'I won't accept infidelity' (Betrothed Commoner Crown Princess Lays Down The Law Before Wedding)

Sydney Morning Herald ^ | May 10, 2004 | Peter Fray

[presidio9]

Australia's Danish princess-to-be, Mary Donaldson, has revealed that she wants several children, plans to work with the mentally ill and will not accept "unfaithfulness in marriage".

"A relationship is built on trust and if that trust is misused then . . ." she told the Danish newspaper Politiken. "Trust is holy in a marriage."

Ms Donaldson, 32, a Tasmanian who has trained as a lawyer, will marry the heir to the Danish throne, Crown Prince Frederik, in Copenhagen on Friday.

In interviews with the veteran Danish journalist Ninka - who does not use a surname - Ms Donaldson, who has worked as a Sydney real estate agent, said she still felt nervous about being the centre of attention and knows that her every action as Princess Mary will be scrutinised.

"I always hated to be photographed," she said, speaking in Danish. "To be photographed always made me feel uncomfortable. Now, I will have to get over that and also learn to behave properly in public.

"There are many norms of behaviour. Just the way I have to walk with him. People judge you from a picture, from some wrong information, and this is hard because you can't defend yourself. I cannot go out and say I'll give an interview and comment about what is written about me."

The interviews, Ms Donaldson's first public utterances since her engagement press conference last October, took up more than five pages of Politiken, Copenhagen's most influential broadsheet.

She has given up her Australian citizenship and joined Denmark's Lutheran Evangelical Church in order to marry the prince, and her comments on the sacred nature of marriage will be seen as a way of reassuring Danes that she shares their conservative views on life. Her move into volunteer work emulate the caring, open role of her new mother-in-law, Queen Margrethe II.

The 35-year-old prince has been one of Europe's most eligible bachelor royals and has been linked to a series of glamorous women. The new couple will come under pressure to have children to ensure that the 1000-year-plus royal line continues.

Denmark is in the grip of a 10-day celebration, which included a dinner hosted by the Governor-General, Michael Jeffery, on Saturday night and a Vikings versus Australians yacht race yesterday. The America's Cup winning skipper John Bertrand captained Ms Donaldson's boat.

She described her husband to be as "warm-hearted, loyal and honest" and revealed how the couple gradually got to know each by exchanging letters, emails and CDs before she moved to Copenhagen in April 2002. She sent him Powderfinger, he responded with Sword Sol (Black Sun), a heavy Danish rock act.

"He's very easy to be around with; he's funny, he's also curious," she said. "He can be full of surprises."

While the couple are now very much in love, Ms Donaldson said there was no "bang" of love at first sight when they first met during the Sydney Olympics - and she never would have asked him to abdicate for her. "You always hope a love can win over everything, but in the circumstances you have to be rational. I don't think I could have asked him to abdicate."

Ms Donaldson paid tribute in the interview to her own "kind-hearted" mother, Henrietta - known as Etta - who died in 1997 after a heart operation. "From time to time, I feel she is very close, that she is just next to me," she said. "I hope when I get children I will become like my mother."

In Sydney, the Danish consul-general, Jorgen Mollegaard, said of the royal family: "They are very popular, very nice people. If we had had a monarch that wasn't thinking in the right way, it could have been a problem. Today, even on the most leftist side of parliament . . . you don't feel any of them has a point to introduce a republic."

Mr Mollegaard was speaking from his office overlooking the Opera House, designed by his compatriot Joern Utzon and where he will host an event for invited guests on Friday night with a live cross to the wedding.

About 3000 Danish citizens live in Sydney, Mr Mollegaard said. "Copenhagen and Sydney are in many ways similar - here you also enjoy life."

Consular officer Tina Thorup said her daughter Frederikke will tell her year 1 classmates at SCEGGS Redlands about her namesake. "I'll be giving her some posters, flags and pictures of the Crown Prince to take along. For us Danes, it's a big thing."

Meanwhile, the Slip Inn pub, where the couple met, is boasting in a series of posters about its own tiny part in Danish royal history.

[Tax-chick]

I knew age was an issue surrounding their marriage.

I'm always surprised that people who have to produce an heir marry women in their 30's. On the other hand, Prince Charles married a young woman, and look how that turned out! I've had 3 children since I was 32, so maybe this couple will, too. They certainly look nice!

[cyborg]

Maybe she's read the littany of maid boffing and fooling around by kings and princes the world over. Good for her. She's at least letting everyone know she has standards.

[carton253]

Three???

I thought you only had two.

[Tax-chick]

Sally when I was 33, A. Pat when I was 35, and James when I was 37. Not a surprise, since I had 4 before 32 :-). I feel sorry for these ladies, like Princess Masako in Japan, who are under pressure to "produce" when they're already fairly old, first-child-wise.

[CathyRyan]

Diana lived up to her part of the deal producing the (heir and spare) but Diana never got her happily ever after. Chuck was the one that welshed on the deal (and he is the heir to the head of the church who's vows he could not live up to....if nothing else he should have kept his pants zipped no matter how bad it was). I believe that Diana truly had issues and needed serious help but purely for the royals needs I think they should have kept Diana in cotton wool until she was needed in public again. Diana was the best thing to happen to the royal family but the royal family was just to stupid to know what they had on their hands. Chuck is the British equivalent of Jean F'n Kerry.

[Tax-chick]

... but Diana never got her happily ever after.True, but if she'd been 32 when they married, she probably would have been more realistic from the start. I expect most people realized Charles was a putz long before! And he does look like John Kerry, doesn't he?

[angcat]

I had my second child (a suprise)at 39, that was 6 months ago. :) We still stare at her in amazement!

[CathyRyan]

It would have been nice had Charles acted like an adult in the situation. But then again I would not hold my breath waiting for Jean F'n Kerry to act like an adult when needed.

[smpc]

These monarchy-thuggeries are disgusting.

Constitutional Monarchies like Denmark,Australia,Monaco and the UK really are thugs compared to those utopian Republics like China,North Korea,Iran,most of Africa and the EU,arent they?Power to the 'people'!

[Tax-chick]

I was surprised at how both Charles and Diana acted, although she had the excuse of being much younger, and being the "originally-injured party" so to speak. It was like a typical breakup of the redneck folks you'd run into at the Wal-Mart, my in-laws, for instance. I guess I'm the one who's naive, for thinking that royalty wouldn't act so common!