For a long time, Amber Petty was known to the world simply as the ‘best friend’. And not just ‘best friend’ of anyone – it was of the future Queen of Denmark, Crown Princess Mary.
WATCH: Amber Petty ‘depressed’ after ‘losing’ former bestie Princess Mary
Australia finally had a royal fairytale and Melbourne-born Amber was an incredulous passenger on her close friend’s wild ride.
But since standing beside Mary Donaldson at the altar as she married Prince Frederik in 2004, Amber has experienced her own bumpy ride.
Speaking with New Idea Royals, Amber, 48, confesses how being a part of the Danish royal wedding 15 years ago led her to a bitter and dark place – and she reveals how turning to tarot cards and spirituality has since changed her life.
“I think that experience really amplified my very toxic beliefs about love,” Amber admits, remembering the hysteria of the royal wedding.
“I was in the middle of this huge thing that everyone called a fairytale, which was this unexpected amazing love story, and it really just amplified to me, ‘Oh, you’ll never have a love story’.”
Nothing could have prepared Amber for her foray into the world of the Danish monarchy.
But what should have been like a chapter out of a Hans Christian Andersen storybook came at a time when the former radio host was struggling with her mental health.
“I was not at all grounded during that experience. It would’ve been wonderful to have been grounded and to have had my own spiritual practices during that time. Unfortunately, during that time I was really still in the eye of the depression and the low self-esteem storm,” Amber recalls.
“There were some pretty dark years after that wedding experience; not just because of that, but it was one part of it.”
Being thrust into the spotlight as a bridesmaid at a royal wedding was tough on Amber, who was 32 at the time.
She didn’t land a prince – but the Aussie writer did get a target on her back.
The media weren’t very kind and the attention pushed Amber into a lengthy period of depression and anxiety.
“There were very negative comments I was constantly reading about me. So there was a voice in my head going, ‘Everyone thinks that you’re awful, and no-one thinks that you’re worthy of being anywhere near that family or that girl’,” Amber says.
“I was in a really dark place. I was secretly very depressed although I wasn’t sure if what I was feeling was depression.
“I was on this mental war ground trying to duck and weave through all of that negativity. [I had to] try to remember that you wouldn’t have lots of beautiful friends if you weren’t a good person.”
One of the worst rumours was that the Danish royal family were ‘embarrassed’ by Amber’s affiliation with mysticism and witchcraft.
Dozens of articles suggested Mary was pressured by Frederik and his family to dump her best friend as bridesmaid – which Amber has always emphatically denied.
“A magazine came out once and said that I’m a witch and that the family were horrified,” Amber remembers.
“That brought up a hell of a lot of anxiety for me.”
While the two remain close, it was years before Amber was able to shake off the label of ‘Mary’s friend’, and transform into her own person in the public eye.
She credits her innate spirituality and the power of the oracle and tarot reading for helping her find the light.
Amber has now launched her own business, The Tarot Tea House, which she says is her “calling”.
“I was in a really bad way. Someone suggested I go and see this energy healer and that was the first step for me reawakening my spiritual side, which then led into this love of oracle and tarot reading,” she says.
“The blessing of going into that dark place, and that really challenging time, and then eventually finding my own spiritual path, meant that I could not only heal myself, but it actually has slowly … become part of my career in every way, through this new business.”
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