Queen Mary reappears after family holiday as King Frederik takes solo trip abroad

Queen Mary quietly returned to her royal duties on Friday after taking a personal trip during her children’s winter holidays from school.

The Danish consort, 53, held a meeting with the leader of The Queen Mary’s Centre, Simon Kjær Hansen, with the pair discussing its business plan for next five years.

The palace shared images from Mary’s meeting at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, with the royal looking chic in a long-sleeved patterned blouse, with navy high-waisted wide-legged trousers.

The Queen Mary’s Centre was launched in 2022, coinciding with Her Majesty’s 50^th birthday. It aims to find solutions for existing societal problems through partnerships between researchers and practitioners.

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The Danish palace on Friday stated that the centre is trying to find new ways of co-operation within areas such as the welfare sector and the digitisation of society.

It comes as the palace confirmed to Danish newspaper, BILLED-BLADET, that Mary’s husband, King Frederik, is on a private stay abroad. It is not known where the monarch has travelled to.

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The couple’s eldest son, Crown Prince Christian, 19, is acting as regent until Sunday 23 February for a second time this month, while he’s at military school at Antvorskov barracks in Slagelse.

The Danish heir previously stepped for his father when the King and Queen were away on a private family holiday with their three youngest children from 7 to 16 February.

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Mary was spotted in her hometown, Hobart, in Australia last week, where she was seen browsing the stalls at Salamanca Market.

The Tasmanian-born royal, who met then Crown Prince Frederik during the Sydney 2000 Olympics, still has relatives who live Down Under.

Former advertising executive Mary tied the knot with Frederik on 14 May 2004 at Copenhagen Cathedral.

The couple have four children – Crown Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, 17, and 14-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.

King Frederik and Queen Mary have a busy programme of travel coming up for spring.

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The couple will pay a state visit to Finland from 4 to 5 March, followed by a state visit to France from 31 March to 2 April.

Frederik will then make a solo accession visit to Japan from 23 to 25 April, where he will participate in the international world exhibition Expo 2025 in Osaka.

In January, Frederik marked the one-year anniversary of his reign, having ascended the throne on 14 January 2024 when his mother Queen Margrethe abdicated after 52 years.