‘SHE’S NEVER BEEN SO HOMESICK’
A forlorn Princess Mary is pining for the Aussie family she left behind
With her marriage to Prince Frederik widely reported to be at breaking point, there’s nowhere Princess Mary would rather be than with her Aussie family.
Sadly for the former Mary Donaldson, her beloved sisters Patricia and Jane – who were bridesmaids in Mary and Fred’s 2004 royal wedding – are 16,500km away from Copenhagen in her home town of Hobart.
And with her personal life teetering in uncertainty, sources say Mary’s never been more homesick. “What she wouldn’t give just to pop around to Trish’s for a wine or Jane’s for a cup of tea and a chat,” says an insider. “She can call them, of course, but it’s not the same.” Making matters worse for Mary, 47, are the milestones she’s missing of her beloved nieces and nephews. Woman’s Day has uncovered a treasure trove of pictures from the Donaldson family album, which even shows Mary’s nephew Alex Stephens, the 27-year-old son of Jane and her husband Craig, cuddling up with Mary’s youngest daughter Josephine seven years ago.
Among the images are shots of Jane celebrating her 50th birthday with her three kids, Alex, Erin, 24, and Kate, 22. Patricia is also snapped alongside her children, Michael, 25, Maddy, 24, and Mollie, 16.
Woman’s Day can also reveal, perhaps most painfully for Mary, she’s missed her lookalike niece Michelle’s engagement to her long-time partner.
“Mary is particularly close with her big brother John, so to be missing [his daughter] Michelle’s engagement hurt,” says a source close to the royal mum-of-four. “She’s always felt a special connection with Michelle and her sister Cherie because they look so similar.”
Making matters worse for Mary is that as her friction with Fred, 51, worsens, her load of royal engagements is only increasing.
“Mary is frustrated because she feels that Fred doesn’t do nearly enough to help, but she took her oath to serve the
Danish people very seriously,” says the insider. “She knows she is duty bound to continue her work, even if it means missing important occasions like Michelle’s wedding.”
STRONG BOND
In 2020, Mary is already expected to split her time between Amalienborg Palace and Switzerland, where her children Prince Christian, 14, Princess Isabella, 12, and eight-year-old twins Josephine and Vincent will be attending school.
“Already there isn’t a lot of family time in the books for the year, but Mary’s more concerned about seeing the kids through their tough early teens than she is about patching things up with Fred at the moment,” says a palace source.
“Deep down, she wishes she could whisk them all off to Australia for their high school education, so they can be close to their cousins, who would definitely look after them. The kids love visiting Australia and always talk about their family there.
“Mary’s nieces and nephews are very proud of their royal connection and would obviously do whatever it took to have Christian and his brother and sisters home in Australia. Mary only wishes there was some way it could work out.”
‘The kids always talk about their family in Australia’