Queen Mary and Princess Josephine stepped out in coordinated style on May 26, 2026, as the Danish royal family gathered on the balcony of Amalienborg Palace to mark King Frederik X’s 58th birthday in Copenhagen. The public appearance put Queen Mary, Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent beside the king as they greeted royal watchers gathered outside the palace.
Mary wore a soft grey blouse with an elegant coiled rosette detail at the shoulder and crisp white tailored trousers, finished with coral-toned drop earrings. Josephine, 15, chose a flowing floral lace maxi dress by Sandro Paris. Frederik wore a blue pinstripe suit with a pink tie, while Vincent appeared in a checked blazer layered over a pale blue tie and crisp shirt.
The balcony moment carried on one of Denmark’s most familiar royal traditions, but this year it came with a quieter backdrop. Queen Margrethe II was absent from the appearance and remained hospitalized at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen after the Danish Royal House confirmed she had been readmitted on May 25. A CT scan found a large blood clot linked to a previous fall. She had been discharged on May 19 after a separate heart-related medical emergency that required a coronary angioplasty.
Palace officials said the 86-year-old queen is doing well under the circumstances and is expected to remain under medical supervision for several more days. Her absence meant the birthday balcony was both celebratory and restrained, a public show of continuity while the family’s focus remained split between the king’s milestone and the queen mother’s recovery.
Frederik had also taken part in the annual Royal Run festivities, extending the birthday into a day built around public participation as well as ceremony. For royal watchers outside Amalienborg, the sight of Mary, Josephine, Frederik and Vincent on the balcony offered the image of a family keeping the ritual intact even as the health of Denmark’s former monarch continued to cast a shadow over the celebration.
