Awkward moment Queen Mary fails to congratulate King Frederik on completing Denmark’s Royal Run as she high fives finishers

This is the awkward moment when Queen Mary of Denmark seemed too busy giving high fives to Royal Run participants to congratulate her own husband as he crossed the finish line.

The royal mother-of-four, 52, beamed as she wore sunglasses as she stood towards the finish line of the 10km race in Copenhagen and greeted people about to complete the course.

Meanwhile, King Frederik, who had just finished the race, ran across the finish line and hugged his twin children, Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent, both 13.

As he walks behind where Mary stands and greets the finishers of the race, Frederick does not appear to interact with his wife, and the queen does not turn to greet him.

Photos shared in Danish media showed the king and queen eventually greeting each other at the finish line, but they did not appear to hug.

The awkward moment comes at the end of the annual event, which consists of a 10km run and a 5km run, with prominent members of the royal family in attendance.

Despite apparent awkwardness between the couple, who celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary last week, the king and queen showed deep affection for their children during the race.

The clip of King Frederick shows him warmly embracing his children after crossing the finish line, while photos from the event show Queen Mary sharing a sweet moment with 13-year-old Princess Josephine.

In photos taken after their race, the queen and the teenage princess walked around as Josephine made funny faces at her mother, while Mary straightened her collar and brushed back her hair.

The family outing comes after a difficult few months for the Danish royal family, following rumors of an affair after King Frederik was spotted on a night out in Madrid with Genoveva Casanova, a Mexican socialite living in the Spanish capital.

Spanish magazine Lecturas published photos of the pair in the city at the end of October and reported that they had visited an old flamenco restaurant where they dined together until the early hours. After the photos were published, Genoveva vehemently denied that they were having an affair.

Since then, King Frederick and Queen Mary have sent mixed signals with their body language during public appearances, including several icy performances.

The couple showed distance in their body language during summer vacation on the Daneborg ship they sailed to Sweden and Norway (which also happened to coincide with their twentieth wedding anniversary).

During this trip, the couple showed signs of icy body language at times with each other; although such signs seemed to thaw as they greeted their hosts in each country.

Upon arriving in Norway last week, the couple looked stern before docking to meet their hosts, King Harald and Queen Sonja.

Body language expert Judi James told FEMAIL: ‘Arriving on a boat in Oslo we see Mary again with her rather cooler facial expression, her eyes staring off into the distance rather than returning her husband’s gaze.

“He looks forlorn, with one brow curled up and the other frowning down, while his eye expression seems dejected and his lips barely form a regal smile.”

Judi added: ‘Mary’s authentic smile and more tactile behavior during the meeting with the Norwegian royals only seemed to add to the idea that she looked cooler again with her husband.’

The couple’s candid body language in private moments was in stark contrast to the image the Danish palace projected to the world on social media to mark the couple’s 20th wedding anniversary.

A photo taken of Queen Mary and King Frederick aboard the Dannebrog showed the couple in a relaxed pose, beaming with their arms around each other while dressed in matching waistcoats.

Judi told FEMAIL: ‘To celebrate their wedding anniversary [the couple] it seems they have created an attitude that is deliberately reminiscent of the way they behaved before the scandal.”

She added: ‘Their torsos in this anniversary photo are pressed together, albeit with a layer of puffer vest acting like a small airbag, and their mutual smiles suggest they are enjoying each other’s company again.

“Frederik has one hand on his hip to suggest a happy holiday moment and with his other hand he is gripping his wife by the neck in what appears to be quite a firm grip.”

However, the expert drew attention to the fact that Mary was wearing her sunglasses in the photo, meaning that “her eye expression is hidden from the public’s view and examination.”

Despite this, Danish royal expert Kenth Madsen has revealed that people in Denmark have ‘forgotten’ Frederik’s night out in Madrid with Genoveva and are cheering about having a new king on the throne.

Meanwhile, Danish media reports seem to paint a picture of a happy couple for their readers.

A report from Her & Now, published earlier this month, described how the couple were ‘practically beaming with love for each other’ as they boarded the Dannebrog ahead of their wedding anniversary.

Although the report mentioned King Frederick’s night out with Genoveva, it emphasized that the father of four had ‘buried’ any suggestion of an affair as he stood next to his wife on the balcony of Christiansborg on the day he became king was proclaimed.

The report also noted a declaration of love for Queen Mary that the king made in his book Kongeord, which was published three days after he took the throne.

The quote read: ‘I love marriage, my wife, our children and the very happy foundation that is created for the people who manage to stay together and persevere.’

The King and Queen of Denmark persevered when Frederick ascended the throne early this year, following the shock abdication of his mother, Queen Margrethe, on New Year’s Eve 2023.

The surprise announcement came two months after King Frederick was spotted dining with Mexican socialite Genoveva, who lives in Madrid.

Spanish magazine Lecturas published photos of the pair together as they headed to a traditional restaurant in the city, where they reportedly watched flamenco performances and stayed until the early hours of the morning.

After the photos were published, Genoveva issued a statement through her lawyers vehemently denying any suggestion of an affair with the Danish royal family, while the palace declined to comment.