Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary have toured Sydney, viewing clifftop sculptures, eating barbecued prawns, and taking a boat trip on the harbour as adoring crowds waved Danish flags.The royal couple's trip is geared around strengthening trade and business ties between Australia and Denmark, with a focus on green energy and sustainability.
They kicked off their Sydney visit with a tour of the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition at Bondi.
The couple examined some of the sculptures, including a work by Danish sculptor Keld Moseholm and a work titled Who Left The Tap Running by Simon McGrath.
The exhibition holds a special significance for the pair, who visited it when they were first dating after Mary met the prince at a Sydney nightclub during the 2000 Olympics.
Mary was also living in Bondi when she met her future husband.
The couple's ten-month-old twins, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, arrived in Sydney with their mother on a Saturday morning flight, while Prince Frederik arrived on a separate flight later that day.
The older royal children, Prince Christian, 6, and Princess Isabella, 4, did not accompany them, the Danish consulate confirmed.
Crowd-pleasers
The royal couple waved and smiled as they were welcomed by NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell and his wife Rosemary before visiting the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition.
Mr O'Farrell said he was delighted to have the royal couple back to Sydney.
"Like many Australians, we share in the royal romance and relationship that some have described as a fairytale," Mr O'Farrell said.
They shook hands with several people in the crowd, some of whom cried "welcome to Australia".
Later, Mary and Frederik jumped onto energy-generating bikes to make themselves smoothies after opening an urban sustainability conference at Customs House.
The venue at Circular Quay was just over one kilometre from the Slip Inn, the bar where the couple famously met during the 2000 Olympics.
Later, they mingled with 400 guests, mainly from the Danish business community, at a barbecue at the Garden Island naval base on Sydney Harbour.
The barbecue menu included Tasmanian scallops, lamb and mint sausages, king prawns, Sydney rock oysters, barramundi, marinated Atlantic salmon, King Island beef eye fillet and pavlova with King Island cream.
The couple were spattered with a burst of heavy rainfall as they later boarded a boat to go to Admiralty House.
The couple's six-day visit to Australia includes stops at Canberra, Melbourne, western Victoria and Broken Hill in NSW, and will be followed by a private family visit.
Crown Princess Mary was born Mary Donaldson in Hobart and the couple married in Copenhagen in 2004.
It is the royal family's first visit to Australia since August 2008, although Princess Mary came for a private visit last year.
Royals Visit Australia: Princess Mary Charms Sydney Crowds
Comments
Post a Comment