Frederik & Mary in Australia – Day Two

The Danish Crown Prince Couple have completed the second day of their official visit to Australia, spending another day in Sydney.

Prince Frederik and Princess Mary began the day by opening Bright Green Denmark’s conference State of Green – Join The Future. Think Denmark at the Hotel Sofitel. This event, and those surrounding it which will be held in Melbourne later this week, is the main point of the couple’s visit, the promotion of Danish environmentally-friendly business sectors. They were greeted by a bevy of flower-bearing little girls, before heading inside. The Prince told reporters that it was the right time for a Danish push into the Australian market, especially in relation to environmetally-friendly fields.

Following the opening of the conference, Frederik and Mary had an audience with New South Wales’ Premier, The Honourable Barry O’Farrell, and his wife Rosemary; the group posing for photos in front of Australian and Danish flags. Just after 10am, and it was back to the conference for a cooking demonstration held by the Danish Agricultural and Food Council. Princess Mary was pulled up onto the stage to take part in the presentation, alongside Danish chef Rasmus Kofoed and Australian chef Matt Moran. The Princess helped the chefs in putting together a seafood salad and a dessert of white chocolate and jelly. Matt Moran later praised Danish food to journalists, saying that “Denmark at the moment is probably the hottest country in the world when it comes to food.”

A luncheon for the business delegation accompanying the Prince and Princess on the visit, along with representatives of Australia business also attending the conference, was held in the early afternoon, where Crown Prince Frederik presented PowerSense A/S with the Danish Export Association’s Diploma and HRH Prince Henrik’s Medal of Honour. The awards are given to “Danish companies located outside Denmark, in recognition of outstanding efforts in promoting and marketing Danish products and services abroad.” PowerSense’s Chief Executive Officer, Brian Sørensen, accepted the award on the company’s behalf.

The royal couple then travelled across town to Government House, where they met with Professor Marie Bashir, the Govenor of New South Wales. A walk through the House’s lovely gardens, the Sydney Opera House in the background, was on the agenda, with Princess Mary adding a white shawl to her floral printed dress to ward of the Harbour’s wind. Inside Government House, the group was joined by the Governor’s husband, Sir Nicholas Shehadie and the visitors signed the guest book.

It was then time for the Prince Frederik and Princess Mary to go their seperate ways – Frederik headed to Darling Quarter, Mary to Westmead Hospital. At Darling Quarter, Prince Frederik was given a tour of the Commonwealth Building, which utilises energy-saving methods. Outside in the Quarter’s playground, he was shown the ‘Archimedes Screw’ water pump, hailing from Grundfos. A little later on, Frederik viewed a demonstration led by the Australian Special Forces of new maritime communication systems.

While her husband was at play, Princess Mary was revealing the new name of Westmead Hospital’s Cancer Centre, now the Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre Westmead. The centre has for years worked with Danish cancer specialists, and treats 5,000 people a year. The Princess was given a tour of the radiation oncology unit.

This evening, the couple were guests of honour at a dinner hosted by the Danish Ambassador, Ms Susanne Shine, at Dolton House in Pyrmont. The dinner was also attended by the Danish business delegation. Prince Frederik was seated with Mr O’Farrell for the dinner, which consisted of smoked salmon and snow crab, pork with parlsey potatoes and an assortment of cheeses. Rasmus Kofoed was the chef in charge of the event. Princess Mary was seated at a table a short distance away.

To read more about the visit, click here.

Filed under Denmark
Tagged Ambassador, Audience, Australia, Awards, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Environment, Hospital, Official Visit.