The brutal reality of being a royal reporter and the chance moment with Queen Mary during Australia tour
ANALYSIS – – Opportunities to rub shoulders with royals in Australia are few and far between so when your mission is to cover the return of 'Our Mary' for her first visit Down Under as Queen, the pressure to deliver the goods is very real.
It can be a brutal game of chance where one wrong move can shatter any hopes of getting the story and bravery can bring you a moment you'll cherish forever.
As nine.com.au's royal reporter, I was one of just two Australian journalists who spoke to Queen Mary as she and King Frederik X were in Canberra for day three of their state visit.
King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark visited the Australian War Memorial in Canberra on Monday.
It was brief but, as many royal watchers would know, royals typically avoid the media altogether during such events.
What did last much longer than Queen Mary's answer to my question was her interaction with members of the public at the Australian War Memorial during their first 'walkabout' of the tour.
The 54-year-old was the star of the show, there was no doubt about it. Her husband, who was proclaimed Denmark's monarch two years ago, happily played second fiddle to Mary.
Everyone there wanted to see Queen Mary, and King Frederik stood back to let his wife lead the way – highly unusual as he is the King and under royal protocol, would normally walk ahead of his wife.
The Danish King and Queen had their first public walkabout on Monday in Canberra, with Frederik letting his wife take the leading role.
But not this time. I observed King Frederik standing back behind his wife, or to her side, while the crowds went wild with Mary Mania.
He was Mary's wingman, as one of my Danish colleagues said.
At times, Queen Mary was engaged in conversation while Frederik stood by watching. Thankfully, there were some there who wanted to shake his hand, too.
Mary's popularity undoubtedly eclipsed that of the King's.
Far from being jealous of his wife's stardom, as Britain's King Charles reportedly was of Diana's ability to draw in the crowds, Frederik is used to Mary being the one people want to see.
The King and Queen paid tribute to war heroes with a shared connection between Australia and Denmark.
In December, a poll by Danish public broadcaster DR found Queen Mary had an approval rating of 85 per cent, sitting just behind King Frederik at 87 per cent and his mother, Queen Margrethe II, at 88 per cent.
Ever since Mary Donaldson, as she was known before her marriage to Denmark's heir, became a public figure she has been adored by Australians.
Her flawless integration into Danish society has been applauded by royal watchers around the world and, while it would not have been easy, Mary has made the transition from commoner to queen look seamless.
The couple laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a rite of passage for many visiting royals.
King Frederik knew his wife would be the centre of attention as they made their first official visit to Australia in 13 years and the first since the change of throne on January 14, 2024.
As Mary made her way slowly down the long line of crowds outside the War Memorial, Frederik was seen patiently waiting for his wife while occasionally putting a guiding hand on her back to gently move her along.
They accepted flowers, cards, gifts, crouched down to speak to children and pat dogs brought along by their owners.
King Frederik and Queen Mary were not rushing this portion of their day in the nation's capital, one where the agenda was focused on soft diplomacy, formality and paying tribute to the shared history between Denmark and Australia.
As the royal couple approached the accredited press pack (the small group of media given special access to this event), I knew it was game on.
You have just seconds to get the right photo, or vision, and when you're battling to keep your prime spot amid the jostling of some of the journalists – photographers, camera operators and reporters – you have to stand your ground and keep your eyes on the prize.
Queen Mary was suddenly right there in front of me, barely an arm's length away, as she spoke to a Vietnam veteran in the crowd.
Dressed in a new navy blue Carolina Herrera frock, with a matching headband by Danish milliner Katrin Cecilia Jacobsen, and snakeskin stilettos, Mary accessorised by wearing jewels with an impressive royal history.
Pinned to her dress was the Connaught sapphire brooch, which has been in the Danish royal family after it was given to Princess Louise Marguerite of Prussia in 1879.
The sapphire, diamond and pearl jewel was inherited by her daughter, Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden, who passed it on to her daughter who later became Queen Ingrid of Denmark – the grandmother of King Frederik.
Mary was given the brooch by her mother-in-law when her son, the now Crown Prince Christian, was born in 2005. She's worn it at significant moments in her life ever since, including for the first time at Christian's baptism and his 18th birthday.
The Queen also wore dazzling diamond and sapphire earrings but chose a different ring on her wedding finger, leaving her famous ruby and diamond ring at home.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DV7Y1ffmNTy/?utm_source=ig_embed&I was trying to visually soak in as much of Mary's impeccable wardrobe as possible.
And then, seconds later, the Queen stopped talking to the man who had momentarily captured her attention and she moved on.
It was time and I grabbed my chance to ask Mary a question.
"Queen Mary, welcome home, are you enjoying it?"
The Queen told nine.com.au: "Thank you, it's lovely to be here."
It was brief but Mary's words captured the sentiment that has followed her since the state visit began in Uluru on Saturday.
"It's lovely to be here."
Queen Mary is enjoying her time in Australia and she appeared emotional during the official welcome at Government House on Sunday evening as both the Australian and Danish national anthems were played.
While she has returned to Australia since Frederik was proclaimed King, this time Mary is here in an official capacity as Queen representing Denmark.
Every stop on the itinerary is also a reminder of the home she left for love, having moved to Copenhagen in 2002 after meeting Frederik in a Sydney pub two years earlier.
They married in 2004 and their story is a real-life fairy tale and one that has captured the imaginations of people worldwide.
Queen Mary told Governor-General Sam Mostyn on Sunday evening: "It is always a joy to come back to Australia, we've been so much looking forward to this trip".
"As a former Australian, there is something special about coming back to the place I was born and grew up and had a large part of my adult life."
Mary's journey from commoner to queen is one I have followed as not only a royal reporter but as an Australian who proudly watched her marry Denmark's Crown Prince and 20 years later, be named his Queen as he was proclaimed King on the balcony of Christiansborg Palace.
I have been lucky enough to observe Mary several times during past Australian royal visits: in 2013 when she opened the Danish jewellery store Ole Lynggaard in Sydney and again in the Harbour City, in 2023, when Mary, as Crown Princess, rode a bike through the city before touring a sustainable office tower.
In 2023, while in Denmark visiting the palaces Mary and Frederik call home and other significant sites in their royal lives, I saw Mary at an engagement in Copenhagen where I was surprised at how relaxed the Danes were as she arrived at the venue without the need for crowd-control barriers or heavy security.
What I saw this time around, in Canberra, was Mary the Queen.
Security was much tighter and her role came with more formality but the Mary we've come to know and love remained: her good-natured persona, her natural warmth and her desire to have a chat with ordinary Australians.
Mary's homecoming as Queen of Denmark is not only a significant chapter for Australia's history books.
It marks a milestone moment for the Tasmanian-born royal whose life changed in an instant when she married into Denmark's royal family.
The King and Queen took their soft diplomacy tour to Parliament House in Canberra on Monday.
The royal couple's visit moves to Melbourne today, with the program now turning to the business portion of the tour as they work alongside the 55 Danish companies who have travelled with them to promote the green transition, renewable energies and conservation.
Thursday will see Queen Mary return to Hobart, officially, for the first time as Queen. She was last there on royal business (and not for personal reasons) in 2005, just months after the royal wedding.
One of the King and Queen's final engagements of the Australian tour will be alongside Hobart's harbour where they will meet the public and farewell our country until next time, whenever that may be.
Crowds on Thursday afternoon are expected to be unprecedented as Tasmanians prepare to welcome Mary back to her former hometown.
I'm glad Mary's first public engagement of the state visit was a success, with the large turnout of enthusiastic fans in Canberra showing that 26 years later, the glow around this real-life Australian fairy tale shows no signs of fading.
Hobart, it's now your turn.
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