{"id":918621,"date":"2026-10-06T21:26:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T21:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/918621\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T21:26:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T21:26:13","slug":"queen-mary-attends-opening-of-parliament-after-secret-visit-to-australia-for-fathers-memorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/918621\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen Mary attends opening of parliament after secret visit to Australia for father\u2019s memorial"},"content":{"rendered":"

Queen Mary<\/a> has returned to official duties just days after attending a private memorial service <\/a>for her late father<\/a> in Hobart.<\/p>\n

The Danish queen joined her husband King Frederik X<\/a> in Copenhagen for the opening of parliament on Tuesday alongside Princess Benedikte, the younger sister of Queen Margrethe II<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Queen Mary and King Frederik X have attended the opening of Denmark\u2019s parliament on Tuesday, just days after their return from Australia.\u00a0Martin Sylvest Andersen\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Denmark\u2019s parliament, known as Folketinget, is located within Christiansborg Palace<\/a> in central Copenhagen, close to the royal family\u2019s winter residence Amalienborg<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The opening of parliament is a tradition upheld by the Danish royals annually<\/a>, where they listen to the prime minister of the day\u2019s speech to herald in a new political year.<\/p>\n

It takes place on the first Tuesday of October and marks the start of the new legislative year after the summer break.<\/p>\n

Queen Mary has only just returned to Denmark after spending time with her family in Australia. A memorial service to her late father, John Donaldson, was held on Wednesday last week, in Tasmania, following his death in April<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She was joined by King Frederik, leaving their eldest son Crown Prince Christian<\/a> to serve as regent in the monarch\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n

Confirmation of the royal couple\u2019s visit to Australia was given by the Danish Royal House, which added a note to their official diary late on Wednesday<\/a> afternoon Australian time.<\/p>\n

It read: \u201cThe King and Queen attend a private memorial service for the Queen\u2019s father, Mr. John Donaldson, in Hobart, Tasmania\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Crown<\/p>\n

Queen Mary was in Hobart last week to attend a private memorial service for her late father John Donaldson, who passed away on April 11.\u00a0The Danish Royal House<\/p>\n

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Queen Mary wore a new burgundy suit by French designer Roland Mouret and a hat by Danish milliner Katrin Cecilia Jacobsen.\u00a0Martin Sylvest Andersen\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Donaldson died in Hobart on April 11<\/a>, aged 84, after several years of ailing health.<\/p>\n

Queen Mary was able to spend time with her father at the end of the state visit to Australian<\/a> in March, with Hobart the final stop on the six-day tour.<\/p>\n

When Donaldson\u2019s death was announced by the palace, the Royal House said a private memorial service would take place at a later date.<\/p>\n

The memorial was attended by Queen Mary\u2019s three siblings Jane Stephens and Patricia Bailey \u2212 who live in Tasmania \u2212 and her brother, John.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Queen Mary was back in Copenhagen for the opening of parliament on Tuesday, one of the most important events on the royal calendar.\u00a0Martin Sylvest Andersen\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Mary made sure to be back in Copenhagen for the opening of parliament, which is one of the most important events on the royal calendar.<\/p>\n

For the occasion, Mary wore a new burgundy suit by Roland Mouret and a hat by Danish milliner Katrin Cecilia Jacobsen. Pinned to her peplum-style jacket was a vintage Christian Dior turquoise brooch, seen on Mary during a visit to Paris in March<\/a>, 2025.<\/p>\n

Once inside Christiansborg, Queen Mary and King Frederik were momentarily unable to access their seats, which were roped off.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Queen Mary attempted to undo the rope blocking the royal section inside Folketinget, the Danish parliament, at Christiansborg Castle before an aide stepped in to help.\u00a0Martin Sylvest Andersen\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The rope hadn\u2019t been removed ahead of the royal family\u2019s arrival, with Mary unsuccessfully attempting to remove it herself before an aide stepped in.<\/p>\n

Crown Prince Christian<\/a> was absent from the opening of parliament due to his ongoing military training<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The crown prince will celebrate his 21st birthday on October 15.<\/p>\n

The following week, Vietnam\u2019s president and his wife will make a state visit to Denmark which will see the royal couple host a gala banquet at Amalienborg.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Queen Mary has returned to official duties just days after attending a private memorial service for her late…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":918622,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-918621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=918621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/918622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=918621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=918621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=918621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}