There’s a new style queen in town.
Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II abdicated the throne in favor of her older son, Crown Prince Frederik, on Sunday — making his wife, Crown Princess Mary, the country’s new queen.
And she brings some serious style chops to her new role.
While American royal fans might think Kate Middleton’s fashion reigns supreme, Mary — who is friendly with Britain’s future queen — can certainly give her a run for her money.
The two share very similar senses of style and have even worn the same outfit on several occasions; both royal ladies have been spotted in a forest green Beulah dress, for example, that’s also been worn by Ivanka Trump.
The women can also relate to coming from “commoner” backgrounds; both Australian-born Mary Donaldson and Middleton grew up in non-aristocratic families before linking up with their royal husbands. (The new king and queen of Denmark even met at a Sydney bar!).
Below, we take a look back at 14 of Queen Mary’s most stylish moments over the past 20 years.
2004: Lady in red
Mary Donaldson — who met Crown Prince Frederik at Sydney’s Slip Inn pub during the 2000 Summer Olympics — went from Australian businesswoman to future royal when the Danish prince popped the question in 2003. On the night before their wedding, the bride-to-be turned heads in a bright red gown with a bow-like train at a lavish gala held at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen.
She also wore one of the royal family’s treasured sets known as the Queen Ingrid Ruby parure, consisting of a dazzling tiara accented with diamond leaves and ruby stones. She added the collection’s enormous matching necklace along with the parure’s chandelier earrings, brooch, bracelet and ring.
2004: Princess bride
The bride wore a fairytale look when she married Crown Prince Frederik at Copenhagen Cathedral on May 14, 2004, sporting an ivory ballgown by Danish designer Uffe Frank. The three-quarter-sleeved duchesse satin dress featured soft pleats on the skirt and embroidered details underneath, and she paired it with an heirloom veil that has been passed down through the Danish royal family since 1905.
For her “something new,” the future queen wore a glittering diamond tiara gifted to her by her in-laws, Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik of Denmark.
2012: Twinning with Pippa
In addition to favoring similar styles as the Princess of Wales, it would appear Queen Mary also shares the same taste as Pippa Middleton. In 2012, the Danish royal sported a pale blue Project D peplum dress once seen on the famous royal sister, donning the bluebird-printed frock to a family christening with her husband and two children, Prince Christian and Princess Isabella (twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine would join the family in 2011).
2013: Blooming in white
The future king and queen looked the picture of royalty when they attended the inauguration ceremony for King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands in 2013. Mary wore a long-sleeved white wrap-front gown printed with leaves and petals as the Dutch monarch and his wife officially took the throne.
She paired the Charlotte Lynggaard for Ole Lynggaard dress with blush Prada pumps and a woven pink Bottega Veneta clutch, adding a fanciful floral fascinator and her Danish Order of the Elephant badge and blue sash.
2014: Summertime sheer
The busy mom went for a floaty floral look to take the family’s annual summer photos at Graasten Palace in 2014, wearing a sheer blue maxi dress with flat brown sandals as she played with her children.
She accessorized with a long yellow pendant necklace and a shorter gold chain, her sunglasses perched atop her head.
2016: A day at the races
The Princess of Wales and Queen Mary enjoyed a day at Royal Ascot in June 2016, with the Danish royal sporting a punchy orange Marc by Marc Jacobs dress with a sash at the waist.
While Mary went for bold color while Kate stuck with white lace, they were on the same page when it came to hats, with both wearing creamy floral headpieces for the occasion.
2018: Sleek in Seattle
Like Middleton, the mom of four loves a recycled ‘fit — and Alexander McQueen. Mary wore this red tweed midi skirt on four different occasions between 2018 to 2022.
In 2019, she styled the McQueen design with a ruffly white turtleneck while meeting with France’s first lady, Brigitte Macron.
2021: Pop of pink
Like the Princess of Wales, Queen Mary knows the power of a good pant. She frequently mixes up her dresses with tailored trousers like this salmon style, which she wore to the 2021 Copenhagen Human Rights Forum.
She teamed the wide-legged slacks with a puffed-sleeved white blouse and gold belt, adding coordinating coral heels for her day at the LGBTQIA+ rights event.
2021: Gorgeous in green
Mary made a high street look her own by having a $265 green brocade H&M Conscious dress altered into a skirt, and she’s stayed true to the label’s sustainable message by wearing it on at least four occasions since 2018.
While she originally styled it with a crisp white shirt, the royal has also worn the skirt with an off-the-shoulder black top for three events — including the 2021 Crown Prince Couple’s Awards, when she wore the look with black Gianvito Rossi heels.
2022: Coordinating with Kate
The style twins met again when Middleton paid a visit to Denmark in 2022, with the fashionable duo coordinating perfectly in shades of black, white and gray.
Mary sported a chic white tweed coat over a black dress and dark tights for the occasion, matching with the Princess of Wales — who wore a gray Catherine Walker coat dress — in black leather gloves and Gianvito Rossi heels.
2023: A vision in violet
Queen Mary wowed in an amethyst-colored coat dress as she attended the May 6, 2023 coronation of Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla. The Danish royal wore a custom wrap-front Soren Le Schmidt design with long sleeves and gathered detail at the waist for the historic event, while Frederik looked dashing in a military coat and medals.
She kept the purple theme going with a matching clutch, gloves, pumps and veiled hat, but the real show-stopper came in the form of her turquoise brooch and earrings. The chunky diamond-accented pieces were given to Mary by Queen Margrethe for her 50th birthday, and are part of a set that is said to date back to Empress Catherine the Great of Russia, per the Royal Watcher blog.
2023: Bedazzling blue
Mary wore the same sparkling blue gown from her 50th birthday portraits to attend a state banquet in honor of Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia in November 2023.
The royal also selected the elaborately beaded three-quarter-sleeved dress — which was designed by Lasse Spangenberg — for the 2023 New Year’s Day celebrations at the palace and on the cover of a photography book titled “Mary H.K.H.,” which was released in honor of her milestone birthday in 2022.
She added the family’s Diamond Necklace Tiara and a yellow sash signifying her position as a member of the Grand Cross of the Spanish Order of Isabella the Catholic, an honor bestowed on her by the Spanish royal couple.
2024: Queen of the re-wear
While she could have chosen a glamorous new look for her first big appearance since Queen Margrethe announced her abdication, Crown Princess Mary opted to wear an old favorite burgundy gown for the 2024 New Year’s Day celebrations at Christian VII’s Palace.
The royal wore the same plush velvet Birgit Hallstein dress to four prior New Year’s celebrations as well as in official royal portrait sessions — making the January 1, 2024 event the seventh time she’d sported the style since 2007.
Mary’s royal journey came full circle with the addition of the same diamond-and-ruby tiara she wore the night before her wedding.
