Australia-Born Crown Princess Mary Wins Hearts At Copenhagen WorldPride
Image: Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark (second from left).
Copenhagen WorldPride’s Human Rights Forum commenced on Monday with a huge show of support from Danish royalty.
Forty-nine-year-old Crown Princess Mary of Denmark stepped on the stage in the UN City in Copenhagen and declared the three-day human rights event open with a speech on how diversity faces challenges on a global scale.
The Hobart-born crown princess is a patron of Denmark’s annual Pride events and is involved with other human rights causes through her work with UNICEF and her own anti-bullying organisation.
While every year she is without exception to be found at the annual pride events in Denmark, she takes on an even bigger role at this year’s WorldPride celebrations.
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“Copenhagen 2021 is a celebration of diversity. And what could be more diverse than us humans? In all our shapes and forms, thoughts and ideas, beliefs and opinions, cultures and attitudes, behaviour and expressions. This conference is about preventing persecution against people for what they believe in, for their ethnicity, or for whom they love,” the Crown Princess said in her opening speech.
Apart from being one of Copenhagen 2021’s keynote speakers, the Crown Princess will also be attending panel debates with activists and representatives of international organisations.
A Fairytale Wedding
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Crown Princess Mary is married to Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark. Frederik, elder son of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik, is the heir apparent to the throne of Denmark.
Mary was born in Hobart and graduated from the University of Tasmania. Mary worked in advertising firms in Melbourne and Sydney. She met Prince Frederik at the Slip Inn pub, on September 16 during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The couple married in October 2004.
Human Rights For All
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The Human Rights Forum focuses on supporting the LGBTQAI+ community by prioritizing discussions about human rights and inclusion. The long list of international figures include the CEO of Equality Australia, Anna Brown who is to speak about LGBTQAI+ laws in the Asia Pacific.
On the first day of the Human Rights Forum, representatives of the United Nations Population Fund were invited to discuss the challenges that COVID-19 has brought to the organization’s work with sexual and reproductive health globally with the Crown Princess.
“The conversation was also about the fact that human rights apply to all people regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity, and how important it is that human rights are respected worldwide and that everyone had the right to be who they are,” the Danish royal family said on its Facebook page.
Although the Princess has had a full calendar during the first couple of days of WorldPride, her involvement is far from over. Shortly after the Human Rights Forum, Mary will also be attending the WorldPride & EuroGames closing ceremony on August 21, 2021.
