Queen Mary’s historic return to Australia earlier this month saw the Tasmanian-born royal take an unprecedented leading role and one that is likely to never be repeated again.
The 54-year-old returned Down Under for a six-day state visit, the first since the change of throne when her husband Frederik X was proclaimed King of Denmark.
While the tour gave Australians an opportunity to see Mary for the first time as Queen, observers following along saw a different side to the royal to how she is in her adopted homeland of Denmark.
Queen Mary took the lead during the state visit to Australia in a highly unusual move. (The Danish Royal House)
“I think she seemed so overwhelmed by the well-wishers, the warm welcome everywhere and to be home in Hobart,” Marie Rønde, royal correspondent for Danish television network TV 2, told nine.com.au.
“For a moment she was just Mary. And not Queen Mary.
“I have not seen the Queen like that before.”
Rønde was one of the Danish journalists who travelled to Australia to cover the state visit and followed the King and Queen to every location.
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King Frederik was happy to let his wife be the star of the show as they returned to Australia for the first time in 13 years. (Getty)
The tour began in Uluru on March 14 before moving to Canberra and Melbourne.
It ended on Thursday March 19 in Hobart, where Mary was born and spent most of her childhood.
The final day was the King and Queen’s busiest of the tour and their boat ride to the Alum Cliffs Marine Reserve to view a giant kelp forest passed by Mary’s old high school.
In the afternoon the royal couple had their second public walkabout where huge crowds turned out to see Mary during her first official visit to Tasmania since 2005.
The last day of the King and Queen’s visit was in her former hometown, Hobart. (Getty)
Queen Mary was visibly moved as she spent time shaking hands, posing for photos and speaking to locals along Hobart’s waterfront.
“The Tassies really found a way to her heart and their love lowered her guard,” Rønde said.
“And the king was perfectly happy being just next to her and leaving the spotlight to his Queen. He was so proud of her.”
Queen Mary and King Frederik met the public in Canberra on day three of their state visit. (The Danish Royal House)
Photos from the meet and greet show King Frederik standing back to let his wife shine, the monarch even pulling out his camera to film his wife’s emotional homecoming.
And it was not the first time during the tour that Frederik was behind Mary, letting her take the lead. In Canberra at the Australian War Memorial, the King stood patiently waiting as Mary took her time meeting the public.
At times, he looked surprised when someone from the crowd called out his name instead of Mary’s.
Queen Mary spoke at a thank you reception in Melbourne, making history as she did so. (The Danish Royal House)
Under royal protocol, it is highly unusual for the King to play second-fiddle.
But their relationship has always been a little different. Frederik and Mary have been slowly transforming the monarchy – one of the world’s oldest – into one fit for modern times since the change of throne on January 14, 2024.
And that includes the King stepping aside for Mary, which happened on multiple occasions during their visit to Australia.
“What I will remember [from this state visit] is the king leaving the stage to the Queen,” Rønde said.
“He was well aware that she was the star of the tour – he was just the boy standing next to her, as he said at the reception in the Botanical Garden.”
Rønde is referring to the King’s comments made in Melbourne during their ‘thank you’ reception.
In a speech, Frederik spoke about his and Mary’s first visit to Australia, in 2005, just months after their wedding.
Queen Mary and King Frederik visited Uluru, Canberra, Melbourne and Hobart. (The Danish Royal House)
“Mary was chatting to some of the people who had shown up to say hello, and I stood next to Mary and I overheard a young boy standing next to his mother asking her, ‘Mummy, Mummy, who’s that boy next to Mary?'” King Frederik said.
“That’s how it is occasionally, [and] in the eyes of Australia, I suspect I shall always be the one standing next to Mary, and this is perfectly OK … I take that very much as a compliment.”
Queen Mary then stepped up to the lectern to address the crowd.
It was a significant moment, Rønde said.
It was the King and Queen’s first and only state tour of Australia. (Getty)
“According to protocol it is the monarch doing that, but for the first time in history it was the Queen giving that very professional and personal speech.”
The next evening, Queen Mary once again surprised everyone by speaking when it was King Frederik who was scheduled to do so.
”I’m a bit lost for words, I’m a bit overwhelmed,” Queen Mary told a reception inside Government House in Hobart.
It was the final engagement of the state visit and among the guests were Mary’s Australian friends and family, including her elder sister Patricia Bailey.
Queen Mary gave an emotional speech in Hobart during the final engagement of the tour. (The Danish Royal House)
Mary said: “Thank you everyone for being here. Last night [on Wednesday] I ended a speech in Melbourne saying how privileged I am that my roots are grounded both in Australia and Denmark.
“But they do go a little bit deeper in Tasmania.
“There really isn’t a more special place to end what has been a unique, rewarding, moving, exciting, curious tour – state visit – to Australia from Denmark.
“It has been extremely touching for both Frederick and I to feel so much warmth and interest, so thank you for making our time here unforgettable.”
Queen Mary’s sister Patricia Bailey was among the guests at the Government House reception in Hobart. (Getty)
Long-time royal photographer Jesper Sunesen, who was also part of the Danish media pack travelling with the King and Queen, said Hobart was always going to be a special stop on the tour.
It was Mary “coming back home”, he said.
Sunesen has been photographing the Danish royals for 25 years and has captured some of Frederik and Mary’s most personal moments.
“I’ve been following Queen Mary from the first day that we found out she was in love with the Danish Crown Prince,” Sunesen told nine.com.au.
“This has been a very good journey for many years and I hope that we’re going to see more over the coming years.”
All the best moments from Queen Mary’s return to Australia
The Danes love Mary and have embraced her from the early days of her relationship with Frederik to now that she is Queen.
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.
“Of course, she’s very beautiful, but it’s also the way she interacts with all the people she meets,” Sunesen said.
“It gives us a lot of good pictures and got a lot of good moments.
“She has a very good personality and she’s very likable.
Queen Mary championed Danish and Australian fashion in a show of diplomatic dressing during the tour. (The Danish Royal House)
“That’s one of my main focuses [as a photographer] – how to capture the right moment and I think Mary is delivering that all the time.”
King Frederik and Queen Mary’s tour was their first official visit to Australia in 13 years. They return for private family holidays where possible.
But this state visit was the King and Queen’s first and last.
While they may return for another official tour in years to come, it will be far less formal and much smaller.
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.
“This tour was like no other I have experienced,” Rønde said.
Rønde has been covering the royal couple’s work for many years in Denmark and has accompanied them on other foreign tours. She has observed quiet, but notable, changes in Queen Mary since the change of throne.
“A state visit can be rather stiff and formal but this was relaxed, easy going, joyful and happy,” she said.
“At times I almost forgot it was a royal visit but saw it as a family reunion.
“At other times you could feel how emotional it was for the Queen.”
King Frederik and Queen Mary sign the guest book at Government House in Canberra where Mary was seen visibly emotional when the national anthems were played. (The Danish Royal House)
Rønde pointed to the official welcome ceremony in Canberra, at Government House.
“When the national anthems [of Denmark and Australia] were played you could see her emotion – it was an example of the Queen in her birth country but representing her new home country.
“As the Queen later said, she has roots in both places. It was a special moment.”
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