It’s been a turbulent few months for the Danish royal family ever since they became embroiled in a title scandal back in September, so Crown Princess Mary and husband Crown Prince Frederik were looking forward to enjoying some time out on their tour of Vietnam.
WATCH: Princess Mary and Prince Frederik dance together at lavish royal event
But the pair were forced to rush home to Copenhagen last week, after it was revealed that the feud had ignited a “ticking time bomb” within their ranks that is forcing them to fight to protect what they hold dearest – their four children.
Queen Margrethe’s historic September announcement that she was stripping Countess Alexandra’s sons of their princely titles has left her former daughter-in-law “hell-bent” on getting revenge and she is planning to dish all on the royals in a tell-all book.
The 58-year-old mum of two has remained friendly with her former in-laws following her divorce with Prince Joachim in 2005.
But after the Queen chose to single out her boys, Prince Nikolai, 23, and Prince Felix, 20, and their two half-siblings, Prince Henrik, 13, and Princess Athena, 10, (who Joachim shares with Princess Marie) while Fred and Mary’s kids kept their birthright intact, she’s decided that she’d done playing nice.
“She’s completely out of everything, so she can say and do whatever she wants,” explains Danish royal expert Lars Hovbakke Sørensen. “She’s got nothing to lose.”
Alexandra doesn’t just have the inside scoop on what exactly goes on behind closed palace doors following her decade-long marriage to Fred’s brother either – she also has the know-how and contacts to pull it all off.
The countess is already an author, having published her book My Happy Country in 2019.
After Mary, 50, came out in support of the Queen, who said the move was “necessary to future-proof” the monarchy, the Aussie-born royal is set to be firmly in the direct firing line of the countess.
WATCH: Princess Mary’s kids show off their tennis skills. (Article continues after video)
As a future king, the title of Mary’s 17-year-old son Prince Christian is safe, but those of Princess Isabella, 15, and 11-year-old twins Vincent and Josephine might soon be up for debate following the outrage that the book’s release could potentially cause.
Following Mary and Fred’s return after their whirlwind trip to South East Asia, the pair were quickly back on royal duty.
After a quiet few months, the couple did no less than three official engagements in less than 48 hours.
“Mary knows the survival of the royal family is ensured for only as long as the people want it, so she’s smart to be out pounding the pavement to win back the public’s favour,” says a source.
“Alexandra is just trying to be a protective mum, but she’ll find that Mary can be just as fierce when it comes to her kids.”
Having spent the last two decades never putting a foot wrong, Mary can’t relish the idea of her dirty laundry being aired either.
“Alexandra was Mary’s confidante during her hard early years, so she’d know things she doesn’t want getting out,” says the source.
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