Looking Back At Queen Mary Of Denmark's Best Looks Before She Became A Royal

The Tasmanian has always had a knack for good style.

The real-life fairytale is a story we’ve all heard: a young advertising executive, enjoying a drink at a busy Sydney pub, gets to chatting with a handsome Dane in town for the 2000 Olympics. After hitting it off, the young woman discovers that her conversation partner was actually His Royal Highness Prince Frederik, the future king of Denmark.

Some 24 years after that magical encounter, Mary Donaldson from Tasmania, now Crown Princess Mary, is soon to become Her Majesty, Queen Mary of Denmark.

Over the course of those 24 years, our Australian princess has charted her own path through the rigmarole of royal dress. Favouring clean silhouettes, bright pattern dresses, simple accessories, and possessing an ability to sparkle in a tiara and custom gown like the finest of aristocrats, her style is oft-admired and just-as-often recreated.

But before the pant suits and tailored midi dresses, and long before the tiaras and glittering necklaces, the then-Mary Elizabeth Donaldson was usually found in outfits seen in wardrobes of many mid-twenties Australian women. She loved neutral knits, sandals, well-cut denim, and—like any good Tasmanian—a great boot.

As the world, and a very proud Australia, gear up to see Mary become Queen Mary, take a look back at her most memorable style moments before her crowning.

Image credit: Supplied
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A young Mary and Frederik together.
Image credit: Alex Zotos
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Prince Frederik and Princess Mary at the Melbourne Cup in 2002.
Image credit: Getty Images
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Prince Frederik and Princess Mary attending the Melbourne Cup in 2002
Image credit: AFP
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Princess Mary attending a wedding with Prince Frederik, in 2002, wearing a rose-pink gown and layered necklaces.
Image credit: Getty Images
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Princess Mary at a sail yard in 2003.
Image credit: Getty Images
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Princess Mary at a sail yard in 2003.
Image credit: James Thisted/Copenhagen Press
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Princess Mary wearing a choker at an amusement park, in 2003.
Image credit: Malcolm Ladd
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Princess Mary arriving in Hobart to watch Prince Frederik sail in 2003.
Image credit: Getty Images
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Princess Mary in a black jacket and headband, in 2003.
Image credit: Pix/Tim Anderson
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Princess Mary officially announcing her engagement, in 2003.
Image credit: Getty Images
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Princess Mary and Prince Frederik celebrating their engagement in 2003.
Image credit: Getty Images
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Princess Mary with Prince Frederik, with the princess wearing a blue gown and stole, in 2004.
Image credit: Getty Images
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Princess Mary and Prince Frederik celebrating their engagement in 2003.
Image credit: Getty Images
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Princess Mary during a gala to celebrate her engagement, in 2003.
Image credit: News Limited
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Princess Mary in a fur coat, to attend the wedding of a friend in 2003.
Image credit: Getty Images
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Princess Mary in neutral silks for a gala dinner, in 2004.
Image credit: Getty Images
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Princess Mary in a champagne jacket and skirt for a visit, in 2004.
Image credit: Getty Images
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Princess Mary attending a parliament visit, in 2004.
Image credit: Harley Lannon
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Princess Mary arriving home with Prince Frederik in Hobart in 2003.
Image credit: Getty Images
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Princess Mary a stroll with Prince Frederik, in 2004.
Image credit: News Limited
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Princess Mary wearing striped trousers and a bejewelled belt to her sister’s hens night, in 2004.
Image credit: News Limited
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The couple in neutrals and sneakers in Hobart, in 2004.
Image credit: AAP
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Princess Mary arriving in Hobart, Tasmania, in 2004, wearing jeans and pointed pumps.
Image credit: Getty Images
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Prince Frederik and Princess Mary attending the wedding of her sister in 2004.
Image credit: Sarah Rhodes
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At her sister’s wedding in 2004.
Image credit: Charles Hammarsten/Dana Press
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Princess Mary wearing a green dress at a party in 2004.
Image credit: Mark McCormack
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Following a wedding rehearsal in 2004, Princess Mary with her mother-in-law to be, Queen Margrethe.
Image credit: AP Photo/Thomas Sjorup
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At a Romanian state banquet, in 2004.
Image credit: Getty Images
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In one of her first official royal events, in 2004.
Image credit: Getty Images
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Princess Mary wearing a scarf and a green tweed jacket to a lunch in 2004.
Image credit: Getty Images
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At the opening of the Danish parliament in 2004.
Image credit: Getty Images
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Celebrating Queen Margrethe’s 64th birthday, in 2004.
Image credit: Getty Images
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Prince Frederik and Princess Mary watching the tennis at the Australian Open in 2004, wearing a visor and beige jacket.
Image credit: AAP Image/Dave Hunt
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Watching the tennis at the Australian Open in 2004, wearing a visor and beige jacket.
Image credit: Tim Anderson
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In a beige top, in 2004.
Image credit: Danish Tourist Board
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Wearing a white peasant top in 2004.
Image credit: AP
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Princess Mary in a white blazer and bronze top, alongside Prince Frederik in 2004.
Image credit: Getty Images
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In Y2K glasses during a sailing race, in 2004.
Image credit: AFP
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In Copenhagen’s Harbour prior to a royal ‘sea dual’ between Denmark and Australia, as part of her wedding celebrations, in 2004.
Image credit: Getty Images
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Princess Mary during a royal reception, in the days leading up to her wedding, in 2004.
Image credit: Getty Images
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Princess Mary, the day before her royal wedding in 2004, wearing a red Uffe Frank gown and the Danish Ruby Parure.
Image credit: AAP
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Princess Mary wearing Uffe Frank at her wedding in 2004. The rest, they say, is history…