Kate, the Princess of Wales’ interactions with a European royal have become the subject of a new viral video, as Denmark’s Crown Princess Mary prepares to take the throne this month following the abdication of her mother-in-law, Queen Margrethe II.
Since marrying Prince William in 2011, Kate has been photographed alongside members of the world’s leading royal families, and in 2022 joined a rank of senior princes and princesses as, alongside her husband, becoming next in line to sit on the throne.
Through Queen Victoria, the British royals are connected with most of the European monarchies by blood, making a large number cousins by varying degrees of separation.
Currently headed by Queen Margrethe II, the Danish and the British royal families are related most closely through their joint ancestor King Christian IX of Denmark. Margrethe is a direct descendant of the king, and Britain’s King Charles III and Prince William are direct descendants of Christian’s eldest daughter, Princess Alexandra of Denmark (who later married Queen Victoria’s eldest son and became Queen Alexandra in 1901).
Chris Jackson/Getty Images For Buckingham Palace/Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images
The Danish and British royals have been photographed together over generations and the late Queen Elizabeth II and Margrethe II knew each other by the nicknames “Lilibet” and “Daisy.”
Their children and grandchildren have also met at official and private events. In 2022, Kate paid a rare solo overseas visit, without her husband, staying overnight in Denmark to attend engagements connected with her work raising awareness for early childhood development.
Uploaded to TikTok by user, princess__jo, on January 4, footage of Kate meeting with Denmark’s Crown Princess Mary in Copenhagen has gone viral, gaining over 350,000 views in 24 hours.
Kate and Mary are both married to heirs to the throne, meaning that they will become queen consorts of their respective countries when their husbands accede.
Australian-born Mary is 10 years older than Kate. She met her husband, Crown Prince Frederik, at a bar in Sydney during the 2000 Summer Olympic games. The couple married in 2004 and together have four children.
In the viral video clip, Kate and Mary are shown in Copenhagen during a walkabout before attending an official event connected with both royals’ interests in childhood development.
An image, also included, shows the princesses during a previous meeting in England, where both attended the Royal Ascot horseraces at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II.
The video, captioned “queens in waiting,” has received in excess of 6,000 likes and over 100 comments so far, many of which have praised the royals and their similarities.
“They may not be royal by blood but they were born to be Queens,” wrote one TikTok user.
“Both are stunning beautiful women inside and out,” posted another, with a further comment reading: “Women of substance.”
On December 31, 2023, Queen Margrethe made the shock announcement during her annual New Year’s address in Denmark that she would be abdicating from the throne with just two weeks’ notice, citing health reasons.
She announced that on January 14, her son would take over as King Frederik X. As such, Crown Princess Mary will become Queen Mary from the moment her husband takes the throne.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek‘s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.