Britain's Princess of Wales will be watching Europe's latest royal drama "closely," as her Danish counterpart prepares to become queen following the "shock" abdication of their mother-in-law, Queen Margrethe II.
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark—who is ten years Kate's senior and often referred to as her fashion "twin" on account of their similar royal style—will become Queen Consort of Denmark on January 14, after Queen Margrethe announced in her New Year's Eve address to the nation that she was abdicating in favor of her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik, after 52 years on the throne and with just two weeks notice.
Kate and Mary have been photographed together on several occasions over the past decade, with their royal stories running in parallel at important points.
Both princesses are not of royal or aristocratic blood. Mary was born in Tasmania, Australia and worked in advertising before meeting Frederik at a bar in Sydney during the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. The pair began dating soon after and married in 2004.
That same year, Kate's relationship with Prince William was broken in the tabloid press and seven years later, when the couple married at Westminster Abbey, Mary's mother-in-law Margrethe was a guest. In her early years within the monarchy, commentators suggested that Kate might follow Mary's example in how to navigate life as a royal outsider, joining a family and system that she would one day be at the head of, alongside her husband.
Though the two royals' experiences of royal life have turned out to be very different, Kate will be watching to see how Denmark's new queen acclimates to her new role, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams has told Newsweek.
"Queen Margrethe's announcement was a shock," he said of the queen's New Year's Eve bombshell, which was a surprise to the Danish people.
"She is a resilient figure who has seldom, with the exception of publicly removing titles from Prince Joachim's children last year, made a mistake," he said. A drama engulfed the Danish royal house in 2022, which saw the queen strip her grandchildren through her second son of their titles as "prince" and "princess," downgrading them to "count" and "countess."
At the time, the queen said this was to allow the children of her younger son to "shape their own existence without being limited by the special considerations and obligations that a formal affiliation with the royal house as an institution implies."
Prince Joachim broke his silence to the press, denouncing the decision, causing a rupture within the monarchy—not unlike Britain's own drama with King Charles III's younger son, Prince Harry.
"She clearly feels the monarchy needs invigorating," Fitzwilliams said of Margrethe. "Yet it has levels of support at over 80 percent and she always insisted she would never abdicate."
Speaking of the new king and queen, who will take over from Margrethe on January 14, Fitzwilliams noted the pair are "extremely popular," among the Danish people, despite recent speculation of a strain in their marriage.
"She has been exemplary," he said of Mary, noting that while she and Britain's Kate may be different, their experiences will not be without their important similarities as queens of historic monarchies.
"I would not compare her to Catherine as the British and Danish monarchies are so very different," he said. "Both are glamorous, though Catherine is far more high profile, but the Danish monarchy is less formal. Catherine has a long while to wait until she is queen, Mary becomes queen in a fortnight. However Catherine will undoubtedly watch her experience closely."
For Kate, watching as one of her contemporaries picks up the burden of steering an ancient monarchy through the twenty-first century will take on increasing importance as her proximity to the throne alongside Prince William draws ever closer.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
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