Count Nikolai makes surprise red carpet appearance in Sydney during secret Australian holiday

Count Nikolai of Monpezat and his model girlfriend Benedikte Thoustrup are quietly holidaying in Australia.

Since early November, the glamorous couple has been playing tourists but their time Down Under has largely gone unnoticed, until now.

On Wednesday evening, Count Nikolai made his first official appearance since arriving by walking the red carpet at the GQ Men of the Year Awards, in Sydney.

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Nikolai is one of the most recognisable young royals in the world, due to his successful modelling career and place as sixth-in-line to the Danish throne.

But the royal and Thoustrup aren't expected to be in Australia for much longer.

They are likely to be returning to Europe soon for Christmas. Recently, the Danish Royal Household announced how King Frederik and Queen Mary would be spending Christmas.

The King and Queen, and their four children, will take up residence at Marselisborg Castle, in Aarhus from December 23 to December 26.

They will be joined by Queen Margrethe II, while her youngest son Prince Joachim (Nikolai's father) and his wife, French-born Princess Marie, and their four children, will celebrate Christmas with Princess Marie's family. But it's unclear if Count Nikolai will be joining them or spending Christmas in Australia.

Last week, Nikolai's younger brother Count Felix joined his uncle and Queen Mary, and grandmother Queen Margrethe for the premier of The Nutcracker ballet at Tivoli in Copenhagen.

While the rest of the Danish royals are in peak winter hygge season, Count Nikolai and Thoustrup have been making the most of the Australian summer.

It's believed they arrived in Sydney in the first week of November before travelling north to Queensland where they spent time camping on K'gari.

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Count Nikolai shared several photos from the world heritage listed island, which is also world's largest sand island.

"From an off-road adventure," he captioned the photos, on November 25.

Thoustrup shared her own stunning pictures saying they were "a slice of life from Fraser".

She teased her social media followers on November 11 by posting photos of her standing in a street asking them to "guess a country".

Many quickly – and correctly – guessed Australia, but more specifically Sydney due to the street signs, the cityscape and many Jacaranda trees in bloom.

She later shared a post from inside a double-decker bus, with the location tagged as Paddington in the inner city.

Yesterday Thoustrup posted a photo of her standing in the middle of a quiet street in the city with the caption: "Sydney summer has my heart".

Count Nikolai and Thoustrup first travelled to Australia, together, in September last year when the Danish royal began a semester at the University of Technology in Sydney.

Nikolai sat down with 9honey for an exclusive interview at a café in Surry Hills, where he and Thoustrup were staying.

Thoustrup previously lived in Australia on exchange in Alice Springs, NT and Armidale, NSW.

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Count Nikolai has since graduated with a masters in business economics from the Copenhagen Business School and is continuing to work as a model and brand ambassador.

One of his recent jobs saw him model for luxury Swiss watchmakers IWC Schaffhausen.

In an interview with the brand, Count Nikolai spoke about his "love" for Australia.

"I recently spent a semester abroad in Sydney and fell in love with its active outdoor lifestyle," he said.

"I genuinely enjoyed my time in Australia; it was an amazing experience to be so far from home and explore such an exotic place."

The 25-year-old also revealed he's still figuring out what he wants to do, following his graduation.

"My plans are to figure out what I want to pursue in the near future. I love travelling, so I'll likely continue exploring new places.

"I'm not sure yet if I'll settle in Denmark or abroad, but travelling and possibly finding a job somewhere else are definitely on the agenda."

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