It’s no doubt intended as a show of public affection to reassure onlookers that all is well in their marriage, but kisses shared between Europe’s royal couples don’t always go to plan.
Yesterday the newly appointed King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark seemed to miss the mark when they kissed during their balcony performance at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen.
Waving to the crowd that had gathered after the monarch’s enthronement, following his mother Queen Margrethe II’s shocked abdication, the pair eventually shared a kiss to celebrate the occasion.
However, the affection was branded ‘forced’ and ‘cringey’ by viewers online and comes amid rumors the couple’s marriage is on the rocks after Frederik was pictured on a night out with Mexican socialite Genoveva Casanova. in Madrid without his wife in October.
But Denmark’s new king and queen aren’t the only royal couple to have an awkward kiss in public, especially when surrounded by rumors of trouble in paradise. Here, FEMAIL reveals the royal kisses that apparently didn’t radiate romance…
King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark
After becoming king on Sunday, a beaming Frederik took to the balcony of Christiansborg Palace, where he shared a public kiss with his wife – the newly crowned Queen Mary of Denmark
After becoming king on Sunday, a beaming Frederick took to the balcony of Christiansborg Palace, where he shared a public kiss with his wife, the newly crowned Queen Mary of Denmark.
But Frederik’s ‘genuinely cheerful and highly emotional display’ exposed potential tensions in his marriage, a body language expert has revealed.
Adrianne Carter told FEMAIL: ‘When Mary joins him we initially see quite a distance between the two of them as they hold hands, he moves closer, which she accepts. A literal distance can often mean a distance in a relationship.
‘When the children come along, they all move in together. Maria embraces her children and shows that this is her important focus.’
However, when the King pulls Mary close as the children leave the balcony, the Queen is ‘the first to withdraw’.
She continued, “Frederik pulls her in for a kiss, which he tries a few times before it actually happens. This is something he has planned, not something spontaneous.”
Adrianne also noted that when Frederick tries to kiss Mary on the side of the forehead, she “doesn’t respond in any way; she just accepts it’.
The body language expert wondered whether Frederik is ‘still in the doghouse’ after rumors about an alleged affair with Mexican socialite Genoveva Casanova.
The new king and queen shared a kiss shortly after Frederick took the throne (photo)
Adrianne said, “We watch as Frederick pulls Mary in and plants a kiss on the side of her forehead. She doesn’t respond in any way; she just accepts it. Is Frederik still in the doghouse, I wonder?’
Rumors of an affair started circulating late last year after the king was spotted on a night out with Genoveva in Madrid.
The Mexican socialite later denied what she called “malicious” rumors after photos of herself with the crown prince surfaced in the Spanish capital.
Spanish magazine Lecturas reported that they had dinner together and watched flamenco until 1 a.m.
Mary has remained tight-lipped about her husband’s dinner with the socialite, and the royal couple have made a number of public appearances together.
However, there is speculation that Queen Margrethe’s decision to abdicate may have been an attempt to keep Frederik’s wife of 19 years on side.
Mary is incredibly popular with the Danish people, and was llast week, according to a royal author, the real ‘power behind the throne’ and ‘King Mary’ were exposed.
Trine Villemann also told Hello! that the Australian mother of four, 51, is a “much better communicator and public speaker” than her husband, Crown Prince Frederik.
Before Margrethe’s daughter-in-law became queen, Danish royal author Trine said: ‘Mary is truly the power behind the throne and will remain so for decades to come – there is no doubt about that.
‘Frederik is a nice guy and he is very popular, but Mary is a much better communicator and public speaker. She has great skills and enormous talent, and people in Denmark call her ‘King Mary’.
‘Her approval ratings are also higher than the rest of the royal family… As we say in Denmark: long live King Mary!’
Karel and Diana
Diana turned as Charles leaned over to kiss her on the cheek during an awards ceremony after a polo match in Jaipur, India in 1992, photo
The breakdown of Diana and Charles’ marriage was all but confirmed to the world when the princess turned her head during a kiss in India in 1992, causing her husband’s painfully pursed lips to make contact with the side of her hair.
Princess Diana turned away as Charles, then the Prince of Wales, leaned in to kiss her on the cheek at the awards ceremony after the polo match in Jaipur.
Body language expert Judi James previously said of the kiss: ‘Charles and Diana looked like they didn’t have any relationship or even a private relationship between them.
“The kiss was awkward and awkward, without any suggestion of a normally tactile relationship or even chemistry together. There is no synchronicity here.
Charles and Diana also shared a tense and distant kiss after his 1985 polo victory, just four years after their wedding
‘Diana leans forward, but also away from her husband, and their claws look out of place and lack any affection.
‘Diana averted the kiss by turning her head away. This rejection means that Charles has to plant his kiss on her hair instead of her cheek.
‘His spread fingers on her back showed a lack of desire for any kind of touch and his ugly grimace when he misses the kiss looks miserable.’
Meanwhile, in 1985, just a few months after Prince Harry’s birth, the couple shared an awkward and distant kiss after Charles’ polo victory.
The couple also looked tense on several other occasions, with Diana looking somber as Charles showed off his sporting skills on the field.
Prince Albert of Monaco and Princess Charlene
Charlene – who appeared to share a very awkward kiss with Albert during their 2011 wedding – appeared serious and tearful during the ceremony, sparking much speculation
It would be the wedding of the year that threatened to overshadow Kate and Prince William’s wedding a few months earlier.
But days before the big day, rumors began to circulate that Princess Charlene of Monaco had tried to flee the country three times on a one-way ticket to Johannesburg.
A Paris news magazine reported that Charlene was detained at Nice airport after allegedly learning a “disturbing” revelation about her future husband’s private life.
A senior Monaco detective claimed at the time: ‘Charlene had her passport confiscated so the prince’s entourage could persuade her to stay’.
The rumor mill in France was running at full speed. Charlene, it was suggested, had heard talk of another illegitimate child, conceived while she was dating Prince Albert in 2005, which would bring his number of illegitimate children to three.
But the princess would subsequently dismiss the ‘hilarious’ rumors. She said, “Why would he go to all the trouble to get our dearest friends to join us so that we would hold back?”
Prince Albert added: “My family has long been the subject of rumors born of jealousy.’
In July 2011, the three-day wedding of Charlene, then 33, and 53-year-old Albert, which is estimated to have cost around £53 million, went ahead.
Cried and Groom: Charlene was accused of trying to run away three times before getting married
The kiss combined with the tears on Charlene’s wedding day led to speculation that all was not well
The couple shared another awkward kiss during the religious ceremony on July 2
Under a blue sky, the former Olympic swimmer transformed into a princess and became Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco.
But Charlene – who appeared to share a very awkward kiss with Albert at their wedding – appeared serious and tearful during the ceremony, sparking much speculation.
Speaking about her big day, Charlene later said in an interview: ‘Everything was so overwhelming and there were all the mixed emotions because of the rumours, and obviously the tension was building up and I burst into tears (immediately after the ceremony).
‘And then I burst into tears again because I thought, “Oh no, now the whole world has seen me cry.”
She continued, “I think I went into Olympic mode a little bit. I was in the zone and I don’t think there was anything wrong with me at that moment. When all the rumors started and people were questioning this and that, I just completely ignored it.”
Albert insisted their calm expressions had been misinterpreted and were “dishonest.”
He turned to his wife and said, “I thought I was paying attention to you, smiling at you often – but maybe that’s not enough for some people.”