Princess Mary, 51, has lived in Denmark for over 20 years, but she hasn’t forgotten her Australian roots. When her nephew Count Nikolai of Monpezat, who is seventh in line to the Danish throne, jetted off to Australia for a semester abroad, Princess Mary shared some words of wisdom to the 24-year-old.
“She gave me a long list, an itinerary of what to do and what not to do, I can’t remember it now but I have it at home,” the young royal told the Daily Telegraph.
“Basic ‘survival skills’, I would say clap your boots before putting them on, stuff like that, flush the toilet before you use it. I do not (want a snake or spider).”
Nikolai is currently residing in Sydney, NSW, to study Sales Management at the University of Technology (UTS). He is the grandson to Queen Margrethe II and the son of Prince Joachim. His uncle, Mary’s husband Prince Frederik, is heir to the Danish throne.
While Princess Mary grew up in Hobart, Tasmania, the 51-year-old is no stranger to Nikolai’s new stomping ground. During the 2000 Olympics, the royal visited host city Sydney to watch the games. It was in the city’s Slip Inn pub that she bumped into the Danish heir. Four years later they were married.
Uprooting her life and moving to Denmark was a big change for the Australia-born princess.
“I did experience a feeling of loneliness – short-term – when I first moved to Denmark,” she told The Weekly in 2017.
“It was a huge change in my life – a new culture, new language, new friends, and another way of life. So, I see it as quite natural that at times I felt quite alone or a little bit like I was on the outside looking in.”
What helped mitigate the loneliness was her beautiful family. The royal shares four children with Frederik: Prince Christian, 17, Princess Isabella, 16, and twins, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, 12.
In June 2022, the royal couple removed their eldest child, second in line to the throne, from Herlufsholm Boarding School after allegations of abuse rocked the school. Isabella was also due to attend. Prince Christian now attends Ordrup Gymnasium in Gentofte, while Isabella studies at Ingrid Jespersens Gymnasieskole in the city.
