We love to mythologise celebrities.
This year alone we’ve been gifted biopics on Gina Rinehart, Peter Allen and the British royals, and there’s a Molly Meldrum film in the making. True story.
Princess Mary and Prince Frederick got the royal treatment last night in Channel 10’s Mary: The Making of a Princess.
It has given us an immortal line: “I’m Mary from Tassie, who wants margaritas?” I could not have asked for more.
This was never going to be an insightful historical account; rather, it’s a lighthearted romp through Mary Donaldson’s various incarnations: single Aussie girl in the city through to Crown Princess of Denmark.
Anyone with even the most cursory knowledge of this love story for the ages will know of the fateful encounter between Mary (played by Emma Hamilton) and Fred (played by Ryan O’Kane): at Darling Harbour’s Slip Inn during the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
The fabled royal meeting made us all feel like we, too, could become princesses.
After Mary Donaldson’s opening gambit, and presumably the ensuing tequila consumption, Prince Frederick was hooked.
There followed an undocumented but definitely probably true skinny-dipping incident. The couple’s first kiss occurred while he was in the nude.
THIS is how it really went down… Post continues after video.
The telemovie strayed from the official story several times. For example, according to the film Prince Frederik proposed to Mary on the side of the road in Tasmania, after she’d just vomited.
Unusually, the actual story sounds a LOT more romantic — the proposal happened in Rome and it’s fairly certain that there was no spewing involved.
When in Tassie… Post continues after video.
The filmmakers did at least ensure that the film was as accurate to its time period as possible with gloriously early noughties touches: the music is Madison Avenue and Killing Heidi, the drinks are Lemon Ruskis, and Prince Fred wears wrap-around Oakleys. The dial-up internet shrills and the handbags are shaped like baguettes.
The outfit Mary Donaldson wore on her first meeting with Prince Frederick: low-slung pants and sparkly halter top — are remarkably well-matched.
The year 2000, what a time to be alive!
Top Comments
My European mum in law maintains that Frederick is a bit of a womaniser. She reads German gossip mags
I really didn't like the implication that Mary knew that Frederik had a serious girlfriend when he met her. Or the storyline that she stalked him at the netball. Simply not true.
Yes, it is.