Frederik & Mary in Australia – Days Four & Five

Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary have completed the fourth and fifth days of their official visit to Australia, spending the two days in Melbourne.

Yesterday, November 23rd, began much like the couple’s Monday in Sydney, opening the Melbourne edition of the State of Green – Join The Future. Think Denmark conference hosted by Bright Green Denmark, again at the Hotel Sofitel. The Princess was presented with a bouquet of flowers by seven-year-old Catherine Babie, who had flown from Adelaide with her mother on the off chance they might get to see Mary. After presenting the bouquet, Catherine – who was born the day before Prince Frederik and Princess Mary wed in 2004 – told Mary, “I’m going to curtsey now”, earning a bigger smile from the Princess.

Inside the hotel following the conference, Crown Princess Mary once more took part in a Danish-Australian cooking demonstration, again with Danish chef Rasmus Kofoed and Australian chef Matt Moran. While preparing a smoking dish, Chef Kofoed handed Mary a glass of juice, which Mary mistakenly thought was to be poured over the dish as an ingredient. A quick “No!” from the Chef pulled the Princess’ hand back, and erupted laughter from the audience. Mary then joined Frederik for a lunch with business delegates.

In the afternoon, Prince Frederik and Princess Mary visited Denmark House on Little Bourke Street, greeted by a small crowd of fifty people. Inside, they awarded Dr Greta Hort with the Dannebrog Scholarship. They then made their way over to Elizabeth Street, visiting the showroom of furniture company Corporate Culture, which hails from Denmark. Prince Frederik awarded the company with the Danish Export Association’s Diploma and HRH Prince Henrik’s Medal of Honour, in recognition of their promotion and marketing of Danish products.

Last night, the couple headed to the Docklands for a business dinner at the Peninsula restaurant. Guests included Masterchef Australia judge Matt Preston, who told everyone the Princess looked “gorgeous”.

Today began with seperate agendas for Frederik and Mary. Princess Mary visited Pakenham Springs Primary School, to open the school’s new environmentally-friendly built building. The building was built with the help of Danish companies. Large crowds had gathered outside to see the Princess, little girls dressed in dresses wearing tiaras on their heads, their mothers juggling cameras and bouquets. Mary was given a tour of the new building, before spending some time talking with pupils and greeting the crowds. Following this, Mary headed back into the city to Parliament House, where alongside the Victorian Premier, Mr Ted Ballieau, she launched the Cancer Council’s SunSmart 2011 campaign. A documentary on the effects of skin cancer was shown to the audience.

Prince Frederik meanwhile was in Castlemaine, touring the George Weston Foods production facility. He was presented with several gifts, including aprons and tins of Castlemaine Rock lollies. The Prince was described as “chilled” by an on-looker, in what has been Castlemaine’s first royal visit in over sixty years (Queen Elizabeth II rode through on a train during her 1954 tour).

The couple rejoined each other in the early afternoon, at Melbourne’s Town Hall for the opening of the LeoPharma Pharmacueticals Australian division. The police escorted entourage arrived fifteen minutes late for the event, but the Prince and Princess stopped to accept flowers and quickly greet onlookers. Then it was on to ArtPlay, in Birrarung Marr, alongside the Yarra River. Arriving to a crowd of over 300, Frederik and Mary spent around twenty minutes meeting and greeting, accepting flowers and posing for photos. They were officially greeted by Melbourne’s Lord Mayor, Mr Robert Doyle, who led them inside to view a ‘sustainable city’ built by school children out of LEGO. One group of children showed Mary how to build a robotic car from their LEGO. Just before the couple left, they were presented with a W Class tram and a bouquet of flowers built out of LEGO.

The final two engagements for the day were the naming ceremony of the Svitzer Marysville tugboat at Melbourne Harbour, and a business dinner at Federation Square. Princess Mary was given the honour of naming the tug, and the couple were introduced to Mr Glen Fiske, who was Marysville’s Country Fire Authority (CFA) chief on Black Saturday in February 2009. Helping throughout the course of the day to try and contain and put out the fires, Mr Fiske himself lost his wife and son in the fire.

To read more about the visit, click here.

Filed under Denmark
Tagged Australia, Awards, Cancer, Children, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Education, Environment, Official Visit, Sun Awareness.