Crown Princess Mary

She’s a significant jewel in Denmark’s royal crown and increasingly an impressive leader on the world stage. Juliet Rieden heads to Copenhagen for an exclusive interview with Crown Princess Mary, as she joins the crusade to transform the global fashion industry.

- Juliet Rieden

It’s the eve of the start of the Copenhagen Fashion Summit and there’s a lot going on behind the ancient heavy wooden gates of Frederik VIII’s Palace. The event’s proud patron, Crown Princess Mary, is preparing to host a rather exclusive welcome dinner for the key players of this annual brainstorm, and after weeks of grey drizzle the sun has obligingly come out to present a backdrop of bright blue sky.

Queen Margrethe II’s Royal Life Guards are parading outside, Her Majesty’s golden curly M insignia emblazoned on their red-painted wooden gatehouses and the mirror-shined black patent bags that accessorise their dashing uniform. These young soldiers clutch rifles with sharp bayonets fixed, and beneath towering bearskin fur hats their expressions are suitably impenetrable.

It’s a wonderful permanent display of pomp as well as an important line of defence right outside Amalienborg Palace, a pertinent reminder that this is one of the oldest monarchies in the world, dating back more than a thousand years.

I am also standing guard in a way, with a couple of photographers from the local media. We’ve been invited to watch the arrivals for this special dinner but also find ourselves doubling as guides to early arrivals.

The thing is, it’s easy to get confused at Amalienborg Square. There are four palaces here, facing each other around an octagonal courtyard, and to the untrained eye they all look pretty much the same, at least from the outside.