Embarrassing mistake behind Princess Mary's absence from Queen's funeral

An 'embarrassing' mistake appears to be behind Princess Mary's absence from the Queen's funeral with a Danish royal spokesperson telling local media she was not actually invited.

There were questions surrounding why the Australian-born royal did not attend the service along with her husband Crown Prince Frederik and his mother Queen Margrethe on Monday.

The Danish royal family confirmed Princess Mary would be in attendance in a statement published on their website on September 13.

"HM The Queen and the Crown Prince Couple [will be] present at the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on 19 September 2022 at Westminster Abbey in London, Great Britain," the statement last week said.

However, the Princess did not join her husband and mother-in-law, with another statement on September 19 stating just Prince Frederik and the Queen were at the funeral, with no mention of Princess Mary.

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In a statement to Danish media outlet BT, the royal spokesperson said there had been a "regrettable error".

“There has been a regrettable error in the invitation from the British Foreign Office’s protocol. It is thus only the Queen and the Crown Prince who, from the Danish side, will participate in Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral on Monday,” a spokesperson reportedly confirmed.

The outlet's royal expert Jacob Heinel Jensen described the error as "clumsy and unfortunate".

"It has meant that the Royal House must now say that a mistake had been made, and that is embarrassing,' he said.

As the funeral was being broadcast, many royal fans took to Twitter to question where Princess Mary was.

"No Princess Mary of Denmark?" one said.

"Prince Frederik of Denmark was with his mother [Queen Margrethe] sitting opposite King Charles III. Shame our Princess Mary couldn't attend (she's Australian)," commented another.

"Oh, no Princess Mary of Denmark next to Prince Frederik," a third wrote.

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