do is the same as for all other couples. We remember that every day.
Beyond that, there is another responsibility, so on the way to where we are now, we have in no way been able to take things lightly.
Right now I can say it's a very happy time. Very happy for us, for my family and for Frederik and his family. Also for those Danes who are interested in the royal family.
At the same time, we know that to some young people we are a kind of role model.
And we will be looked upon as a kind of ideal.
That is something we talk about.
It is very important.
The people who think I don't do anything at all here must understand I'm in a waiting position. In a kind of no man's land.
If I started visiting hospitals or other institutions, I would be criticised for that!
I have been in a vacuum. But that will change.
And people will realise that I work, and in time will be carrying out different tasks.
Meant to be together
I ACTUALLY think I believe in destiny because where I am today I couldn't possibly have imagined, let's say, four years ago. It makes me believe that there is "something" behind it.
I mean: just the way Frederik and I met, it took so many little things that had to fit together.
There had to be "something" - supernatural? - that took charge.
Predestination is what you are born to do. Destiny is how you do it.
Some might bring reincarnation into the picture. I don't believe in reincarnation myself, but I am willing to listen and think - and wonder.
One of the greatest challenges in life is to find a balance in everything we do.
Balance between work, family, interests. Balance makes you yourself balanced. Gives you peace in life. Right now the world is really unbalanced.
Justice and injustice exists. The act of balance is in the hand of man.
We have forgotten what the important thing is. We do not focus on what life is really about: love and happiness.
Swapping e-mails and CDs
FREDERIK is a remarkable person. I felt that right from the beginning. Not because he is the Crown Prince, but because he is the person he is.
But I was rather excited about it all. It was so . . . strange, because I didn't believe it would be possible to get to know each other.
But our contact went on and got deeper and deeper. It happened through letters, e-mail and phone. Almost every day.
We sent pictures and lots of different little items. I sent him a CD with Powderfinger, which is still my favourite band, and he sent me some Danish ones. So we kept track of each other's lives, and shared what was possible.
I didn't want to be exposed in any way. It would have been terrible if I had stepped forward and then the next day had to be myself again. I didn't want to exhibit my life.
At one point . . . I had to tell myself that I had to take the final step. But we ended up taking a step together.
That was November 2001 - 14 months after we met.
The time had come where we both felt it couldn't go on long-distance. We decided to take the chance and see if we were meant for each other.
That's when I left Australia.
It really became serious when we stepped out on the balcony at Amalienborg Castle.
When we stood in front of the doors, I tried to relax and take a few deep breaths. I had a feeling I couldn't go out there . . . it was just so overwhelming.
People cheered the Queen, Prince Henrik and Frederik and then also me, because he has chosen me and we have chosen each other.
Talking went for a year
I MET Frederik on September the 16th, 2000.
Frederik and I started to talk, and we simply didn't stop talking. And that was that! A very long talk which went on for a year, or actually 14 months.
He and his brother went to Melbourne the next day. But about a week later I met him and his friends for dinner.
After that he travelled around Australia for six weeks. When he came back we met again, but he was called home because his grandmother was seriously ill.
It wasn't like it went 'Bang!' that first evening. That I knew I had met the man in my life. That point in time is hard to pinpoint.
Since we spent so much time apart, anything could happen for both of us. With this distance, both geographically and family-environment-wise, you can't just tell that this is the right person.
It takes time and you have to test each other, there is so much at stake. But we were constantly in contact with each other.
Time to share our secret
FREDERIK is normally rather relaxed when it comes to the press - but to introduce me to the public was no easy matter for him.
And I am certainly not relaxed about it.
From the moment it got out that Frederik had a girlfriend, who nobody had heard anything about for a whole year, the media had been on its toes. It seemed as if we were getting married the next month.
Maybe they thought he would do like his brother Prince Joachim had done.
Maybe.
So they were all quite excited: "Oh, and we don't know anything. What should we do?" And they never relaxed, they kept saying that now something is going to happen! It was rather irritating.
But we hadn't come that far yet. We didn't let it influence us, though.
We didn't let it put pressure on us.
But after that kiss on the pier in Tasmania, I guess we got more open. It confirmed that it was serious. And maybe the media could breathe a little easier - they had put their money on the right horse!
Even if for us nothing was finally decided, to them it was a sign that they were on the right track. Now it was only a question about time.
'She is a gift to the Danish'
THE Mary Donaldson interview was conducted over five months by one of Denmark's leading journalists, Anne Wolden-Raethinge.
Writing under the byline 'Ninka' in the Politiken newspaper, Ms Wolden-Raethinge has been the leading Danish royal chronicler for more than 30 years.
The award-winning writer spoke to Mary for more than 25 hours during seven sessions from last December.
"She is a gift to the Danish people. She has a real personality, I'm not kidding," Ms Wolden-Raethinge, 75, told The Daily Telegraph. "We have a fantastic queen now and Mary will be a remarkable queen in her own right."
Ms Wolden-Raethinge said Mary's command of Danish developed rapidly during the interviews.
"By the last session she was taking notes, writing in fluent Danish. Mary has wisdom but she is also very intelligent," she said.
Ms Wolden-Raethinge said Mary had the "class of a queen" and that Frederik, in snaring her, "has made a coup".
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