2024-01-07 11:49:55
by Enrica Roddolo
Ten years of difference and a physical similarity, interests and life path: from the bourgeoisie to the palace. The historian Vickers: «And the ties between the two families are close»
They are the “twin” princesses of the European Gotha. Mary, nee Donaldson, 52 years old on February 5th, who in a few days will be Queen of Denmark alongside King Frederik of Charles III in London. Kate and Mary, two commoners, two bourgeois who entered the Court, two young twin princesses also due to the great popularity and affection aroused across the public.
Ten years of difference, but an extraordinary resemblance, dark eyes, long raven hair and slender body. Not only that but the same path of bourgeois life before the throne, and a shared interest in the theme of childhood which they put at the center of their commitment as royals. All linked by a genuine friendship that saw Kate often fly from London to Copenhagen, and Mary from Denmark to the United Kingdom.
Kate who spent Christmas with the Windsors gathered at Sandringham, and who in February 2023 also flew to Copenhagen for one of her rare solo engagements and was welcomed by Queen Margrethe at Amalienborg Palace, the Danish royal residence. In short, royal representation commitments without William. A structure in which we will see it more and more often in the future. The front-line royals in London have been thinned out by the spontaneous defection of Harry and Meghan and the forced defection of Prince Andrew, so it is sometimes necessary to spend money on multiple fronts for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. But it wouldn’t be enough if Kate hadn’t already achieved full, total trust from the Royal Household. And if, above all, her ties with the Danish royal family were not solid, authentic.
«The ties between the two families are very close», confirms British historian Hugo Vickers to Corriere. And it is no coincidence that Queen Margrethe of her-of her during the recent Golden Jubilee of her had asked for a moment of silence in memory of her «friend» and cousin of her Elizabeth II of her.
The Danish royal family, thanks to King Christian IX, placed his daughters and sons on all the thrones of Europe (Alexandra alongside King Edward VII in London). As for the Windsors, thanks to Queen Victoria and her numerous offspring, they too have expanded their family relationship to all the monarchies of Europe.
Mary and Kate, two girls next door, brought by two authentic passions within the royal walls. And that in those golden walls (unlike Meghan Markle) they found their comfort zone, which allowed them to build projects, a future, a family. And speaking of cadet families, both have had the experience of how difficult it is in a family (especially a Royal one) to cohabit with the sovereign’s cadet son: in the case of London, Harry. In the case of Copenhagen, Joachim.
Mary, who will be solemnly proclaimed queen on January 14th at Christiansborg Palace alongside the new Danish sovereign, Frederik, 55, grew up in Australia where she studied marketing (while maintaining British citizenship as the daughter of two Scottish academics) and then he worked as a real estate agent for a luxury property agency. It was in Sydney, at the 2000 Olympic Games in a pub, that she met the heir to the Danish throne.
“Green” princess, always godmother of the Copenhagen fashion summit dedicated to sustainable fashion, during their meeting she showed Kate the great project of the Mary Foundation: a great assistance initiative for around 2000 children a year and their mothers looking for a refuge from poverty and persecution. «More than the weight of the responsibility of being a princess, I feel that as a Royal I have a very strong platform from which to make my voice heard, to get the message across». This is how Princess Mary responded to the Corriere when we met her some time ago, on a visit to Milan.
And she stopped to talk about her four children – Prince Christian, now the new heir to the throne, Princess Isabella, and the twins Vincent and Josephine with whom she had inaugurated the Australian garden that the Copenhagen Zoo dedicated to her for the half century of life: a modern princess mother. Another element of connection with Kate, mother of heir George but also of Charlotte and Luis. For both, the crown’s challenge is therefore to bring to court a new balance between everyday life (strengthened by the life lessons of their common childhood, commoner), and Protocol. With a precise goal in common: to make the most of the soft power that as young Royals they know they can exercise.
Kate is about to celebrate her 42nd birthday without ever making a misstep, confident, determined. Sweet and docile, but only in appearance. Like the Queen Mum, like Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, wife of George VI, the stammering king who, thanks to the queen mother, gained confidence, even charisma. Who is dedicating Shaping Us to his battle: the campaign for early childhood education, for children up to 5 years old, supported by the Royal Foundation: «It will serve to build a better society of the future, starting from a better understanding of the needs of children of today,” said the Princess of Wales.
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January 7, 2024 (changed January 7, 2024 | 11:01)
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