Queen Mary of Denmark was spotted wearing an unusual winter accessory as she prepared to visit a deer park in Copenhagen.
The 52-year-old was well prepared for the chilly Danish weather in a cozy cable knit sweater, army green quilted waistcoat and floppy hat.
For extra warmth and a chic twist, she added a pair of wool wrist warmers over the end of her sweater sleeves.
Mary joined Danish Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke on Sunday, April 7, to open a deer park in Dyrehaven, just north of Copenhagen.
The mother of four showed off her classic, fashionable and practical style as temperatures were in the low teens just north of Copenhagen as spring arrived.
Queen Mary of Denmark was well prepared for the cold Danish weather to open a deer park in Dyrehaven, just north of Copenhagen, on Sunday, April 7.
She wore a cozy cable knit sweater, an army green quilted waistcoat and a floppy hat, and for extra warmth she wore a pair of wool wrist warmers over the end of her sweater sleeves.
She wore a Seeland Cottage quilted cardigan over a neutral Polo Ralph Lauren turtleneck with brown wrist warmers to keep her hands and arms warm.
Wrist warmers are usually worn covering the palm with a hole for the thumb, but Mary chose to keep hers under her hand.
The mother-of-four opted for a glamorous make-up look, wearing thick eyeliner and mascara on top of a layer of gold foundation.
The Australian-born monarch helped release two deer into the forest and stopped to chat with fans during the event marking the expansion of the Jægersborg Hegn nature reserve.
She also gave a speech at the event and said she was impressed by the beauty of the forest, which was different to what she grew up with in Hobart, Tasmania.
“I have been very impressed with it since my first encounter with the Danish Forest,” said Mary.
Wrist warmers are usually worn covering the palm with a hole for the thumb, but Mary chose to keep hers under her hand
The Australian-born monarch helped release two deer into the forest and stopped to chat with fans during the event celebrating the expansion of the Jægersborg Hegn Nature Reserve
‘Especially the transition to spring, when the trees pop out and create a light green color in the forest, something I have not experienced where I come from.’
The outing comes amid speculation that Mary may have spent the Easter holidays away from Prince Frederik as their flag remained flown over their mansion at Amalienborg Castle – meaning at least Frederik, Mary or their son, Crown Prince Christian, were present.
Denmark’s king and queen were due to be on a family holiday with their four children over the Easter holidays, but the flag suggests someone has stayed behind.
The royal flag only flies when the king, queen or crown prince is at home, leading royal watchers to suspect the family holiday did not go as planned.
The Danish public criticized the royal family for going ‘back in time’ by using the flag system to indicate who is home, instead of using an official calendar.
A royal flag raised over King Frederik and Queen Mary’s country home in Amalienborg reignited rumors of an unhappy family life
The flag method goes against the king’s promise to take the monarchy into the future and, as his people have complained, is actually dragging it backwards.
To make matters worse for the crown, the palace had issued an official statement claiming that the entire family was abroad for the weekend and that the country would return to the rule of Queen Margrethe as regent.
This was directly contradicted by the flying flag over their Amalienborg home last weekend, indicating that King Frederik, Queen Mary or Prince Christian were at home.
When Daily Mail Australia asked the palace who was home, they simply repeated the statement that the family was on holiday and the regent was in charge.
Danish tabloid BT claims that it was Mary who failed to leave on time with the rest of the family and spent much of Easter alone.
The ‘flag method’ has been branded unprofessional by Danes, who say they always need to know who is in charge and at home – without having to go to the palace to see
Communications advisor Anne Thygesen told the tabloid that the flag game did not look good for the palace.
‘It should not be a matter of guesswork, puzzle or detective work to find out who the country’s head of state is. It sounds like it was almost the step before Morse code, runes and carrier pigeons – so very, very old-fashioned,” she said.
The press and Danish citizens should not have to go to the palace to see what flags are hanging to know who is in charge, she explained, and that is what happened.
She said relying on flags makes it easier to spread rumors.
“I don’t really think they had any bad intentions, but it just seems unprofessional because maybe you didn’t want to tell them that Mary didn’t come over for the first few days when she needed to fix something at home,” she said.