The Australian Mary Donaldson moved to Denmark in December 2001, when she was working as a private English tutor in Paris. While she began her life within the Danish royal family, her family remained thousands of kilometers away in her homeland. Now, on the occasion of her first visit to Australia since the accession to the throne of King Frederik, she has been able to reconnect with her father, John, and her sisters Patricia and Jane. And the moment could not have been more emotional.
It was during an unscripted intervention, but undoubtedly the decisive moment of the state visit of King Frederik and Mary to Australia. During her appearance at Government House in Hobart, the city where the queen of Denmark was born 54 years ago, Mary approached the lectern and spoke with a broken voice: “I’m at a loss for words; I feel a little overwhelmed. But thanks to everyone for being here. I feel privileged to have my roots both in Australia and in Denmark. But in Tasmania they are a little deeper.
After defining this state visit as “unique, rewarding, moving and exciting,” Mary of Denmark melted into a warm embrace with her elder sister, Patricia Bailey. She was one of the 150 people crowded into the building from which the Australian bid farewell to her compatriots. The emotion was palpable in the air, as this was the first time the queen had returned to her hometown since 2005, when she was visited soon after her royal wedding in Copenhagen.
Although Mary and Frederik have returned to Australia several times since then, all of them have been for private family holidays. On this occasion the trip has been marked by pomp, ceremony and the formality that accompany a state visit. That did not prevent the queen of Denmark from taking time to see her sisters, her nephews and, above all, her father, John Donaldson. Her delicate health has been the main reason why this visit ended precisely in Hobart, where this retired mathematics teacher resides.
This is Patricia Bailey, Queen Mary’s sister
The cameras have focused again on the normally discreet figure of Patricia Bailey, who together with the other sister of Queen Mary, Jane, lives in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania. It was there where the future Queen of Denmark grew up, who with her siblings attended Sandy Bay Public School, Taroona High School and, later, the University of Tasmania. Years later, Jane and Patricia would be the bridesmaids at Mary’s wedding to the then still Crown Prince Frederik.
Patricia Bailey and her sister Mary in Hobart, Tasmania.
That was one of the few public appearances by Patricia Bailey, who also traveled to Copenhagen to participate in the celebrations for the 50th birthday of her brother-in-law Frederik. With a low profile, the sister of Queen Mary is married and has three children. The two eldest were born from her first marriage to Ken Woods and the youngest from her current relationship with Scott Bailey. She works as a nurse at the Royal Hobart Hospital and among her hobbies is fitness. And over the years she has, on behalf of Mary of Denmark, provided financial aid to Danish exchange students at the University of Tasmania.
One of the few times her name has appeared in the headlines was in 2016. The British Daily Mail published an article reading: “Is Princess Mary of Denmark embroiled in a bitter family feud?” According to the outlet, the royal had had a dispute with her sister Patricia for not inviting her on a trip to Rome. The controversy escalated and the Danish royal family had to come out to deny the facts, which were attributed to identity theft on Facebook.
Who is who in Queen Mary’s family
Mary Elizabeth Donaldson was born on February 5, 1972, to Scottish parents, John Dalgleish Donaldson and Henrietta Clark. The couple married in Edinburgh in 1963 and that same year emigrated to Australia. Mary’s father was a professor of Applied Mathematics. Her mother, who worked as the executive assistant to the vice-chancellor of the University of Tasmania, died in 1997 after complications from a heart operation. Three years before Mary met Frederik of Denmark in a Sydney pub. John Donaldson later married the British crime novelist Susan Horwood.
Jane (left) and Patricia (center) were the bridesmaids at Mary and Frederik’s wedding.
Her younger brother, John Donaldson, lives in the Australian city of Perth. He is a geologist and works as a manager at Gold Road Resources, a mining company. He has two daughters with his wife Leanne. Her other elder sister, Jane Stephens, is a pharmacist and co-owner of a juice bar. Her husband, Craig Stephens, is an accountant. They have three children. In a 2022 interview with The Mercury, Jane spoke about how proud their late mother would have been of Mary’s achievements: “She has taken on her role with dignity and elegance, earning the admiration and respect of people all over the world. Our mother would have been bursting with love and pride.”
