Queen Mary reveals special Australian tribute on her family's Christmas tree inside Frederik VIII's Palace

King Frederik and Queen Mary have unveiled their Christmas tree which takes pride of place in their Copenhagen palace.

The large tree, a Nordmann fir – the most popular type of tree in Denmark at Christmas – is lavishly decorated with colourful baubles and upon closer inspection, several of them have an extra special connection to the King and Queen.

Hanging from the tree is a glass kangaroo ornament, representing Australia where Queen Mary was born in 1972.

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The same ornament was first seen on King Frederik and Queen Mary's Christmas tree in a video they shared in 2017.

The kangaroo, which has a joey, once again is featured on the royal family's Christmas tree inside Frederik VIII's Palace at Amalienborg – the King and Queen's official winter residence in Copenhagen.

Another personal ornament is that of British rockstar David Bowie as his iconic Ziggy Stardust character.

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King Frederik has long been a fan of the musician and in 1987 he and his brother Prince Joachim were photographed meeting Bowie backstage at a show in Hamburg.

In a biography on Frederik by Jens Andersen, published in 2019, the then-Crown Prince cited three Bowie songs which he said had shaped his life: Heroes, Under Pressure (a duet with Queen) and Tonight (a duet with Tina Turner).

Another ornament that can be seen on the King and Queen's Christmas tree is that of a horse.

Queen Mary is a keen rider and is frequently seen on horseback on the grounds of their palaces throughout Denmark. She has also taken part in official dressage competitions following her debut at an event in 2020 in Frederiksværk.

King Frederik and Queen Mary's Christmas display also included an Ib Laursen Christmas Goat decoration, made from straw. The inclusion of the Christmas goat is popular throughout Scandinavia and is believed to date back to the ancient Viking custom of sacrificing goats at the winter solstice to ensure a good year ahead.

A number of large Christmas wreaths can also be seen decorated throughout the palace.

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One item that has made an appearance in King Frederik and Queen Mary's Christmas set up year after year is a woven blanket which sits underneath the tree.

It was given to the couple when they married on May 14, 2004, by Ellen Majgaard Bjerre.

Bjerre spoke to Danish magazine Billed Bladet in 2020 about the blanket, also known as a tree skirt.

"Years ago, I wanted to make a very large Christmas tree blanket, and when I finished it, my husband suggested that we send it to Crown Prince Frederik and Mary as a wedding gift in 2004," she said.

The blanket has been included under the tree, or next to the tree, every year since the royal wedding.

"I'm glad about that. It's a joy when what you make is used," Bjerre said.

In May, King Frederik and Queen Mary celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary.

On Tuesday, Queen Mary was photographed wearing a knitted Christmas vest by Max Mara when she visited the food charity WeShelter, of which she is now patron.

Queen Mary and King Frederik returned to Denmark on Sunday after spending a few days in Spain for a pre-Christmas holiday with their four children including Crown Prince Christian who spent the past few months in Africa.

Prior to the Spanish getaway, Queen Mary travelled to Odense, west of Copenhagen, to explore one of Denmark's oldest Christmas traditions.

She visited The Funen Village, an open-air museum that preserves Denmark's past, focused on the farmers, peasants and craftspeople in the rural 1800s.

While there, Mary heard about the Christmas tale of the elf who is fed porridge by the villagers in exchange for helping to care for the farm's livestock.

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Mary also heard about the tradition of the village's wealthier patrons making sure those less fortunate would not go hungry at Christmas.

Over the past three weeks, the Queen and King Frederik have been exploring some of Denmark's Christmas traditions for the advent calendar.

From next week – December 23 – King Frederik and Queen Mary will relocate to Marselisborg Castle in Aarhus for Christmas.

They will be joined by Queen Margrethe II, while her youngest son Prince Joachim and his wife, French-born Princess Marie, and their four children, will celebrate Christmas with Princess Marie's family.

The royals will remain at Marselisborg until December 26, while Margrethe will stay on until December 30.

The royals have spent Christmas at Marselisborg, north-west of Copenhagen, since Queen Margrethe's ascension to the throne in 1972.

But there have been notable exceptions.

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In 2015, 2017 and 2022, Mary and her family travelled to Australia to spend Christmas with her relatives in Hobart.

Mary made a brief return to Australia just before Christmas in 2023 but was in Aarhus for the main celebrations.

The 52-year-old was briefly back in Australia, again, in late October this year to attend her niece's wedding in Tasmania. Mary was photographed with Princess Josephine at Sydney's Bronte Beach before their return to Denmark.

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