Princess Mary, the former Mary Donaldson of Australia, married Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederick in 2004. Their elder children are Prince Christian, 4, and Princess Isabella, 3.

This will be the first time a set of twins has been born into the Danish royal house, according to Dag Trygsland Hoelseth (see his blog). He explains that there are twins in the extended family (Countesses Camilla and Josephine of Rosenborg), but there have never been twins in the immediate Royal Family.

The twins are expected to be born in January of next year.

Take the Scandinavian troika of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, and Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria: all three are close friends and, like most European royals, are distantly related through Britain’s Queen Victoria.

These three all have close ties with one another, as they share a unique position of being the heir to a throne. The burden is eased knowing that they can talk and share ideas with someone who understands the pressures. Both Frederik and Haakon have always regarded Victoria as a “lillesøster” (little sister), attending royal ceremonies and performing official duties together whenever they can.

[picappgallerysingle id="774758"]

“We share experiences from travel, and talk together on complex issues where we need to exchange ideas,” says Princess Victoria.

“We always have a really nice time together. Meeting points are obviously not as frequent as you want. Full calendars sometimes prevent you from being united, but I am very fond of both the Crown Princes and grateful for their support.”

One of their joint outings occurred when Frederik, Haakon, and Victoria visited the Antarctic as patrons of the International Polar Year, a project which allowed them to schedule working time together. They all have a keen interest in the environment and are usually seen together for such causes. In December 2009, they spent time in Frederik’s homeland of Denmark, where they attended the opening of the Bright Green Expo in Copenhagen.

Previously, Victoria was the only unmarried royal among the group, and would often accompany her princely “brothers” and their wives at royal functions. Now Victoria is escorted by Daniel Westling, her fiance, who will become a royal prince and the Duke of Västergötland upon their marriage on June 19th. The Crown Princess will walk down the aisle the same day her parents married in 1976.

The Scandinavian triumvirate are so close that Victoria was named godmother to Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Christian, the eldest children of Prince Haakon and Prince Frederik, respectively.

______

The Crown Princesses of the Netherlands and Belgium are close friends through their royal husbands. Even their countries are intertwined. Belgium was once a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but gained independence in 1830. Both nations remain close allies.

Princess Maxima of the Netherlands and BFF Princess Mathilde carry out several engagements for their respective countries, but try to make it a joint effort as much as possible.

Many say that the pair work ‘seamlessly‘ when they attend events together. The opening of a new museum in Leven, Belgium, was no exception: Maxima and Mathilde smiled and greeted the crowds with warm enthusiasm and clearly enjoyed each other’s company as well.

[picappgallerysingle id="6554278"]

Mathilde and Maxima have a lot in common. Close in age, they both married heirs of thrones; both women are university-educated; they speak several languages fluently; and both were successful career women when they met their husbands.

Argentine-born Maxima was working at the New York branch of Germany’s Deutsche Bank when she began dating Prince Willem-Alexander. Mathilde was employed as a speech therapist when she met her future husband, Prince Philippe, during a casual game of tennis.

The pair of princesses also share a love of being hands-on, attentive mothers. Maxima has three girls and Mathilde has two boys and two girls. Mathilde is godmother to Maxima’s middle daughter, Princess Alexia.

Add your favorite royal pairings in the comments below!

Click for more photos…

1967: Princess Margrethe, eldest daughter of King Frederick of Denmark, marries French count Prince Henrik

1972: Prince Henrik of Denmark, the husband of Queen Margrethe, with their son Crown Prince Frederik

Queen Margrethe with Prince Henrik during a photo call at their summer residence on August 7, 2007 in Caix, France

Crown Prince Frederik and his bride Crown Princess Mary leave Copenhagen Cathedral after their wedding ceremony. The romance began in 2000 when Mary Donaldson met Frederik over drinks at the Sydney Olympics, where he was with the Danish sailing team.

Crown Prince Frederik and the new Crown Princess Mary wave from the balcony to the crowds below after their wedding, May 14, 2004

Mary’s sisters, Jane Alison Stephens and Patricia Anne Bailey, acted as bridesmaids.

Prince Christian of Denmark arrives with his parents Prince Frederik and Princess Mary for his first day at the nursery school of Queen Louise’s Kindergarten on March 27, 2007

Prince Joachim, brother of Crown Prince Frederik, with his former wife Alexandra arriving at the Danish Parliament May 13, 2004 in Copenhagen, Denmark

The former Princess Alexandra on May 12, 2004 in Copenhagen

Alexandra of Denmark, now Countess Alexandra of Fredriksborg, with her son Prince Nikolai and her new husband Martin Jorgensen after their wedding on March 3, 2007

Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik attend the wedding of their younger son, Prince Joachim, to Marie Cavallier on May 24, 2008

Prince Joachim of Denmark and his new bride, Princess Marie depart Mogeltonder church after their wedding on May 24, 2008

Prince Henrik, Princess Marie and Prince Joachim wave from the balcony at Christian IX’s Palace, Amalienborg as they celebrate Queen Margrethe’s 69th birthday on April 16, 2009

Marie and Joachim introduce their new baby boy to the press at Rigshospitalet on May 7, 2009

Marie and Joachim attend the Culture and Sport Gala Evening at Christiansborg Castle on March 17, 2009

The 37-year-old royal has been spotted visiting her obstetrician with her husband, Crown Prince Frederik.

Billed Bladet continues, saying Mary and Frederik have made a number of visits to Dr. Morten Hedegaard, arriving at his offices at the Riget hospital via a secret underground tunnel.

The couple have two children – Christian, three years old, and Isabella, one year.

via Monsters and Critics.

Let’s face it – nothing truly exciting is happening in the world of the Windsors.

People want an engagement between William and Kate and the subsequent wedding extravaganza that comes with it – yet nothing happens. The trickle of gossip that was left about Diana has completely dried up, and Philip hasn’t made any ‘charged’ comments of late. Maybe the Queen could do something fabulously outrageous, like throw a cameraman out the window because her tiara’s too tight. Something… anything!

Instead, we have Sarah Ferguson’s address (almost) made public, and the knowledge that one of the Queen’s footmen is a secret part-time wrestler. Get the smelling salts!

Meanwhile, Denmark’s Prince Frederik and Princess Mary are evacuated from Bangkok, Thailand after violent protests against the government began to shut down the country. The crown prince and princess had been on a four-day tour of the city to celebrate the 150th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Denmark and Thailand. Now, they depart amid a flurry of protests and explosions. James Bond was about to drop in any moment because of all the excitement.

So maybe it’s just a slow news period for Britain’s royals. Maybe someone should stir things up by changing their name to “Banana Fajita” Windsor…

Keep up-to-date on the action at Monsters and Critics’ Royal Watch – http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/royalwatch/

The daughter of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Australian-born Crown Princess Mary has been named Isabella.

The Danish royal family’s official website said the princess had been christened Isabella Henrietta Ingrid Margrethe.

HRH Crown Prince Frederik was by his wife’s side when she gave birth to the 3350 gr., 50 cm. baby, whose name has not yet been released.

The Viking ship voyage will be the biggest marine archaeological experiment ever. His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark is patron of the Sea Stallion and the Dublin venture.

See the details here.