Brave Mary at 50 ‘I'M BREAKING DOWN TABOOS'

Denmark’s Crown Princess has taken what she learnt from going through grief to help the most vulnerable

- Judy Kean

When it comes to adapting to life as a royal, Australian Mary Donaldson has handled the tricky transformation from working in real estate to Crown Princess with great grace, dignity and apparent ease, becoming one of Europe’s most popular royals.

Now, as she celebrates her 50th birthday, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark has revealed the wise words that have helped her to cope with the challenges life has thrown at her.

It was her mother Henrietta Donaldson who told her, “You can only be yourself.”

That advice has shaped her outlook, says Mary. “She was absolutely right. I reminded myself of those words when I sometimes felt like I was going to lose myself.”

Sadly, Henrietta never got to see the accomplished way her daughter has dealt with becoming royal and the respect she has earned from the Danish people. The executive assistant died in 1997 from a heart condition, three years before Mary met Crown Prince Frederik at a Sydney bar during the 2000 Olympics.

Mary has only spoken out a handful of times about the devastation of losing her beloved mum, including in a recent interview. “I felt alone in my pain,” she says. “As if nobody understood what I was going through and I had come to a standstill, while the whole world around me kept moving forwards.”