Queen Mary of Denmark greets two Border Collies during summer tour with Frederik

Crown Queen Mary of Denmark proved she has a huge love for animals when she took a short break from her royal duties to show her affection to two friendly dogs.

The Australian-born monarch was in Assens on Wednesday with her husband King Frederik X to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Danish market town. The event was part of the couple’s summer tour on the royal yacht Dannebrog.

Queen Mary was given a tour of the city, greeted fans and helped some children plant a tree, before turning her attention to two wagging Collies.

The mother of four spoke to the dogs’ owner before crouching down so they could sniff her. She gently petted the dogs and even let one jump up to lick her face.

Later in the day, after Mary had taken off her Harris Wharf coat and traded in her Gianvito Rossi heels for more comfortable ballet flats, she came across the dogs again and couldn’t resist giving them another pet.

The 52-year-old looked super chic in a strapless Zimmerman dress that fluttered in the wind as she walked beside her husband.

She paired the striking dress with a cream-colored blazer by Ralph Lauren, which she secured at the waist with an Etro rope belt.

But the designer outfit didn’t stop the Queen from getting close to the muddy paws of the adorable pooches.

Mary has never kept her love for dogs and animals a secret.

Often the mother is the photographer who takes her children’s birthday photos and she enjoys photographing the family pets.

The photo in honor of Mary’s 17th birthday, which was published in April, featured Mary’s eldest daughter, Princess Isabella, with their border collie.

“In honor of her birthday, Her Majesty The Queen has taken new photos of The Princess together with one of the Royal Family’s dogs, Coco,” the Danish royal family announced in a post on Instagram.

This is not the first time that border collie Coco has appeared in the royal family’s birthday photos.

For Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent’s 11th birthday, the twins posed with Coco and her littermate when they were just puppies.

Mary and Frederik’s eldest son, Prince Christian, 18, hugged one of the family’s other Collies, Grace, in his 14th birthday photo.

Their horses, Queen Margarethe’s dachshund and even a koala can also be seen in photos of the royal children.

It is therefore not surprising that the Danish monarch shows so much love for her four-legged fans during her recent tour.

During their visit to Assens, the couple visited a reforestation project, an energy-efficient wastewater treatment plant and one of the leading Danish companies in the field of rainwater cleaning products.

On Monday, the duo put on a cheerful and summery show when they visited the Baltic island of Ærø.

Arriving on the island by boat around lunchtime, the royals took to Instagram to thank locals for the “wonderful welcome” they had received.

Mary and Frederick looked cheerful as they waved to the crowd on their arrival, before shaking hands with local residents of the island in southern Denmark.

They then gave a warm performance as they made the first stop on their summer tour to Bornholm.

The couple were photographed tasting local produce and speaking to small business owners as they toured the tiny island, 105 miles southeast of Copenhagen.

During the engagement, Frederik and Mary were photographed laughing and smiling together. They later wrote on Instagram how Bornholm lived up to its nickname ‘sun island’.

Members of the Danish royal family have toured the country every summer on the royal yacht Dannebrog for 100 years.

This is the first time that Frederik and Mary have taken part in a summer tour as reigning monarchs, since the King ascended the throne in January.

Last year it was Frederik’s mother, Queen Margarethe, 84, who completed the boat trip.