Mary Donaldson from Hobart will today be crowned Queen Consort of Denmark, becoming the first Australian-born to be crowned Queen of a European monarch.
Since Mary's chance meeting with her prince charming in a Sydney pub almost 24 years ago, her fairytale romance has captured the hearts of Australians and Danes alike.
Here's how it all began.
Prince Frederik of Denmark greets and kisses for the first time in public his Australian girlfriend Mary Donaldson on the deck of the Tasmania Yacht Club before the start of the first race of the Dragon Boat World Championship.
Mary Donaldson was born on February 5, 1972, at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Hobart.
She was the youngest of four children born to two Scottish-born academics. Mary's father John is a Professor of Applied Mathematics while her mother Henrietta worked as the Executive Assistant to the Vice Chancellor of The University of Tasmania.
Princess Mary has since shared that growing up, her mother would regularly remind her that "you can only be yourself". It's that down-to-earth charisma that has been attributed to much of her popularity over the years.
Her mother died from complications following heart surgery in 1997, when Mary was only 25. In 2001, her father married British author and novelist Susan Moody.
A chance meeting at a Sydney pub, the Slip Inn, during the Sydney Olympics in 2000 first sparked the unlikely romance.
A number of European royals were in the crowd that night.
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark was at the bar with his brother Prince Joachim, as well as cousin Prince Nikolaos of Greece, and Princess Martha Louise of Norway.
Then-Prince Felipe of Spain was also there and he knew one of Mary Donaldson's friends, so the two groups mingled.
"The first time we met, we shook hands and I didn't know he was the Crown Prince of Denmark.
"An hour or so later someone came up to me and said, 'Do you know who these people are?'" Mary said of the moment she met her husband in an interview with 60 Minutes years later.
"From the first moment we started talking, we never really stopped talking, and that was part of our geographical distance, everything was through words so it really established a strong relationship to begin with."
Frederik felt the same and asked for her number, sparking a long-distance romance filled with secret visits between Sydney and Copenhagen.
However, the couple kept their union a secret for the next year. The relationship was eventually discovered by the press in 2001.
The couple began stepping out together more in 2002. Despite residing in Denmark, the couple regularly visited Australia. Pictured are Mary Donaldson and Crown Prince Frederick at the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday, November 5, that year.
Mary Donaldson and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark announced their engagement on Wednesday, October 8, 2003.
Speculation had swirled that the loved-up pair were set the seal their union since Mary moved to Denmark fulltime in December 2001.
When announcing their engagement, Mary was able to speak to the press in fluent Danish.
She had spent the previous 18 months learning the language at the Studieskolen in Copenhagen.
Queen Margrethe reportedly advised her future daughter-in-law to learn Danish so she could win over the Danish public in their native language.
Mary Donaldson was warmly welcomed by the Danish royal family and has received instruction in deportment and behaviour necessary for royal life.
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and his Tasmanian-born fiancee Mary Donaldson arrive for Miss Donaldson's sister Patricia's wedding January 17, 2004 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Frederik and Mary met at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and will marry on May 14 in Copenhagen.
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Mary landed on Australian soil once more in January 2004 to attend the wedding of Mary's sister Patricia, just four months before their own nuptials were to take place.
Mary Donaldson and Danish Crown Prince Frederik attend a celebratory dinner at Christiansborg Palace ahead their upcoming wedding on May 11, 2004 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Mary wore a royal tiara for the first time in May 2004 just days before her wedding. She was attending a celebratory dinner with her fiancé at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen.
On May 14, 2004, crowds packed around the Copenhagen Cathedral to watch the girl from Hobart wed her Danish prince. Millions more tuned in to watch the television service.
Mary's wedding dress was created by Danish designer Uffe Frank and made from ivory duchess satin and featured a six-metre train.
It was reported that Mary also had the wedding band of her late mother, Henrietta, stitched into the bodice close to her heart.
Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik dance their wedding waltz in Fredensborg Palace on Friday evening after their marriage.
The couple welcomed their first child, Prince Christian, at Copenhagen University Hospital on October 18, 2005.
The new crown prince was born at 1.57am on October 14, weighing 3.5kg, and measuring 51cm.
Prince Christian, who recently turned 18, is now first in line to the Danish monarchy with the succession of his father.
Crown Princess Mary again visited Australia in March, 2005, this time touring Sydney. Here she arrives at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in Darlinghurst.
Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary, Prince Christian and Princess Isabella of Denmark pose during a media call at Government House on September 4, 2008 in Sydney, Australia. This will be the final public appearance for the Danish Royal family during this visit to Australia.
In 2007, Princess Isabella joined the royal family's growing brood. Now 17 years old, she is the fourth grandchild and oldest granddaughter of Queen Margrethe II and the late Prince Henrik.
Princess Mary and Prince Frederik completed their family with the birth of twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine on January 8, 2011.
The prince was named Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander - Frederik for his father.
Meanwhile, the princess was named Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda - Mathilda likely as a nod to Mary's Aussie heritage.
The twins celebrated their 13th birthdays earlier this week.
Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik stealing a quiet moment on the rooftop of Frederik VIII's Palace, Amalienborg, in 2013. After almost a decade of marriage, a whirlwind of royal commitments and four children, the couple appear very much still in love.
Crown Princess Mary made a surprise appearance with three of her children, Christian, Isabella and Vincent, outside Amalienborg Palace on her 50th birthday on February 5, 2022.
The princess has now served in the Danish monarchy
Prince Christian, heir to the Danish throne after his father, celebrated his 18th birthday on October 15 last year. The lavish celebration was held at Christiansborg Palace.
From left, Denmark's Prince Christian, Prince Vincent, Princess Isabella, Crown Prince Frederik, Princess Josephine and Crown Princess Mary pose for photographs in front of the Palace after Princess Isabella's confirmation, at Fredensborg Palace Church in Fredensborg, Denmark, Saturday April 30, 2022.
On Sunday January 14, Princess Mary's path to the throne will be complete as she will be crowned Queen Consort of Denmark alongside her husband Crown Prince Frederik, following the shock abdication of Queen Margrethe.
The history-making moment will make Princess Mary the first Australian-born Queen of a European monarchy.