In pictures: Australian-born Mary becomes Queen of Denmark
Monday, January 15
Denmark's new King and Australian-born Queen have visited the Danish parliament on their first formal day on the job, a day after Queen Margrethe abdicated following 52 years on the throne.
"We begin our responsible work as Denmark's king in the belief that the Danish parliament will meet us in joint work for the good of the kingdom," King Frederik X said through Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
As is tradition, the monarch doesn't speak directly to lawmakers so Frederiksen (right) read his speech.
The king referred to himself as "we" using what is known as the majestic plural.
Søren Gade (left), the Speaker of parliament, said to Frederik that "I have great confidence that he will be an excellent king for us all.
"And by his side [he] has an excellent queen," he said, referring to Tasmanian-born Queen Mary.
Queen Mary of Denmark with King Frederik X and Crown Prince Christian
Frederik, 55, and Mary, 51, arrived at the Folketing in a royal limousine and were greeted by Gade and senior lawmakers.
Queen Margrethe II
Margrethe stood at the top of the stairs to the Christiansborg Palace and saw her son and daughter-in-law arrive.
Inside, the royals sat on the royal balcony overlooking the 179-member Folketinget assembly.
Frederik was smiling as he sat on the first row next to Mary and their oldest son, Crown Prince Christian (left) who is 18. Margrethe sat behind them.
King Frederik X, Queen Mary and Crown Prince Christian of Denmark
The more than one-hour visit during which Frederik met lawmakers, included members of the far-left party, the Unity List, which is opposed to the monarchy but stood up as the royals entered the room.
"We always participate in meetings in the Folketing, that is why we were there today," said Rosa Lund, a senior member of the Unity List.
However, the small party's lawmakers abstained from attending a reception for the new king that followed the brief session in the assembly because they are republicans, Lund said.
Sunday, January 14
This is the moment Denmark's first new monarch for five decades emerged to the public for the first time.
A clearly emotional King Frederik X waved his white-gloved hands from the balcony of Christiansborg Palace as tens of thousands of Danes and a generous smattering of Australians cheered below.
Those Australians were possibly disappointed at first when Mary was nowhere to be seen.
Then came the moment Frederik was proclaimed by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
She symbolically turned her body to indicate the country's new direction, before a rousing rendition of the Danish equivalent of three cheers.
But all of a sudden, the moment Australian royal watchers had braved a cloudy 3-degree Copenhagen day – or a middle-of-the-night TV marathon – for had arrived.
Shining in all white, Mary waved with one hand with her other arm around her husband.
They turned to each other and embraced, a world away from her Tasmanian upbringing and the Sydney pub where they met.
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