King Frederik of Denmark and Queen Mary were welcomed to Hobart on Thursday afternoon by a crowd happy to see the Danish Royals up close.
It was the royal couple’s first official public visit to the queen’s home state of Tasmania since 2005, and the final day of their tour of Australia.
Queen Mary and King Frederik meet with crowds in Hobart. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)
It was also the only opportunity Tasmanians had to be close to the king and their “homegrown” queen.
Afterwards, the king and queen attended a state reception hosted by Tasmanian Governor Barbara Baker AC, marking the conclusion of their state visit to Australia.
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Live coverage of King Frederik and Queen Mary’s meet and greet on Hobart’s waterfront
7h agoThu 19 Mar 2026 at 6:38am
Goodbye Danish Royals!
(ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)
As former prime minister Robert Menzies once said of Queen Elizabeth II, “I did but see her passing by…”
We will leave our live coverage of the Danish Royals visit to Hobart here.
It seemed to go really well; they had a big day of events but seemed relaxed and genuinely enthused to meet the crowd at Hunter Street, from what I could tell.
A successful Royal visit.
Until next time, FARVEL!*
*Danish for farewell
7h agoThu 19 Mar 2026 at 6:29am
Happy faces all around for the Royal visit
Here is some video from today’s meet-and-greet with the Danish Royals, King Frederik and Queen Mary in Hobart.
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7h agoThu 19 Mar 2026 at 6:25am
Queen Mary and Frederick a hit in Hobart
Show moreCrowds delighted by royals
Tasmania was the last stop on the king and queen’s tour of Australia. (ABC News: Monty Jacka)
In her address at Government House, Queen Mary said there “isn’t a more special place” to end their tour than in Tasmania.
“I’ve been inspired and so impressed by the breadth of collaboration between our two countries,” Queen Mary said.
“I would also like to say a huge thank you to all the Tasmanians who have made us feel so welcome.
“It has been so touching for both Frederik and I to feel so much warmth and interest.”
Earlier, Hobart’s waterfront filled up with onlookers eager to meet the Danish royals.
Danish tourists Cecilie and Sandra were “starstruck” to meet their king and queen.
Danish tourists Sandra (left) and Cecilie didn’t know the king and queen would be in Hobart. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)
“We didn’t know they were coming; it was only on the ferry that we found out, so we had to be here to meet them,” Sandra said.
While the tourists caught a ‘hello’ from Queen Mary, King Frederik spoke to the pair for a while.
They said King Frederick also said he was a fan of Sandra’s Tasmanian merch.
“He said he liked my T-shirt. I really love this T-shirt so it’s amazing he actually noticed it,” Sandra said.
Zelah Dutta-Nielsen (right) brought a sign that reads “welcome home to Tasmania”. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)
Zelah Dutta-Nielsen was one of the people who got to the waterfront early to welcome the king and queen.
“It’s very special for us because my husband is actually Danish, our daughters are half-Danish,” Ms Dutta-Nielsen said.
She brought some Danish “Pålaegschokolade” for Queen Mary to sign.
“It’s a special breakfast that the girls always get treated to when they’re in Denmark,” she said.
“That’s as Danish as you’re gonna get.”Boats, lobsters and plaques
King Frederik takes a photo of Queen Mary holding a lobster. (Supplied: IMAS)
It was a busy day for the Danish royals.
Earlier in the day, the king and queen travelled to Hobart’s waterfront, where they boarded a boat to travel down the River Derwent to the Alum Cliffs Marine Reserve.
They were joined by Premier Jeremy Rockliff and University of Tasmania vice-chancellor Rufus Black, and met members of the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) group working on a project to conserve giant kelp.
The boat pulled alongside Alum Cliffs and the royals were shown samples of the kelp, along with the long-spined sea urchin, which is wreaking havoc on kelp forests.
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Queen Mary held a lobster, after checking it wouldn’t “bite”, then posed for King Frederik to take some photos on his mobile phone.
They then released lobsters back into the water.
Danish King Frederik holds a Tasmanian lobster that divers pulled from the water. (Pulse Tasmania/Pool: Josh Agnew)
Queen Mary said it “couldn’t have been a more perfect day” for the boat trip.
When asked how she felt as they travelled past her former school, Taroona High School, she laughed and replied: “Some good memories popped up.”
Queen Mary (top, second from left) was on a boat when it passed by her old school, Taroona High School. (Pulse Tasmania/Pool: Josh Agnew)
Their official royal visit began on Thursday morning at Hobart’s Government House, where the royals strolled the picturesque grounds with Governor Baker.
They also met several representatives of the local Aboriginal Community, who welcomed them with a traditional cleansing ceremony.
King Frederik of Denmark and Queen Mary took part in a cleansing ceremony. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)
They also stopped in at MONA for a tour with founder David Walsh where they caught a pop-up set by Danish electro-pop duo ROYA at one of the museum’s exhibitions.
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Other stops for the king and queen included the Agrarian Kitchen in New Norfolk — an award-winning cooking school and restaurant focused on sustainable and circular food practices.
King Frederik chats with Queen Mary at Government House. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)
Prior to that, they visited Hobart ferry company Incat, which is building three battery-electric high-speed ferries for Danish operator Molsinjen — the largest electric ferries in Europe.
They were joined by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff to unveil a plaque commemorating their visit on the vehicle deck of Hull 102, the first of the three ferries.
King Frederik and Queen Mary unveiled a plaque at ferry builder Incat to commemorate their visit. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)
Queen’s family still living in Tasmania
While the couple have travelled to the island state many times since they married, their previous trips have mostly been private, with the royals keeping a low profile and spending time with Tasmanian family and friends.
The Danish royals met with Governor Barbara Baker. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)
Queen Mary’s sisters, Jane and Patricia, live in Tasmania.
Tasmanian-born Mary met the then-Crown Prince Frederik at the Slip Inn bar in Sydney during the 2000 Olympics.
Queen Mary is back in her hometown of Hobart. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)
The couple married in 2004 and ascended to the throne in 2024.