Crown Princess Mary of Denmark’s 50th birthday is still days away, but the Danish royal palace is getting a head start when it comes to celebrating her milestone.
Throughout the week, the palace’s official Instagram account has been sharing photos and videos of Mary, her achievements and her passions.
From new portraits of her and husband Crown Prince Frederik, to footage of the Australian-born royal announcing a new children’s hospital in her name, the social posts have shared new insights into Mary’s life and royal role.
Now the Danish palace has shared some of the most intimate photos of the royal to date, as it promotes Mary’s stunning new pictorial memoir, Mary H.K.H.
Posting three previously unseen photos of the soon-to-be 50-year-old on Instagram, the palace revealed a glimpse of the woman behind the Crown Princess title.
One photo showed Mary laughing and playing with two of her children on the family’s Royal Yacht Dannebrog, where they often retreat for private family time.
A second picture, captured in black and white, depicted the Crown Princess holding a small child during a visit to the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan in 2013.
But it was the third and final photograph that captured the hearts of royal watchers, as it showed a never-before-seen moment from Mary’s wedding day in 2004.
In a stunning image taken by photographer Tine Harden, a newlywed Mary sits pensively in the backseat of a car, her eyes downcast as a bright reflection on the car window hides part of her face.
While Mary and Frederik’s wedding day was a whirlwind of love, joy and royal decadence, this previously unseen photo shares a peek into the quieter moments from the moment Mary became a royal.
In an exclusive preview of Mary’s memoir that she shared with The Weekly last month, the Tasmanian native said of her wedding day: “The day was very overwhelming. It was huge.
“Everything was – the church, the flowers, the crowds, the dresses, the atmosphere, my emotions… overwhelming!”
Crown Princess Mary visits Hobart Zoo with her husband and two eldest children Prince Christian and Princess Isabella in 2008.
(Image: Getty)Despite the overwhelming feelings, Mary said the emotion she experienced most that day was gratitude.
“[I was] thankful to be married and to be beginning our life journey together. Thankful for the warm way in which the Danes had received me as their new Crown Princess,” she said.
As well as sharing photos from Mary’s new memoir, the Danish palace has also revealed one of the ways she is staying in touch with her Australian roots as she approaches her 50th birthday.
The Copenhagen Zoo currently houses a number of Australian animals in honour of Mary and will tomorrow open a new area named “Mary’s Australian Garden” to mark her milestone.
