King Frederik and Queen Mary put on united front as they announce major award ceremony rebrand – one year on from monarch’s ‘affair’ scandal

King Frederick and Queen Mary of Denmark put on a united front last night as they announced a major rebrand of their Crown Prince Couple’s Awards – a year on from the monarch’s ‘affair’ scandal.

The couple – who have been plagued by rumors of marital problems over the past year – attended the annual awards, which celebrate ‘outstanding achievements and innovative thinking’ in the arts, culture and social work sectors, in Copenhagen.

After a series of solo performances this week, Queen Mary posed for photos with her husband on the red carpet at the VEGA concert hall – before later taking to the stage with him to announce a new chapter in the awards’ history .

For the occasion, the royal mother of four, 52, opted for an elegant black tuxedo jumpsuit with silk lapels from MaxMara.

Adding a pop of color to her ensemble, Mary opted for a pair of yellow silk high heels from Manolo Blahnik – a variation on the pair made famous by Carrie Bradshaw in the Sex and the City franchise.

The stylish royal paired her designer heels with a matching yellow satin bag with chunky embellishments, which she tucked under her arm on the red carpet.

Additionally, Mary swept back her long brown hair to show off her dangling diamond earrings and opted for a glitzy gray smokey eye.

Meanwhile, King Frederik, 56, was smartly dressed for the occasion in a navy blue suit and white shirt.

During the evening, the royal couple took to the stage to present the awards live on television and also spoke to winners and runners-up afterwards.

The awards were first established in 2004 as a wedding gift for Frederik and Mary from the Bikuben Foundation – an independent organization specializing in creative programs for young people.

At last night’s event, Frederik and Mary announced that the Crown Prince Couple Awards will now be known as the Royal Couple Awards – to signify their new royal status following their ascension to heaven in January.

In a joint speech, the couple explained: ‘Tonight we say goodbye to the Crown Prince Couple Awards and welcome something new. Because it doesn’t stop here for us. We have new titles, but we carry our values ​​with us.

‘That is why in the future we will also support social initiatives, art and culture, and communities that connect us. We salute those who fascinate, excite and move us.

‘We want to maintain a prize for arts and culture and a prize for social initiatives, and as something new we will introduce a prize for communities in 2025.’

In November 2023, photos of Crown Prince Frederick enjoying a night out with Mexican socialite Genoveva Casnova sent shockwaves through Denmark.

The palace called it a “private visit” but declined to comment further on the nature of the now infamous incident. Meanwhile, his wife, Mary, was more than 3,000 miles away on official royal business in New York.

In the photos, the royal family and the billionaire’s former daughter-in-law, the Duchess of Alba, were seen walking through Madrid before heading to her apartment complex, changing and heading out for the evening.

The publication of the photos resulted in Genoveva, 47, issuing a statement denying any romantic relationship between herself and the royal family and decrying the “malicious” rumors.

In January, Queen Margrethe became the first Danish monarch to abdicate in more than 500 years. Experts claimed that the royal family made the decision to ‘save her son’s marriage’.

Royal commentators have told MailOnline that Margrethe ‘deliberately’ dropped a ‘huge bomb’ at the right time to secure the future of the Danish royal family and its ‘greatest asset’, Crown Princess Mary.

Two weeks earlier, Australian-born Mary was spotted in tears and shared a cryptic post about loneliness, just weeks after her husband was pictured on a night out in Madrid with a Mexican socialite, sparking rumors of an alleged affair with Genoveva Casanova.

British royal author Phil Dampier, also an expert on European monarchies, told MailOnline: ‘I think Margrethe may have worried that their marriage was in trouble and that she therefore had to take action.

‘The Queen always thought Mary was a fantastic addition to the Royal Family and if she thought she was leaving it would have been a disaster. She will now hope that Frederick and Mary will resolve any differences and work together as the new King and Queen.”

In his memoir The King’s Word, Frederik revealed that his wife – whom he describes as a ‘woman of our times’ – is not afraid to challenge him.

He explained, “As previously mentioned, my father was very patriarchal and he tried to pass that pattern on to his two sons.

‘Here, however, I have learned a lot from having a wife who occasionally reminds me that of course I am not always right, and that my words are not automatically believed just because I am the man of the house. .’

Frederik said Mary is his ‘partner and wingwoman’ with whom he has a ‘super dynamic’.

Frederik appears to play down the rumors of infidelity, saying he and Mary have reached a “stable point” in their lives together.

He said: ‘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.’

While delving into their roles as King and Queen, Frederik admitted that they will “approach a lot of things differently” than his mother. He added: “Mary and I are children of our time.”