CHRISTIAN ENROLS IN KING BOOTCAMP!
The prince is growing up... and his Aussie-born mum couldn’t be prouder
Resplendent in his crisp suit and flanked by the Queen and the future monarch, Princess Mary’s eldest son has transformed seemingly overnight from a baby-faced cutie to an intelligent and determined young man ready to face his future as King of Denmark.
Now 14, Prince Christian was invited to pose in an historic portrait alongside his formidable 80-year-old grandmother Queen Margrethe and father Prince Frederik, 51 – and Woman’s Day can reveal the young heir’s honour came amid him taking to “king lessons” with aplomb.
“Margrethe and Fred have spent lots of one-on-one time with Christian since he’s been back at the palace after cutting his school year in Switzerland short,” says a source. “Fred has been telling him to enjoy the party and adoration that comes with being future king, and marry later in life like he did.
‘Thankfully, Christian is less of a jester than his father’
“Meanwhile, Margrethe has been taking him through the serious side of it all. The paperwork, the public engagements, the responsibility. Thankfully, Christian is a studious kid who is less of a jester than his father, and he seems to relish the structure of the Queen’s lessons. Of course, this comes as no surprise to Margrethe – Prince Christian might look like his father but personality-wise, he is just like his mother.”
According to our source close to Mary, the 48-year-old Aussie “made it her life’s mission” to raise her four children – including Princess Isabella, 12, and nine-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine – as equals, with an appreciation for how lucky they were to be born into a palace.
“Of course deep down she has had to give extra time to Christian. He is the heir to the throne and she wanted to make sure she prepared him for that,” says the insider. “She wanted to make sure he grew up with focus, kindness and empathy above all else, and the Queen is very impressed with the way she has raised Christian.”
Mary has admitted she’s followed her dear late mum
Henrietta’s lead when it comes to raising her kids. “Naturally, I do things my own way, but I’m influenced by my mother’s way of doing things,” she told The Australian Women’s Weekly last year. “My mother would do anything for her children, and that’s how I am too. I’d do anything for them. That’s what real love is. [I want my kids to be] happy and positive individuals, with self-esteem and selfconfidence. As parents, we want to give our children a solid foundation that will give them the strength to be themselves in what for them will often be an extraordinary world.”
FINDING THE BALANCE
And it’s especially so for her eldest boy, who will one day wear a crown. “Mary has been careful to equip Christian with life skills, but also not to take too much joy out of his childhood,” says our insider.
With Lego Legomasters’egomasters Le Masters’ second season well and aand truly upon us, nobody is more moore excited than the popular showw’s show’s expert judge, Ryan Mcnauught, Mcnaught, who is Australia’s only “Lego Certified ed Professional”. The father-of-two tells Woman’s n’s Day there’s never been a better time to get to grips i with ith the th iconic i i toy t as Aussies A i are encouraged to focus on the simple things in life during self-isolation.
“That’s the beauty y of Lego g – it’s so versatile and the whole family can have fun with it,” says Ryan, 47, who insists that it’s important to be keeping kids not just entertained, but also educated during these testing times.
“Lego is a very healthy thing to do. It’s not screen time, it’s all about hand and eye coordination, there’s even some maths
involved, i l d so it’s it a pretty healthy way to play and learn at the same time,” he says.
It’s certainly been a tumultuous start to the year y and with growing confusion about what parents should sh be doing with their kids, Ryan main maintains that Lego is the one thing we can’t g get wrong.
“There is no right ri or wrong way to do Lego. It’s really up u to your imagination and creativity in terms term of what you can create, and you can take it w where you want. Last week my kids were into int building Lego spaceships and now we’re building b trains,” he says.
“Lego can be whatever you want it to be, that’s the beauty of it. As kids change what they’re into, Lego Leg bricks can change, and are versatile eno enough to reflect that.”
One th thing th that t doesn’t’t doesn’t seemto seem to change for Ryan is his twin sons’ sense of humour. The presenter says that despite his growing profile and TV success, his boys Riley and Alexander, 12, can be his harshest critics.
“I’m still just Dad and Lego is just my job, so seeing me on telly is no big deal for them,” maintains Ryan.
“[Watching the show back] they do like to laugh at the things I say and they’re like, ‘Dad you are so lame!’” laughs Ryan.
FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS
As for the kids watching the blockbuster series, Ryan encourages everyone to stick to their dreams.
“If you’d told me that now in my 40s I’d be working for Lego and on TV for Lego, I would’ve laughed at you so hard,” he insists, saying that he encourages all kids to follow their “pure pure ambition”. ambition .
‘It’s so versatile and the whole family can have fun with it’
Scoffing her third kebab of the week, Brisbane mumof-two Zarshua Mack knew that at 123kg she was slowly eating herself to an early death – and spending a small fortune on junk food.
“We were mortified by the amount wasted on food,” she says. “I was an emotional eater who would eat if I was sad or happy, and it would always be junk such as a kebab with fries or Thai green curry with snacks.”
Zarshua’s bad eating habit began to spiral out of control when she lived in the WA mining town of Karratha with husband Martin, 32. She had given up work to raise her two boys, eight-year-old Zayne and Atley, four.
“I was desperate to work, but the cost of childcare was too pricey, and I began to feel unworthy,” she says.
“I would purposely go out of my way to buy food and spend up to $80 a week on kebabs alone as I would have three or four at lunchtime.”
After eight years of living in a remote town, the family moved back to the city and Zarshua returned to work as a recruitment consultant, which is when the former competitive swimmer became depressed about her size 24 frame.
Since making the decision to spend $6000 on gastric sleeve surgery in March last year, the 31-yearold has lost 50kg. Now weighing 72kg, she has dropped seven dress sizes – and is saving an extra $11,500 on takeaways.
“The main reason for getting the surgery other than to lose weight was to change habits, to grow mentally and to have a lifestyle I wanted to be proud of,” she says.
Townsville mum Tash Mcinnes went from a size 20 to a size 12 in less than a year after her doctor diagnosed a fatty liver and dangerouslysly high cholesterol, thanks to years of binge eating.
“I suffered postnatal depression and refused to look at myself in the mirror or go anywhere. I turned to food more than I ever had... I was just so disgusted with myself,” she says.
When her son Bailey, now 13, was aged four, her husband Brad was deployed overseas for 14 torturous months – and Tash, 33, turned to alcohol on top of binge eating blocks of chocolate. “I was addicted to alcohol, not just sugar,” she says.
After giving birth to her second son, Ryan, now seven, the desperate mum tried “every diet I could” before a wake-up call came last year, when Bailey collapsed in tears in a changing room because nothing would fit his 76kg frame.
“For years I had tried to show him affection by giving him sweets and now he was being bullied. I was so ashamed that I did that to him. That was my turning point,” she says.
Tash has lost 40kg following the keto diet, and her cholesterol and liver have been given a clean bill of health.
“I’ve hidden away for too long and will never do it again,” she says.
Taylah Rogers admits her self-esteem plummeted to an all-time low after she reached her heaviest weight of 120kg two years ago after binging on pizza, burgers and Chinese takeaway every day.
It was only after her doctor recommended she lose weight to help ease her extreme menstrual pain that Taylah, 26, ditched the carbs in favour of a high-protein, high-fat keto diet and began working out six days a week.
“I’d been overweight for most of my life and never gave much thought to what I ate,” she says. “I was totally addicted to white carbohydrates and fast food. I loved pasta, rice and potato dishes and would eat pizza, hash browns and hot chips regularly. I was a huge binge eater, and wouldn’t stop eating until there was basically no food left.”
But since transforming her diet at doctor’s orders, Taylor has lost an incredible 42kg and four dress sizes by staying committed to her nutrition and fitness goals. Now, she feels incredibly proud of her 78kg, size 12-14 physique.
“The turning point for me was when I went to my doctor as I was suffering from extreme menstrual pain and he suggested that I lose weight and begin exercising to see if it would make a difference,” she says.
“I’d done my research and heard so many women had luck with the keto diet, not only for weight loss but to help with period pain. I gave it a go and haven’t looked back.
“Once I started, I couldn’t stop. My period pain improved significantly, and
I was feeling happier and healthier than ever before.”
The former carb addict has since switched her daily fast food binges for a keto diet focusing on healthy protein and fats, including healthy lean meat, avocados, eggs, vegetables, salads and protein shakes.
“I now wear highwaisted denim shorts, skirts and figurehugging dresses. These are all clothes I wouldn’t even think of wearing before,” says Taylah.
Self-professed Mcdonald’s addict Talicia Lees says she was so humiliated after she was kicked off a ride when the safety harness wouldn’t fit over her belly that it inspired her to lose an incredible 51kg.
The Sydney education student, 24, weighed 137kg at her heaviest, and would often feast on Mcdonald’s twice a day – scoffing two sausage and egg Mcmuffins, four hash browns and a large orange juice for breakfast and a large double quarter pounder meal with large chips, large Coke and 10 nuggets for lunch and dinner.
“I’ll never forget that moment I realised how heavy I’d gotten since high school,” she says.
“I was at the dentist and had to get weighed before having anaesthesia. I looked down and saw 136.7kg flashing back at me.”
But even more embarrassment was to come when she went to Sydney’s Royal Easter Show and was forced to get off a ride when the attendant couldn’t make the safety harness fit over her body.
“It was a ride that went upside down. The ride attendant tried to pull the harness down and it wouldn’t click into place. It wouldn’t buckle up no matter how hard he tried. I quickly got up without saying anything to my friends because I was so embarrassed.”
But after her doctor recommended trying a low-carb ketogenic diet, Talicia says the weight started melting off.
“I went to the doctor, and discovered I had polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and insulin resistance,” she says.
“He suggested I give the keto diet a try, and I’ve never looked back. I feel amazing, and with the help of weight training I feel healthier than ever before.”
She dropped four dress sizes and now feels healthier and more confident than ever, flaunting her new 86kg, size 14 figure.
“My confidence and selfworth has soared. If I can do it, anyone can.”