For years, it was practically impossible to get a proper glimpse inside the real home life of a royal family member.
Their existence appeared more like the stuff of fairytales – it was all tiaras, carriage rides, and stiffly posed walkabouts.
But times are changing, and Queen Mary of Denmark is one of the modern royals who has embraced speaking more openly about personal projects close to her heart.
However, she never expected to be taking a starring role in a new TV program and giving a behind-the-scenes insight into a family project.
The program? Søren Vester’s Garden – Biodiversity and Castle Gardens, which is aired on Denmark’s DR 1 channel.
“I never imagined that I would participate in a program about gardens,” Mary candidly admitted in a post shared to Instagram on August 20, 2025.
“My knowledge of gardens is at a booming level and was brought to life after we planted a small wild garden in Fredensborg.”
Where does Queen Mary of Denmark live?
While Mary, her husband King Frederik, and their children Crown Prince Christian, 19, Princess Isabella, 18, and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, 14, spend most of their time at Copenhagen’s Amalienborg Palace, Fredensborg Palace – on the island of Zealand – is their summer residence.
“Although nature has always had a great importance in my life, the joy of our wild garden still caught me,” Mary continued in her post.
“It was a pleasure to show Søren Vester this part of our garden, which is both a small contribution to biodiversity and ‘wild’ beautiful.”
Mary shared a series of behind-the-scenes photos alongside her post, offering a rare look into life beyond palace walls.
The Queen wore her brunette hair loose in the photos, and clasped her hand to her knee as she relaxed on a wooden bench in one snap.
Other photos showed her chatting to the show’s host with her family’s beloved Border Collies by her feet, and walking in the garden looking at the flowers and seeds.
While royal fans were thrilled to be given a sneak peek behind the palace gates, it’s not actually the first time that Mary has bucked tradition to open up about family life.
Giving a rare interview to Vogue Living in early 2025, Mary spoke about a big renovation project she and Frederik had completed at Fredensborg.
The pair had turned an old workshop dating back to 1890 into a circular annex in the grounds, made of rustic wood and surrounded by a wild garden.
In fact, the wild garden she explores in her new TV appearance is the very same one.
“I shared my thoughts about incorporating and rethinking the use of the building and making it as sustainable as possible, both in its transformation and its operation,” Mary told Vogue Living at the time.
To achieve the project, the Queen worked with eco-conscious architect Anders Lendager.
“Fortunately, he saw potential in it, as the old two-storey building had a strong and beautiful structure and was built from good, solid materials,” Mary explained.
“My husband and I followed the project from start to finish, getting involved in what was possible.”
Indeed, a wooden table in the annex was made from leftover wood supplied by the royal family’s carpenters as part of the renovation.
“It’s fascinating to see how much can come from building with what already exists,” Mary told Vogue Living.
“Everyone approached the task with curiosity, always asking: ‘How can we make this as sustainable as possible?'”
Mary posed in front of the annex for a photo that made the front cover of the Vogue Living January/February 2025 edition, and Vogue Living Australia’s editor-in-chief, Rebecca Caratti, explained more in her accompanying Editor’s Letter.
“Not only is it rare to obtain permission to publish the home of notoriously private royals, but the project itself sets the benchmark for what a sustainable and circular project looks like, and it speaks to the Queen’s interest and investment in Scandinavian design, and in how sustainable principles can positively shape the future of construction and architecture,” she wrote.
Mary is famously passionate about sustainability, and her commitment extends to fashion, where she has spoken of the importance of reusing and recycling clothing.
In 2024, at the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen – for which she is a patron – she spoke candidly about her family’s approach to repurposing.
“As you may know, I am the proud mother of four children, two boys and two girls,” Mary said. “Today, Isabella and Josephine can fit many of my clothes and, to my horror, shoes. The age gap, however, often means that they ‘wouldn’t be caught dead in that’,” she quipped.
“However, when they are seen in something of mine, it always puts a smile on my face.”
“My children are far from the only ones borrowing and swapping clothes, frequenting vintage stores and flea markets.”
“New clothing is no longer seen in opposition to used clothing. Along with progress in sustainable production, the development of new materials and textiles, and scaling of textile recycling, this bodes well for future circularity.”
