The Queen of Denmark has announced that her beloved father, John Donaldson, has died.
Queen Mary shared the news that her dad, who was 84, had passed away in their home town of Hobart, Australia.
In a short statement, issued on the morning of April 12, the Danish royals announced ”it is with great sadness that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her father, Professor John Dalgliesh Donaldson, in Hobart, Tasmania. He was 84 years old.”
In a personal statement, Queen Mary said ”my heart is heavy and my thoughts are grey. My beloved father has died.”
The Danish queen continued ”I know that when the grief subsides, the memories will light up and what will remain the strongest is the love and the gratitude for everything he gave me and taught me.;;
Professor Donaldson had been unwell for some time. Queen Mary was last with her father in March when she made a hugely successful State Visit to Australia, her first since her husband became King of Denmark in January 2024.
Queen Mary was greeted by huge crowds as she returned to Hobart and was overcome with emotion as she was cheered back to her home town.
The Danish royals revealed that, during that recent visit, Queen Mary and her father had ”several good and present moments together”.
Professor Donaldson will be buried in Australia where his family will hold a private memorial service for him.
He was close to his daughter and was at her side when she became Crown Princess of Denmark on her marriage in May 2004, famously calming her nerves as she arrived at the church. He was unable to travel to Denmark to see her become the country’s queen but just weeks later, Mary chose a photo with him at her side to mark her first birthday as Queen of Denmark.
John Dalgliesh Donaldson was born in Port Seton in East Lothian, Scotland on September 5 1941 to Peter Donaldson and his wife, Mary Dalgliesh. He would later name his youngest daughter after his mother. He married Henrietta Horne in 1963 and with several other members of his family, they emigrated to Tasmania in Australia that same year. He became a Professor of Applied Mathematics. Henrietta Donaldson died in 1997 and Professor Donaldson went on to marry Susan Horwood, a novelist who writes as Susan Moody.
She survives him as do his four children with Henrietta Donaldson. The couple had a son, John, and three daughters – Jane, Patricia and Mary, The Queen of Denmark. John Donaldson was also a grandfather and his grandson, Crown Prince Christian of Denmark, is set to reign one day.
The Danish Royal House has set up an online condolence book.
