Palace gives update on Queen Mary and King Frederik's Australian tour as Middle East war causes travel chaos

King Frederik X and Queen Mary's historic state visit to Australia will proceed as planned despite the war raging in the Middle East, causing travel chaos around the world.

The Danish monarch and his wife are due to arrive on Saturday, with their tour taking place from March 14 until Thursday March 19.

The Danish Royal House has told nine.com.au King Frederik and Queen Mary's tour this week will continue as planned.

"Their Majesties' visit to Australia will proceed as planned," the spokesperson said.

"The dates of the visit will not change."

The war in Iran, which is now into its second week, has lead to flight cancellations and disruptions worldwide, with many airlines changing their routes to avoid the the region.

Late last week, a palace spokesperson told Danish news outlet BT the tour "will be carried out with a few adjustments that will be announced later".

The King and Queen are due to begin their Australian tour in Uluru, before heading to Canberra and Melbourne. King Frederik and Queen Mary will end their official visit in Tasmania, where Mary was born, where they are likely to spend some time with her Australian relatives.

Exact dates are yet to be revealed with more information due to come in the next few days.

Their itinerary is likely to include a state banquet which will require Queen Mary to wear a tiara. But the tiara won't be one taken from the Crown Jewels as they are forbidden to leave Denmark.

King Frederik and Queen Mary are returning to Australia for a state visit, the highest level of an international tour aimed at strengthening ties between Australia and Denmark.

They are expected to be joined by a delegation of 55 Danish businesses and the visit will have a specific focus on the green transition.

Denmark and Australia's shared interest in nature and cultural conservation will also form part of the state visit, the palace has said.

According to Danish protocol, a country can only receive one state visit from a monarch during their reign. The last Danish state visit was in 1987, when Margrethe II was queen.

"Beneath the official words [from the Royal House], this visit has the queen written all over it," royal correspondent for Danish television network TV 2, Marie Rønde, recently told nine.com.au.

Queen Mary, while Crown Princess, was last in Australia with her husband in an official capacity in 2013.

"It is a recognition and a tribute to her birth country and a way of giving Australians the opportunity to see and greet Mary as Queen."

This tour has been in the works for some time likely, in part, at the insistence of Queen Mary who has always spoken proudly of her Australian heritage.

"I am sure the Queen has been very keen to make this visit happen, and the King too," Rønde said.

"But there are only a few official visits abroad each year and the royal family has a lot of obligations according to their job.

"It is not always up to the royals where they go."

This tour will be unlike any Australia has seen from reigning Danish King and his wife.

"Historically it will also be interesting, it is a big thing," Rønde said.

"It is the [Queen Mary's] birth country and her homeland acknowledging one another and strengthening their bonds.

"This, no doubt, means a lot to the queen."

But a state visit also means additional rules and protocol to follow, more people to meet and events to attend.

"It will be a much more high-level visit compared to when they were Crown Prince and Crown Princess."

Their visit will be significant in other ways, too.

The state visit will be an historic moment for Australia, marking the first time a reigning Australian-born queen has visited here in an official capacity.

King Frederik and Queen Mary were last in Australia together for the 40th anniversary of the Sydney Opera House, in 2013.

The tour is also the King and Queen's first to Australia since Frederik became monarch two years ago following his mother's abdication.

Queen Mary was last in Australia, on official business, for a one-day solo visit on April 28, 2023 when she was still Crown Princess.

Other official visits were with King Frederik in 2013, 2011, 2008 and in 2005.

Mary and her family have quietly travelled Down Under for private family holidays on at least seven other occasions.

It will be the royal couple's first state visit outside of Europe. Before coming to Australia, state visits to Denmark's close neighbours Sweden, Norway and Finland had to take place first.

King Frederik and Queen Mary have also had state visits to France and, more recently, the three Baltic countries: Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.

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