Bold power suits by day, glittering ball gowns by night (and a whole host of polka dots along the way) – that’s the tried and tested royal dressing formula, but it’s not just reserved for the Princess of Wales.
This combination has served well the woman who could perhaps be called Kate’s blueprint, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark. Following the abdication of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark on January 14, she will become Queen Consort of Denmark, while her husband Crown Prince Frederik takes over the throne. the throne.
The ascension will mark the final step in her evolution from a slipper-clad Australian girl to the polished, well-liked (last week a poll showed her highly rated by 85 percent of the Danish population) public figure who is highly regarded. for her style leanings, artfully combining Scandi labels – Ganni, By Malene Birger, Ole Yde and Cecilie Bahnsen – with high street bargains and some huge investments (including at least six Chanel handbags and one crocodile Hermès Birkin, reportedly worth the effort $44,500).
The fashion designers love her; Erdem MoralıoÄŸlu has said “she always looks modern and beautifully relaxed,” while Tommy Hilfiger has praised her “very sophisticated, European style.” But it is the Princess of Wales who has perhaps drawn the most attention. The pair share more than a glossy brunette and a knack for sartorial spots, and the years have only cemented their doppelgänger status. As the late Karl Lagerfeld said in 2010, “Kate is like a younger sister to Mary.”
Like Kate, who is ten years her junior, Australian-born Mary Elizabeth Donaldson came from non-royal beginnings. When Mary met the Prince of Denmark at the Slip Inn pub in Sydney in 2000, during the Summer Olympics, the princess-to-be was “a girl in T-shirt and shorts, known to be barefoot,” as she told. the Financial Times in 2022.
In 2003, she made headlines when she kissed the prince in public for the first time, wearing baggy, faded jeans, a low-cut white knit top and slippers at the Tasmania Yacht Club. They were quickly banished to the back of the cupboard. In October of that year, she debuted her transformation into the royal family, ready with her engagement announcement outfit; a light coffee-colored knee-length dress by Danish designer Kenth Fredin. She completed the look with Valentino pumps and, most importantly, the 1.5-carat emerald-cut diamond and double ruby engagement ring (to which she has since added two diamonds). The following year, Danish designer Uffe Frank designed her ivory satin, six-meter-long wedding dress.
But it was her wedding earrings, from Marianne Dulong, that provided the most insight into Mary’s style secret; the brand was co-founded by her longtime stylist Anja Camilla Alajdi. Alajdi was said to be “annoyed” by speculation that she was taking the opportunity to market her brand, reportedly saying: “Do they believe such things are so connected? The Crown Princess obviously doesn’t wear jewelry she doesn’t like, and she goes with all kinds of other brands too. Georg Jensen, Ole Lynggaard Jewels CPH and many others.”
Nevertheless, Alajdi can be partly credited with the high-low wardrobe approach that Princess Mary adopted – and the Princess of Wales has since become synonymous. Mary’s clothing stats, according to Royal Fashion spotting website UFO No More, prove as much: she has at least 34 Hugo Boss shirts and 13 Zara shirts, which hang in her closet along with 18 Prada shirts and 47 dresses from the Italian fashion house. Step inside the former Duchess of Cambridge’s home and expect to find suits from H&M or Zara alongside the many suits from Alexander McQueen.
Despite focusing more on high street purchases, Princess Mary retains a keen interest in sustainability; especially when it comes to style decisions. She is patron of the Global Fashion Agenda, the Copenhagen-based NGO “with the ultimate vision of a net positive fashion industry for people and planet.” She first started working with it in 2009 and is a regular speaker at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit. Speaking in 2021, she doubled down on her support for re-wearing and buying second-hand, saying: “If you look at the way we consume fashion today, we see a much bigger market for second-hand, for recycled, upcycled garments. … this is a different value because it tells the history of the product: who has worn it before, where it has been, what the journey has been.”
Although she was praised for this green work, the royal family faced criticism in 2016 after the family’s Christmas stamp featured a number of members of her family – including some of her four children with Prince Frederik – wearing seal fur. PETA condemned them as “supportive.” [of] the horrific fur industry,” and said, “we sent Crown Princess Mary a warm faux fur scarf.”
As the countdown to her new role continues, the question is whether Princess Mary will once again change her style accordingly. On New Year’s Eve, as she attended a banquet at Amalienborg Castle, Copenhagen, she certainly turned up the glamor in her first public outing since the announcement, wearing a flowing, burgundy Birgit Hallstein dress. Whatever she wears, make sure the Princess of Wales will take note.