Move over, Meghan Markle! Queen Mary of Denmark announces her foundation is launching a podcast about ‘loneliness’ among young people

When people think of royals and podcasts, they likely call to mind Meghan Markle’s Archetypes – or Queen Camilla’s audio book club the Reading Room.

But now, the medium is being joined by a new royal, with Queen Mary of Denmark announcing the launch of a podcast about ‘loneliness’ among young people. 

Taking to Instagram today, King Frederik’s wife, 52, posted a photograph of herself listening to a podcast in a pair of black trousers and matching turtle neck jumper.

Sporting a pair of stylish glasses and earphones, the mother-of-four looked engrossed in the podcast as she held her phone in her hands.

On a cream sofa, next to a side table filled with books, the Australian-born Queen looked typically elegant, with her hair left straight and loose and her features boasting a smattering of glamorous makeup.

The post, when translated from Danish to English, read: ‘I’m extremely excited to be listening to a podcast. I often listen when I have to move from one place to another. 

‘Some days I’m in the mood for entertainment and other days I use it to gain knowledge and new input.

‘That is why I am also proud that we have now thrown ourselves into making a podcast in the Mary Foundation. 

Born out of her desire to make society more inclusive, Queen Mary, 52, launched The Mary Foundation in 2007

‘Our first podcast is called “Lonely youth”, and through three short episodes it gives a thorough insight into the nuances of loneliness by mixing expertise and personal stories from young people. 

‘We know from the study “Loneliness in Denmark” that 73 per cent of 16-19 year olds experience loneliness, whether they are alone or with others. At the same time, 17 per cent of 16-24 year olds feel very lonely. 

‘These are heavy numbers that we need to do something about. A podcast is not something we much experience with yet in the Mary Foundation, but I hope you will listen and feel welcome.’

Born out of Queen Mary’s desire to make society more inclusive and bring in those who find themselves on the margins, The Mary Foundation was established in 2007. 

Mary ‘has always been particularly conscious of the people who are not part of a group, people who feel lonely and are unable to understand why they are excluded from the community,’ reads the foundation’s official website. 

The Queen Mary Foundation was created thanks to a 1.1 million kroner national gift raised in Denmark and Greenland and donated in honour of Mary and Frederik’s wedding in 2004. 

Mary is following in the footsteps of royals including the Duchess of Sussex, Queen Camilla and Princess Eugenie in launching a podcast.

Meghan Markle’s audio show Archetypes with Meghan, described as ‘a podcast where we investigate, dissect, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back’, first launched on Spotify in August 2022.

Meghan Markle’s Archetypes podcast launched on all streaming platforms on March 5, 2024

When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s lucrative deal with Spotify ended in 2023, Meghan signed a deal with Lemonada Media.

Previously only available on Spotify, Archetypes was released on all platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Audible and Spotify, on March 5, 2024. 

Queen Camilla’s Reading Room chart-topping podcast launched at the beginning of the week and returned for a second season in the middle of May. 

Reading Room is an audio version of Her Majesty’s popular online bookclub, which has 172,000 followers on Instagram. 

Her Majesty is renowned for her love of books and the season two launch came just weeks after the charity’s research into benefits of reading.

Meanwhile, Princess Eugenie’s podcast, Floodlight, returned for a second season in September 2023, with former prime minister Theresa May as the first guests. 

The podcast, which Eugenie co-hosts with best friend Julia de Boinville, is about modern slavery and how to help end it. 

King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark put on a united front last night as they announced a major rebrand of their Crown Prince Couple’s Awards – one year after the monarch’s ‘affair’ scandal.

King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark (pictured) put on a united front at the Crown Prince Couple’s Awards last night

The couple – who have been plagued by rumours of marital strife over the past year – attended the annual awards, which celebrate ‘outstanding performance and innovative thinking’ in the arts, culture and social work sectors, in Copenhagen.

Following a series of solo engagements this week, Queen Mary posed for photos with her husband on the red carpet at the VEGA concert hall – before later taking to the stage with him to announce a new chapter in the awards’ history.

For the occasion, the royal mother-of-four, 52, opted for an elegant black tuxedo jumpsuit with silk lapel by MaxMara.

Adding a pop of colour to her ensemble, Mary opted for a pair of yellow silk high heels by Manolo Blahnik – a variation of the pair made famous by Carrie Bradshaw in the Sex and the City franchise.

The stylish royal teamed her designer heels with a matching yellow satin bag with chunky embellishment, which she tucked under her arm on the red carpet.

What’s more, Mary slicked back her long brown hair to show off her dangly diamond earrings and opted for a glitzy grey smokey eye.

Meanwhile, King Frederik, 56, was dapper in a navy suit and white shirt for the occasion.

During the evening, the royal couple took to the stage to present awards live on television and also spent time speaking to winners and runners up afterwards.

The awards were first established in 2004 as a wedding gift to Frederik and Mary from the Bikuben Foundation – an independent organisation that specialises in creative schemes for young people.

The couple (pictured) – who have been plagued by rumours of marital strife over the past year – attended the annual awards, which celebrate ‘outstanding performance and innovative thinking’ in the arts, culture and social work sectors

For the occasion, the royal mother-of-four, 52, opted for an elegant black tuxedo jumpsuit with silk lapel by MaxMara

During the evening, the royal couple (pictured) took to the stage to present awards live on television

Adding a pop of colour to her ensemble, Mary opted for a pair of yellow silk high heels by Manolo Blahnik and a matching clutch bag

During last night’s event, Frederik and Mary (pictured) announced the Crown Prince Couple’s Awards will now be known as the Royal Couple’s Awards

Queen Mary (pictured) slicked back her long brown hair to show off her dangly diamond earrings and opted for a glitzy grey smokey eye

Queen Mary of Denmark (pictured) also spent time speaking to winners and runners up afterwards

During last night’s event, Frederik and Mary announced the Crown Prince Couple’s Awards will now be known as the Royal Couple’s Awards – to signify their new royal status following their ascension in January.

In a joint speech, the pair explained: ‘Tonight we say goodbye to the Crown Prince couple’s Awards and welcome something new. Cause it doesn’t stop here for us. We have new titles, but we carry our values with us. 

‘Therefore, in the future, we will also support social initiatives, art and culture, and communities that bind us together. We’ll salute those who fascinate, excite and move us. 

‘We want to hold on to a prize for arts and culture and a prize for social initiatives, and as something new in 2025 we will introduce a prize for communities.’ 

In November 2023, pictures of Crown Prince Frederick enjoying an evening out with Mexican socialite Genoveva Casnova sent shockwaves through Denmark.

The Palace have dubbed it a ‘private visit’ but otherwise refused to speak about the nature of the now infamous incident. Meanwhile his wife, Mary, was over 5,000km away on official royal business in New York. 

In the photos, the royal and the former daughter-in-law of the billionaire Duchess of Alba were seen walking through Madrid before heading to her apartment building, changing clothes and heading out again for the evening.

The publication of the photos resulted in Genoveva, 47, issuing a statement denying any kind of romantic relationship between herself and the royal and slamming the ‘malicious’ rumours.

In January, Queen Margrethe became the first Danish monarch to abdicate in over 500 years – with experts claiming the royal made the decision to ‘save her son’s marriage’. 

Royal commentators have told MailOnline that Margrethe ‘deliberately’ dropped a ‘massive bombshell’ at the right time to secure the future of the Danish Royal Family, and its ‘greatest asset’, Crown Princess Mary.

King Frederik spent time with friend Genoveva Casanova (pictured) in Madrid last November, sparking affair rumours which she had vehemently denied 

Crown Prince Frederik and his then fiance Mary Donaldson seen walking through a park in Australia three months before their wedding in 2004

King Frederik and Queen Mary pictured on their wedding day in Copenhagen in May 2004 – four years after they met

Two weeks beforehand, Australian-born Mary had been spotted in tears and shared a cryptic post about loneliness just weeks after her husband was pictured on a night out in Madrid with a Mexican socialite, sparking rumours of an alleged affair with Genoveva Casanova.

British royal author Phil Dampier, also an expert on European monarchies, told MailOnline: ‘I think Margrethe may have worried that their marriage was in trouble and therefore she had to act.

‘The Queen always thought Mary was a fantastic asset to the royal family and if she thought she might leave it would have been a disaster. She will now hope that Frederik and Mary patch up any differences and work together as the new King and Queen’.

 In his memoir The King’s Word, Frederik revealed that his wife – who he describes as a ‘woman of the times’ – isn’t afraid to challenge him.

He explained: ‘As previously mentioned, my father was very patriarchal, and he tried to pass that pattern on to his two sons. 

‘Here, however, I have learned a lot from having a wife who, from time to time, reminds me that of course I am not always right, and that my words are not automatically believed, just because I am the man of the house.’

Frederik said Mary is his ‘partner and wing woman’ with whom he has a ‘super dynamic’. 

Appearing to shut down the infidelity rumours, Frederik says he and Mary have reached a ‘stable point’ in their lives together.

He said: ‘I love marriage, my wife, our children and the whole happy base that arises for the people who manage to stay together and persevere.’ 

Delving into their roles as King and Queen, Frederik admitted that they ‘will approach many things differently’ from his mother. He added: ‘Mary and I are children of our time.’