Their Royal Highnesses the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark finished their seven day official visit to Australia Saturday. The last three days of their tour took them to Melbourne and a town called Broken Hill.
See photos of Day 4 here at Zimbio
For Wednesday, Frederik and Mary went to Melbourne’s version of the Sofitel Hotel, to open the State of Green – Join The Future. Think Denmark conference. Before entering the hotel, the couple were greeted by 7 year old Catherine Babie, who was born the day before they married in May 2004. Catherine’s mother, Rachael Oliphant, had flown with her to Melbourne in hopes of meeting the Australian-born Mary, and with luck it worked out!
“Hello Prince Frederik, hello Princess Mary, these flowers are for you,” Catherine said as she handed the Crown Princess a bouquet of chrysanthemums, gerberas and lilies. She then curtseyed to the royals.
“She’s fairly young, she has children, she’s well presented, she’s from Australia and someone to admire,” Ms. Oliphant described Mary. She also explained that her daughter collects magazines of the Crown Princess.
Inside the hotel, Crown Prince Frederik discussed green technology, which is the point of this official visit.
“We’re here to develop the existing strong commercial relationship between Australia and Denmark in areas of mutual interest such as smart cities, clean energy, fruit and meat technology,” he said.
“Climate change and scarce resources impede us to continue business as usual. Both our countries are looking to reduce their dependency on oil, gas and coal.”
“At the same time we’re not willing to compromise our economic prosperity in order to do so.”
After the conference, Mary teamed up again with chefs Rasmus Kofoed and Matt Moran to demonstrate Danish-Australian cooking. Following that, she and her husband went to the Denmark House, where they presented scholarships.
See images of Day 5 here at Zimbio
Next, Frederik and Mary toured the Corporate Culture facility, where they gave out a Danish Export Association honorary diploma and HRH Prince Henrik’s medal of honor before having a business dinner at the Docklands.
On Thursday, the royals went their separate ways. The Crown Prince toured the George Weston Foods production facility in Castlemaine while Crown Princess Mary visited the Pakenham Springs Primary School. There she saw one of its buildings being fitted by Danish eco-friendly technology.
In the afternoon, the couple teamed up again for a reception for the opening of the LeoPharma Pharmacueticals Australian division. As always, they were greeted by large crowds and many offered flowers, though the attention was mainly on Mary.
Next, Frederik and Mary went to a children’s activity center at Birrarung Marr to see kids use LEGO toys to build a city. One of the children gave the Crown Princess a LEGO version of the Danish flag. As she tried to leave, a couple of girls hugged Mary, preventing her from leaving on schedule. But she took it in stride.
For the final hours of their fifth day, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess took part in the naming of the Svitzer Marysville tugboat at Melbourne Harbor, and a business dinner at Federation Square.
Click here to see photos of Day 7
Friday saw the Crown Princely couple again split up. Mary went to tour the Royal Flying Doctors Service base in Broken Hill, while her husband checked out the Macarthur Wind Farm in southwest Victoria. The farm will install 140 Danish windturbines and will become the largest wind farm in the Southern Hemisphere.
Late the afternoon, the couple reunited to attend a reception hosted by the Governor of Victoria, Alex Chernov at Government House.
On Saturday, Their Royal Highnesses were at the Alannah and Madeline Foundation event in Broadmeadows where she discussed cyber bullying and eSmart, which is to be enrolled in all Australian schools.
‘‘eSmart is a world-leading system and one which Australia should be extremely proud of and one which I’m sure, and I’ve no doubt myself will take home, and with inspiration from here, talk with the actors in Denmark that are already active in the area that maybe can use a little bit of extra inspiration,’’ Mary said in a speech.
In the evening, Frederik and Mary attended the Starry Starry Night charity ball which raised money for the Alannah and Madeline Foundation.
Thus ends the whirlwind seven days touring Australia. Throughout, Crown Princess Mary wowed everyone who caught a glimpse of her.
“She’s just so beautiful, the way that she held herself, what she was wearing, she’s just stunning and she was just so nice to everyone there,” said Annie Turner who was one of the many people in the crowds during the final leg of this tour.
The royal couple will remain in the country for a few more days, spending private time in Mary’s native Tasmania.
Sources: The Herald Sun, The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, ABC, The Australian
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