‘STOP BEING SO LAZY!’
One half of the Danish royal duo is doing more work than the other
As they prepare to head up the newly slimmed-down Danish royal family, Crown Princess Mary and her husband Crown Prince Frederik are set to be busier than ever – yet palace sources reveal that one half of the beloved couple feels they’re taking on the lion’s share of work, while the other only seems to nab the fun jobs!
“Mary works tirelessly, visiting different countries, meeting heads of state and attending endless events, all the while keeping tabs on her teenage children,” a royal insider shares. “She’s not the only Dane to wonder if her husband could perhaps do a little more.”
Danish magazine Se & Hor recently pointed out that Fred worked just 69 days in 2022, which included some of his personal projects, such as sailing competitions.
In October, eyebrows were raised when the 55-year-old was photographed looking carefree and happy during a sailing competition in France, just days after it was revealed his nieces and nephews were stripped of their titles by his mum Queen Margrethe.
Meanwhile, Mary filled 2022 with numerous social engagements – royal duties, Margrethe’s historic 50th Golden Jubilee, a visit to a hospital named in her honour, an official tour of Vanuatu and Fiji, and a quick trip home to Australia, where she undertook another royal engagement. She then went to the UK for King Charles III’s coronation.
On a personal level, Mary was also constantly busy last year, with celebrations for her 50th birthday, daughter Princess Isabella’s confirmation and dealing with the bullying scandal that engulfed the school attended by her eldest son Prince Christian.
It has not gone unnoticed by Danish royal watchers, who widely acknowledge Mary has been working more than her husband lately.
Dubbing him the “sports and music king”, Se & Hor points out the king-in-waiting will now “have to work” and support his mum, 83, by taking on more duties, especially given Margrethe’s ill health over the past few months – and Mary is in agreement.
PULLING HIS WEIGHT
“If he wants her support when he takes the throne, he has to pull his weight,” says our palace source. “Fred needs to start taking a more active role.”
The prince is often front and centre at events that he finds personally appealing, notes our spy, pointing to the recent Royal Run, where he joined 93,000 other racers in the yearly fun runs across Denmark.
Mary and Fred took part in the country’s shortest run of 1.6 kilometres in Nyborg, alongside their four children, Christian, 17, Isabella, 16, and 12-year-old twins Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent.
In the lead-up to the event,
‘Fred needs to start taking a more active role’
Fred shared his enthusiasm for running by teaming up with Danish comedian Heino Hansen to release a series of training videos. Now Mary hopes the keen sportsman will show as much enthusiasm in other areas.
Although Fred recently undertook a work trip to Niger alongside the Danish minister for global development and climate, the rest of his calendar for June is completely empty, according to local media.
“Mary doesn’t like to let things like this fester and, in her typical way, she told Fred that although she gets that there are some events he finds tedious, tediousness is part of the job,” says our source. “He can’t just go to the fun ones all the time.”