Though she’s in Paris to support the Danish Olympic Team, Queen Mary couldn’t help but visit the Australian Olympians ahead of the Games.
Anna Meares, a cyclist competing for Australia, shared a photo on Instagram of her meeting Queen Mary in the food court at the Olympic Village.
“Once an Aussie, always an Aussie,” Meares captioned the photo, “and the Queen of Denmark.”
Queen Mary and King Frederik had been visiting the Danish Olympians at their village, joining a handful for lunch when she met with Meares.
“Great to see Queen Mary in the food court for lunch today,” Meares wrote. “I was a bit nervous but she wished our athletes well and I did invite her to our allotment for an Aussie coffee.”
The king and queen of Denmark have been visiting Paris ahead of the Olympics. On Thursday, they officially opened the Danish Pavilion in Olympic Village, where Danish culture, food and health and sustainability will be on display throughout the Games.
They then attended an official reception at the Louvre hosted by the International Olympic Committee.
Later today, they will attend a reception at the Palais de l’Elysées hosted by President Emmanuel Macron for foreign dignitaries before attending the Opening Ceremony along the Seine.
King Frederik and Queen Mary are attending the Olympics in the opening days, but the Danish Royal Court also announced that Princess Benedikte will attend events throughout the Games as well.
There are 135 Danish Olympians competing this year. King Frederik and Queen Mary met with members of the handball teams on Friday before the opening ceremonies.
Queen Mary famously met her husband at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney—at a pub where she didn’t know he was the future king of Denmark.
One of her first official duties, after becoming the Crown Princess of Denmark in 2004, was to attend the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens alongside her husband.
