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| Mary met Frederik in a bar during the 2000
Olympics in Sydney. |
Crown Princess
Mary of Denmark is pregnant and expecting to give birth at the
end of October, the palace announced Monday.
If the baby is a boy, he will be second in line to
the throne of Europe's oldest monarchy
, after 35-year-old Frederik, who is Queen
Margrethe's oldest son.
The Danish constitution doesn't allow female succession, but an
exception was made in 1953 for Margrethe, who had no brothers.
"If the first-born is a daughter, we'll need to change the Constitution
so that women have the same succession rights as men," Pia
Christmas-Moeller of the governing Conservative Party said. Lawmakers from
other parties have made similar statements.
Mary, who married Frederik in a lavish ceremony in May at Copenhagen's
Lutheran cathedral, plans to deliver the baby at the Danish capital's
university hospital, the palace said in a brief statement.
"Mary is doing fine and she will carry out her official duties as
planned, including the trip to the Faeroe Islands," palace spokeswoman Lis
M. Frederiksen told The Associated Press.
The royal family will visit the semi-independent Danish territories,
located between Scotland and Iceland, on June 20-23.
The couple met in a bar during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Four years
later, they attended the Summer Games in Athens as a married couple and
fielded questions from reporters about their family plans.
"I am sure that there will be kangaroos in the pouch," in time for the
Beijing Olympics in 2008, Frederik said, referring to one of the most
famous animals from Mary's native Australia.
Ever since, Danish celebrity-oriented magazines and
tabloids have been
watching for signs that the 33-year-old Tasmanian-born princess was
pregnant.
The announcement came two days after Frederik and Mary returned from a
trip to Thailand and Japan.
Steffen Heiberg, a historian specializing in royal history, suggested
the palace timed the news to draw attention away from Frederik's younger
brother, Prince Joachim, whose divorce from Princess Alexandra was
finalized three weeks ago. It was the first royal split-up in nearly 160
years.
"It was a good timing from the palace's side," Heiberg said.
Denmark's monarchy was founded by the Viking king Gorm the Old, who
died in 958.
(Agencies) | 
Updated: 2005-04-26 11:09
