Queen Mary and King Frederik Attend Private Memorial in Australia for Late Father

Queen Mary and King Frederik have made a private visit to Australia, six months after the death of Queen Mary's father, Professor John Donaldson. The Australian-born Queen and her husband traveled from Denmark to Hobart, Tasmania, to attend a private memorial service for Donaldson, who died in Hobart on April 11 at the age of 84. The Danish Royal House confirmed the engagement, which was not accompanied by the usual fanfare associated with royal appearances.

This marks Queen Mary's first known return to her home country since her father's passing. The visit is also a poignant return to the city where she was born and raised. No public engagements are scheduled during their stay.

During their absence, their 20-year-old son, Crown Prince Christian, is serving as regent in Denmark.

Queen Mary and King Frederik had previously traveled to Australia in March for their first official visit to the country since ascending the Danish throne in January 2024. At the end of that trip, Queen Mary visited her ailing father in Hobart. The Danish Royal House later stated that his health had been declining for several years and that the pair had shared "precious time together" during that final visit.

Professor John Dalgleish Donaldson, a mathematician, was born in Scotland in 1941 and moved to Tasmania in the 1960s. He built a long academic career at the University of Tasmania, specializing in numerical analysis and serving as Dean of the Faculty of Science before retiring in 2003. He and his first wife, Henrietta Clark Horne, raised four children, including Mary, who was born in Hobart in 1972.

Queen Mary met then-Crown Prince Frederik during the Sydney Olympics in 2000, leading to her eventual marriage to him at Copenhagen Cathedral in 2004. As Queen Mary built her life in Denmark, her father's declining health made the distance between them increasingly challenging. He was unable to travel to Denmark for several significant family occasions in his later years, including Princess Isabella's confirmation, an event Queen Mary noted his poor health prevented him from attending.

His death came just weeks after Queen Mary's March visit, adding particular significance to the time she was able to spend with him. The current memorial service, held six months later, brings Queen Mary and King Frederik back to Tasmania to privately remember a father who remained a strong link to the Australian life she left over two decades ago.