Despite their best efforts at papering over the cracks, the strain in King Frederik and Queen Mary’s marriage is “clear to see”, a royal insider tells New Idea.
Over recent months, at official engagements, the Danish royals have looked “tense and distant” from one another at times.
“They are trying their best to put on a united front, especially in public,” our source adds.
“But they are definitely going through a rough patch – and the Danish public has noticed.”
The marital turbulence began eight months ago when Frederik, 56, was spotted on a night out with Mexican socialite Genoveva Casanova in Madrid. She denied any impropriety in their brief interaction, but that event – as well as the abdication of Fred’s mother Queen Margrethe – has put him and Mary, 52, under enormous strain.
“This hiccup in the marriage couldn’t have come at a worse time,” our insider explains.
“Frederik and Mary had to hit the ground running when they ascended the Danish throne in January and their workload has increased as a result. “That hasn’t given them any real time to prioritise what’s going on in their marriage.
The fact that the couple, who married in Copenhagen Cathedral 20 years ago, have four teenage children – Crown Prince Christian, 18, Princess Isabella, 17, and twins Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent, 13 – to parent is also an intensive personal responsibility that they share.
Our insider says that Fred is especially fearful about the current state of his marriage because of what he observed in his own parents’ difficult union.
His late father, Prince Henrik, was never happy with playing second fiddle to Margrethe, who in turn made her priorities clear in 1972, when she said, “Denmark is more important to me than anything else.”
As a result, the pair virtually lived separate lives – Henrik even failed to attend his wife’s 75th birthday celebrations in 2015. In a final snub, he expressed a wish not to be buried with Margrethe prior to his death in 2018.
“Theirs was virtually a loveless marriage,” our source says.
While Fred and Mary are in nowhere near as dire straits, the King does worry that Mary “isn’t happy”, our insider says.
A divorce is “highly unlikely”, adds the source.
Yet, as their children grow older and become independent, it is possible that Australian-born Mary could opt to spend more time down under, especially as it’s now harder for her 82-year-old father, John Donaldson, to travel to Denmark from his home in Tasmania.
Meanwhile, Fred and Mary must continue to carry out their public duties as King and Queen, no matter how they’re feeling personally.
“Frederik is desperate to get things back on track with Mary,” our source says.
“Everyone in Denmark hopes it will happen sooner rather than later.”
