Queen Mary of Denmark said she begins each day by walking barefoot in the garden at Fredensborg Palace, describing the simple routine as a way to re-centre and to "be" without expectations. The 53-year-old, who was born in Australia, made the admission during a televised interview and garden tour with Danish nature expert Søren Vesters.
Speaking in Danish in the interview, Mary said she liked "coming out in the morning with a cup of coffee and bare toes and just walking around and seeing what's going on out here." She added, "For me, it's just being able to be. Nothing or anyone expects anything from me," and said the practice had helped her reflect and notice her surroundings.
The queen linked the habit to a broader belief in the restorative powers of nature. "I have met many people with challenges in life who use nature to relieve," she said, adding that outdoor time can offer "a time [to heal] when you have lost someone you love," and calling nature "the best elixir for grief" for some people.
Mary's description aligns with a growing wellness trend known as ‘‘earthing’’ or ‘‘grounding,’’ a practice that involves direct skin contact with the earth, usually by walking barefoot on soil, grass or sand. Proponents say the practice can calm the mind and produce physiological benefits, and it has attracted attention from lifestyle commentators and some health professionals.
Australian psychologist Shannon Webb of The Banyans Healthcare told the Daily Mail that earthing "is a practice of bringing the body in physical contact with the earth" and is theorised to stabilise the body at deep levels because of the earth's natural electric charge. Webb said the simplicity and low cost of earthing — "it can be as simple as walking outside barefoot" — contributes to its appeal, and that it may help people enter a meditative state and reduce stress.
Research into earthing remains limited. Webb and other supporters acknowledge that much of the evidence is anecdotal and that only a small number of formal studies have been conducted. Published work has suggested potential physiological and psychological effects, including reductions in inflammation, pain and stress and improvements in sleep and energy, but systematic, large-scale clinical trials are lacking.
Experts who note the practice's popularity also point to social changes that have reduced regular outdoor contact for many people. Webb said that as children people commonly played barefoot and spent more time outdoors, but modern life — with increased indoor time, technology and social media — has diminished those everyday connections with the ground. For some, intentionally seeking moments to connect with nature is a means to "support overall restoration," she said.
Mary and her husband, King Frederik, have been publicly photographed barefoot on recent outings, including visits on Aug. 26 to the Råbjerg Mile sand dunes and to Grenen beach, images that lifestyle outlets said illustrated the couple's affinity for the outdoors. The queen's comments were reported in a translated account by the Danish publication Her & Nu and carried internationally by lifestyle sections.
In describing the ritual, Mary framed it as private and restorative rather than prescriptive. Her remarks come amid broader public interest in low-cost wellness habits and nature-based approaches to coping with stress and grief, but they also highlight the gap between popular enthusiasm and the limited scope of formal scientific evaluation of earthing's health effects.