Queen Mary and King Frederik X of Denmark have posed for their first official gala portraits since their accession to the Danish throne on January 14, following the abdication of Frederik’s mother, Queen Margrethe II.
The couple were pictured together and in individual portraits in gala dress with the Order of the Elephant on chains and Queen Mary wearing the crown jewels for the first time.
In a statement on its official website, the Danish palace said photographer Steen Evald took the portrait in the Green Room in The Royal Reception Rooms at Christiansborg Palace.
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Frederik and Mary ascended to the throne when Queen Margrethe II surprised the world by abdicating during her New Year’s Eve address, aged 83 at the time.
The portraits come after a challenging few months for the couple, following wild allegations made in a Spanish magazine claimed Frederik had had an affair with a Mexican woman in late 2023.
The unsubstantiated rumours published by Lectura magazine claimed Frederik was having an affair with actress and socialite Genoveva Casanova, after the pair were pictured together in Spain.
Casanova furiously denied the claims and the royal family did not officially respond to the rumours.
However Frederik and Mary put on a united front amid the storm, even sharing a public kiss during their coronation in January.
In pictures from the Medal of Honour dinner in March, the couple appeared happy in each other’s company.
In one image of Mary and Frederik, Mary is smiling, while the couple’s shoulders are touching as they stand close to one another.
Until the emergence of the “Casanova” allegations, the Danish royal had remained relatively untouched by scandal.
