Queen Mary of Denmark joined King Frederik X at Frederiksborg Castle on 25 September 2026 for the unveiling of the king’s official portrait, an event tied to the 150th anniversary of the Carlsberg Foundation, a long-standing patron of the castle’s museum of national history. The couple’s appearance drew particular attention for the queen’s choice of jewellery, which reached back more than a century and a half into the family’s collection.
Mary wore a white and gold sleeveless midi dress by the Australian designer Toni Maticevski with gold sling-back shoes, a look in keeping with the formal, celebratory setting. Her accessories included earrings by Ole Lynggaard Copenhagen and a diamond bracelet, but the standout piece was a gold bracelet set with diamonds and pearls that once belonged to Queen Lovisa of Denmark, King Frederik’s great-great-grandmother.
The bracelet was given to Lovisa as an engagement present in 1868 and now forms part of the Danish Royal Property Trust, the body that safeguards heirlooms passed between generations of the monarchy. Choosing it for a portrait unveiling linked the present reign to its predecessors, a subtle nod to continuity at an event built around the image of the current king and the museum that will house it.
Official portraits have become a recurring feature of Frederik’s reign since he took the throne following the abdication of Queen Margrethe II in early 2024. The Frederiksborg setting, with its galleries of Danish monarchs, placed the new likeness within a long visual record of the crown, and the anniversary of the Carlsberg Foundation added a note of cultural patronage to the occasion.
For Mary, born in Australia and now Denmark’s queen, moments like this show how carefully the Danish court blends personal style with historical symbolism. Jewellery from the royal trust is not simply decorative, it is a language of lineage and belonging, and wearing a nineteenth century bracelet to honour her husband’s portrait quietly reinforced the message the day was designed to send. It was a small detail, but at a court that prizes understatement it spoke clearly about how the new reign wants to present itself to the public.
