Birth of Christian

15 October 2005

Mary was admitted to Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen at 15:00 on Friday the 14th of October. Rumour spread quickly and a large group of journalists waited outside the hospital.

At 1:57 the next morning her son was born.

Mary had an epidural.

Per Thornit sent out a press realease, mentioning mother and son were doing fine, and that the boy measured 51 centimeters and weighed 3500 grams.

At about 7:20 in the morning crown prince Frederik talked to the press, saying: "You can't mentally prepare becoming a father, it's such a great joy. The birth went well. Mother and child were all right during the entire process. I cut the umbelical cord and shed a tear when the baby was born. You don't stand there like Superman. Mary was very brave. She's started to breastfeed the child, little by little. We'll take the time that's needed before leaving the hospital." He also told the journalists that they had time to pack and drove calmly to the hospital the day before.

During that Saturday the royal birth was all over the news, 21 gun saltes were fired, the Dannebrog was hoisted and bornfires were made to celebrate.

There were visits from queen Margrethe, prince Henrik, prince Joachim and Mary's father John Donaldson and his wife Susan Moody.

John Donaldson told the press that he'd changed the baby's nappy and that his daughter Mary had come through the birth well. "She's fine although obviously she's not feeling like running a marathon."

Among the visitors when Mary was in hospital were Otto Reedtz-Thott and his wife, Helle.

The new prince's name would only be made public 3 months later since Danish royals keep their child's name secret untill the christening. It was widely assumed though he would be called Christian, since all Danish kings are alternately called Frederik or Christian. Untill then he was called "lilleprinsen" in the press, "the little prince".

Christian got the titles "his royal highness prince of Denmark" and "count de Monpezat".

A walk in the park

13 October 2005

This was Mary's last sighting before she gave birth to Christian - labour would start the next afternoon.

The crown princess went for a walk in the park gardens of Fredensborg palace, accompanied by a bodyguard.

Dinner with Australian friends

5 October 2005

Frederik & Mary had Australian friends over. The had dinner at a Japanese restaurant in Copenhagen. 

Mary would give birth to Christian 10 days later. She was obviously feeling fine - despite the false contractions earlier on, because it was she who drove the car.

Walking in Fredensborg park

28 September 2005

Frederik & Mary were seen walking their dog Ziggy around their garden, the park of Fredensborg palace.

Mary would give birth to Christian a little over two weeks later.

Early contractions

14 September 2005

Mary was admitted to the Rigshospital in Copenhagen with early contractions. Frederik was with her.

 After a few hours under observation the crown princess was discharged and went home again.

Suicide Prevention Day

10 September 2005

As patron of PsykiatriFonden crown princess Mary opened a day of conferences dedicated to World Suicide Prevention Day, at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen.

She was accompanied by her lady-in-waiting, countess Victoria Bernstorff-Gyldensteen.

This was Mary's last official activity before the birth of her first child, 5 weeks later.

Hans Knudsen Instituttet

7 September 2005

Crown princess Mary visited a new workshop building of the Hans Knudsen Institute that helps people with physical, mental or other challenges to learn a profession and find a job.

Mary was offered a pair a "home made" baby boots - for obvious reasons.

Lady-in-waiting Victoria Bernstorff-Gyldensteen was present too.

Donation for Julemærkefonden

6 September 2005

As patron of Julemærkefonden, crown princess Mary accepted a donation of 180.000 Danish kroner (about 24.000 euro) from Inner Wheel, an international women's service organisation.

Chairwoman Hanne Krøgh Rasmussen was invited to the crown prince couple's home, Kancellihuset in Fredensborg. There was champagne and cake, while the ladies talked about the fundraising, the weather, dogs, Australia and New Zealand.

Mary was nearly 8 months pregnant with Christian.

Mary's lady-in-waiting, countess Victoria Bernstorff-Gyldensteen supervised the meeting.

Donation for Hjerneskadeforeningen

5 September 2005

Crown princess Mary arrived at the Hôtel d'Angleterre in Copenhagen to receive an important donation on behalf of the Brain Injury Association.

The Hotel's owner, Henning Remmen - he died in 2012 - gave 2 million Danish crowns (about 268.000 euro) to the Association.

Mary would give birth to Christian 5 and a half weeks later. Just like during the rest of her pregnancy, Mary was very (publicly) active in the last stage as well.

As usual, her lady-in-waiting accompanied her.

Fifteenth patronage: Dansk Golf Union

4 September 2005

Accompanied by her lady-in-waiting - countess Victoria Bernstorff-Gyldensteen - pregnant Mary handed out the trophee at the Masters Golf Tournament at the Kokkendal Golf Club in Hørsholm.

The crown princess had accepted the patronage of the Danish Golf Union. Ever since her working days in Australia she'd been a golfer herself.

HC Andersen Parade

3 September 2005

Accompanied by her ever present lady-in-waiting pregnant crown princess Mary attended a parade for the Hans Christian Andersen centenary.

Mary also gave a speech about an international letter writing competition for children, that was held for the HC Andersen year, where she talked about the many letters she receives from all over the world and about the letters she used to write to her grandmother.

 "Jeg er blevet bedt om at tale lidt om mit forhold til at skrive breve i forbindelse med denne dags præmie-overrækkelse til de to bedste brevskrivere i verden. Min første tanke var ' åh nej', nu er jeg nødt til at udtale ordene skrive og breve mange gange, og de to ord har jeg svært ved at udtale.

Nåh…Jeg vil helst tale lidt mere frit end blot at holde mig til emnet brevskrivning.

At lære at skrive og læse er vejen til viden og personlig udvikling og vækst. Man kan ikke sætte ord på, hvor vigtigt det er at kunne læse og skrive. Det er en gave, en gave af håb. En gave, vi alle sammen skulle have rettigheden til, men desværre er det ikke alle, som får chancen. 

Det er flot, at over tre millioner unge fra 25,000 skoler over hele verden har deltaget i konkurrencen. Det viser en stærk forståelse af, hvor vigtigt det er at skrive, og at det også kan være sjovt.

Man kan sige så meget i et brev. Tænk et øjeblik på den viden, vi var gået glip af, hvis mennesker ikke havde sat blyant til papir. Hans Christian Andersen er et perfekt eksempel. Han skrev hele tiden, ikke kun eventyr men også breve, dagbøger og rejsebøger. Hvis ikke han havde været så frodig med sin skrivning, havde vi kun kendt meget lidt til hans person. Og tænk tilbage til den gang meget af verden var uopdaget. Uden det skrevne ord, hvordan kunne man så fortælle andre om, hvad man så eller om, hvad man oplevede på den anden siden af jorden. Det skrevne ord dokumenterer historien.

Hver dag får jeg mange breve fra mange forskellige lande og fra mennesker i alle aldre. Hvert eneste et er jeg meget glad for og ofte rørt over, hvad der står i dem. Folk skriver blandt andet om deres liv, deres personlige følelser og deres forhold til den kongelige familie. Brevene kommer ofte med søde tanker og varme ønsker, fotos og tegninger. Hvert brev giver mig et indtryk af den person, som har taget sig tid til at skrive til mig. Jeg ville gerne kunne svare personligt på hvert brev, men det er desværre ikke altid muligt.

Jeg elsker at skrive (men gør det ikke nok) og synes, det er en rigtig god måde at få de ting ud, som man tænker og føler. Det er mere personligt at skrive eller få et brev end at formidle med e-mail eller SMS. Der er noget specielt ved at holde et brev i hånden og at se sin kæres håndskrift og den måde, hvorpå skriften afspejler, hvad de tænker og føler. Min farmor og jeg skrev til hinanden ofte, og i dag kan jeg stadig tage et af hendes breve frem og føle, at hun er i nærheden, selvom hun døde for nogle år siden.

Jeg vil gerne ønske alle, der deltog i verdensmester-skabet i brevskrivning et stort tillykke. Jeg håber, at I alle sammen vil fortsætte med at skrive breve - hvem ved, måske bliver jeres breve en vigtig del af historien?"

A new rose

1 September 2005

Pregnant crown princess Mary baptized a new breed of roses, named "Kronprinsesse Mary" after her. At Poulsen Roser in Fredensborg.

She was accompanied by Victoria Bernstorff, her lady-in-waiting.

Kys Frøen

31 August 2005

Mary and her lady-in-waiting were at Århus's Musikhuset to watch the performance "Kiss the frog" by Dalgas skolen, a school for mentally handicapped adults. It was organized in association with SIND.

 

They left after an hour.

Two days before this visit Danish government had passed a law that permits Frederik's and Mary's firstborn to be the heir to the throne, regardless of the baby's sex.

Fourteenth patronage: SIND

In 2005 the crown princess of Denmark became the patron of SIND - an organisation that provides information and assistance on mental health issues, both for individuals as for the public, politics and decision makers.

Meeting with volunteers

29 August 2005

Pregnant crown princess Mary had a meeting with the volunteers of the Danish Refugee Council, at Nørrebro in Copenhagen.

She was accompanied by her lady-in-waiting, countess Victoria Bernstorff-Gyldensteen.

Rock på Rosenborg

27 August 2005

For the 60th anniversary of Red Barnet (Save the Children), patron crown prince Frederik & his pregnant wife Mary attended the concert that was held in the grounds of Rosenborg slot.

4000 people showed up for the concert on a warm summer night. It was broadcast live on Danish television.

Mary & Frederik were accompanied by countess Victoria Bernstorff-Gyldensteen, Mary's lady-in-waiting at the time and by Red Barnet's chairwoman Mimi Jakobsen.

Among the  VIP guests were baron Otto & baroness Helle Reedtz-Thott.