Queen Mary's solo outings revealed amid rumours of marriage struggles

• Royals have been plagued by rumours of marriage difficulties in recent months 
• Read More: Queen Letizia and King Felipe of Spain visit Queen Sofia in hospital – as monarch admits he doesn’t know when his mother will be discharged

They’re just four weeks shy of their 20th wedding anniversary – but Queen Mary and King Frederik of Denmark have been plagued by rumours of marital strife in recent months.

In November 2023, pictures of Crown Prince Frederick enjoying an evening out with Mexican socialite Genoveva Casnova sent shockwaves through Denmark.

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

The publication of the photos resulted in Genoveva, 47, issuing a statement denying any kind of romantic relationship between herself and the royal and slamming the ‘malicious’ rumours.

In the past few weeks, Queen Mary has fuelled the rumour mill by completing a series of solo royal engagements without her husband.

Queen Mary of Denmark and Major General Jens Henning Garly, head of the Home Guard, inspect the parade for the ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the Home Guard’s establishment on 3 April

On 3 April, the mother-of-four attended the 75th anniversary of the Home Guard’s establishment at the Freedom Museum in Copenhagen.

The Queen – who was dressed in a chic navy coat dress and matching hat – serves as an honorary major in the Danish home guard while her husband has previously served in his country’s navy and air forces.

During the engagement, Mary was joined by Major General Jens Henning Garly, head of the Home Guard, to inspect the parade for the ceremony.

Four days later, Queen Mary completed another solo engagement when she attended the opening of a deer park in Naerum.

King Frederik was noticeably absent for the engagement, which saw Mary unveil her husband’s monogram on one of their red gates before releasing two deer into the park.

On 9 April, Queen Mary stepped out without her husband again for a charity conference in Copenhagen.

The royal attended the 20th anniversary celebration of The Specialists, an organisation that helps autistic and neurodivergent people enter the workforce, at the National Museum of Denmark.

For the occasion, Queen Mary cut a glamorous figure in a vibrant blue suit and black high heels.

Queen Mary completed another solo engagement when she attended the opening of a deer park in Naerum on 7 April

On 9 April, Queen Mary stepped out without her husband again for a charity conference in Copenhagen

While King Frederik welcomed ambassadors from the Republic of Guinea, Armenia and Slovakia to the Palace on Friday, Mary met with representatives from the Danish Mental Health Fund

The royal opted for her signature bouncy blow dry and gold dangly earrings.

King Frederik and Queen Mary’s schedules appeared to overlap slightly last week when they welcomed different guests to Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen.

On Friday, the official Instagram account for the Danish Royal Family shared two posts detailing Frederik and Mary’s separate engagements.

While King Frederik welcomed ambassadors from the Republic of Guinea, Armenia and Slovakia to the Palace, Mary met with representatives from the Danish Mental Health Fund.

Mary captioned the post: ‘I first heard about their partnership at the conference “A world-class child and adolescent psychiatry” in November, where I also had the opportunity to talk to some of the talented professionals in the field.

King Frederik welcomed ambassadors from the Republic of Guinea, Armenia and Slovakia to the Palace on Friday while Mary took a separate meeting

‘I look forward to following up the work on one of the great challenges of our time.’

On the same day, pictures from the couple’s skiing trip to Switzerland emerged, which did little to squash rumours of difficulties between the pair.

The couple, who took over the Danish throne in January, appeared very frosty with one another during a March trip to Verbier, an exclusive ski resort in Switzerland.

Mary, 52, appeared impatient with Frederik, 55, as she turned her back to him while they got ready to take on the slopes.

Photos show Mary, who was the picture of ski chic in a wool and cashmere-blend jacquard turtleneck sweater from Moncler, looking away from her husband – while he stood defiantly with his hands on his hips.

The pair were joined by their four children, Crown Prince Christian, 18, Princess Isabella, 16, and 13-year-old twins, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.

The pair met in the Slip Inn pub in Sydney in 2000 when the royal, then 32, travelled to Australia to support Denmark’s sailing team in the Olympics.

In his memoir The King’s Word, Frederik revealed that his wife – who he describes as a ‘woman of the times’ – isn’t 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, from time to time, 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.’

Crown Prince Frederik and his then fiance Mary Donaldson seen walking through a park in Australia three months before their wedding in 2004

King Frederik and Queen Mary pictured on their wedding day in Copenhagen in May 2004 – four years after they met

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

Appearing to shut down the infidelity rumours, Frederik says him and Mary have reached a ‘stable point’ in their lives together.

He said: ‘I love marriage, my wife, our children and the whole happy base that arises for the people who manage to stay together and persevere.’

Delving into their roles as King and Queen, Frederik admitted that they ‘will approach many things differently’ from his mother.

He added: ‘Mary and I are children of our time.’

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