Princess Mary: Mum taught me to believe in myself

It’s 10 years since Mary Donaldson became Crown Princess Mary and supposedly fulfilled every young girl’s dream of marrying a prince. Of course that isn’t really every girl’s dream nor should it be, but the other things that Mary is currently achieving quite possibly should be. For the former ad exec from Tassie is making her mark in a powerful way, fighting for girls’ rights on the world stage with a passion and intelligence that is totally breathtaking to watch.

As a 42-year-old mother of four with two young girls of her own – Princesses Isabella and Josephine –  Crown Princess Mary knows the importance of raising girls to believe in themselves and have an expectation of equality. And whether it is her daughters who are inspiring her, or the memory of her late-mother Henrietta Clark Donaldson, who died 17 years ago this month and inspired Mary to want to make a difference, this Danish Crown Princess is determined to help and protect the world’s female population.

“Gender inequality continues to persist and remain an immense barrier, preventing women and girls from claiming their rights and the opportunity of living their lives to their full potential,” Crown Princess Mary said in September in one of a raft of impressive speeches she has made in the past year as part of her work with the High Level Task Force for ICPD (the International Conference on Population Development).

“Well over a quarter of a million women die every year from complications linked to pregnancy and child birth. Unsafe abortion remains a serious danger to women’s physical and mental health and places their lives in danger.

“Violence against women, particularly in the form of sexual violence, has a devastating impact on the sexuality, dignity, psychological well-being, autonomy and reproductive health of women and girls.

“Harmful practices such as female genital cutting and early and forced marriage damage the health of millions of women and girls and present a lifelong risk to their well-being and ability to realise their full potential.”

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