Princess Mary becomes Queen of Denmark: The royal payday heading her way

It was a fairytale romance: boy meets girl at pub, boy and girl fall in love, and girl becomes future Queen of Denmark. And that's exactly what happened to Australia's Mary Donaldson, who met Crown Prince Frederik at a Sydney pub over 20 years ago.

In the early hours of this morning, former queen Margrethe II abdicated the throne, signing the official documents with Frederik stepping in to become King of Denmark, with Mary by his side as the new Queen of Denmark.

And now the royal couple are set for a greater-than-usual payday, with a big jump in their annual salary.

Before taking the throne, Frederik and Mary received $4.8 million annually from the Danish civil list, money that was reportedly used for things like staffing, house costs, property upkeep, and more private expenses.

Now, as reported by news.com.au, as of today, if the couple is to receive the same amount as Margrethe was earning, their annual payday will jump to a whopping $19.9 million.

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While compared to other monarchies the Danish one is smaller, unlike their British counterparts they are exempt from paying tax.

Fans divided over awkward kiss between Frederik and Mary

Following rumours reported by Spanish publication Lecturas that Frederik cheated on Mary with Mexican socialite Genoveva Casanova during a solo trip to Spain last year, all eyes were on the royal couple as they took to the balcony to greet the adoring crowd.

Frederik and Mary shared a kiss on the balcony, with some fans dubbing the kiss awkward and speculating that Mary first tried to dodge his advances.

"Forced! Something is wrong…" one fan commented.

"That was about as cringey as a kiss between a married couple is ever going to get," another said.

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