The Ever-Evolving Style of Crown Princess Mary of Denmark

Crown Princess Mary.

The world’s eyes are on Crown Princess Mary, who, in less than two weeks’ time, will become Queen Mary of Denmark following the surprise abdication of her mother-in-law Queen Margrethe after a record-breaking 52 years on the throne. When she becomes queen, Mary will become the first Australian-born queen ever. She met her husband, Crown Prince Frederik, in her home country when he visited for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney; they met at a pub called the Slip Inn, and successful ad exec Mary had no idea that “Fred” was the heir to the Danish throne. They married in 2004 and have four children.

This year, Frederik and Mary will mark 20 years wed, and vis a vis, Mary will celebrate 20 years of being a working member of the Danish royal family. To those who follow global royals (and not just the British royal family), Mary has long been a style icon, a hardworking royal, and beloved not unlike Catherine, Princess of Wales in the U.K. (The two even physically resemble each other.) Right down to a commoner-marrying-prince so-called “fairytale” love story, Mary and Kate have a lot in common, and Kate is said to have modeled her own royal life after Mary’s. The two are so similar—both physically and situationally—that Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld once dubbed them “royal sisters.”

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Here we take a look at Mary’s evolving style over the past two decades as she prepares for a monumental shift this month. We can’t wait to watch it all unfold.

2004

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2005

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2008

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2009

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2010

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2011

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2012

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2013

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2014

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2015

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2016

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2017

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2018

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2019

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2021

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2022

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2023

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(Image credit: Getty Images)