Queen Mary’s father remembered as a quiet strength and unlikely celebrity in Denmark
Queen Mary’s father, John Donaldson, who died this week at 84, was once greeted in Denmark with the enthusiasm of a rock star, Danish broadcaster DR reported. His calm presence became a vital anchor for his daughter as she adjusted to life in the Danish royal family.
When Donaldson arrived in Denmark in the early 2000s as a visiting mathematics lecturer at Aarhus University, local media described him as possessing “charisma and star quality,” DR recalled in an archive clip from its TV Avisen news program. A reporter even asked him about Danish women calling him “a bit of a sex symbol”—a remark that drew laughter from the Scottish-born professor.
“I’m quite overwhelmed by that,” Donaldson replied. “Rugby is my sport, and rugby players have broken noses, cauliflower ears, and big bellies. So I don’t know about the sex symbol idea.”
His unexpected fame peaked in 2004 when he walked his daughter, then Mary Donaldson, down the aisle of Copenhagen’s Church of Our Lady in a traditional kilt for her wedding to Crown Prince Frederik. The moment cemented his place in Danish public affection.
### A father’s quiet support
Donaldson, a mathematics professor, divided his later years between Tasmania—where the family had relocated in the 1960s—and Denmark, maintaining a close bond with his youngest daughter despite the distance. Royal commentator Thomas Larsen told DR that Donaldson was “a very strong support” as Mary transitioned from an anonymous life in Australia to becoming one of Denmark’s most scrutinized public figures.
“When Queen Mary made the enormous decision to move to Denmark and join the royal family, it was life-changing for her,” Larsen said. “John Donaldson was a huge support during that time. He even moved to Denmark for a period to be there for her.”
Donaldson’s role took on added significance after the death of Mary’s mother, Henrietta, in 1997 at age 55 following heart surgery. “He became a central figure in her life,” Larsen noted. “He followed his daughter’s journey closely, as well as the lives of his grandchildren. It was a very tight-knit family relationship.”
### A final farewell
Queen Mary last saw her father in March. In a statement, she described her grief: “My heart is heavy, and my thoughts are grey. My beloved father has died. But I know that when the sorrow fades, the memories will shine brightest—the love and gratitude for all he gave me and taught me.”
Donaldson’s cause of death was not disclosed, though the royal household stated he had been “increasingly marked by his age” in recent years.
In his 2004 wedding speech for Mary and Frederik, Donaldson called his daughter “very loving and très belle—not just in appearance, but in how she cares for her family and friends, and in her approach to the exciting and demanding task ahead of her.” Of his new son-in-law, he said: “Frederik is an intelligent, sporty, cheerful, and highly appealing young man. What more could a father-in-law wish for?”