Crown Princess Mary has opened up old wounds about her mother’s death in a bid to try and help others who might be struggling to heal after experiencing loss.
Mary’s mother Henrietta ‘Etta’ Donaldson died from a heart condition two years before she met her future-husband Crown Princ,e Frederik and later embarked on her enchanted life as royal in Denmark.
The death came when the 44-year-old was just 26 and while talking about her loss this week during a visit to the organisation Children, Youth and Mourning – an organisation which offers free counselling to children who have lost parents, siblings or close family members – Mary tried to offer hope, saying the experience of her mum’s passing made her a stronger person.
According to Hello Magazine, Mary’s reflective remarks about her mum came while speaking with 15-year-old Mads Knudsen Topp, who lost her father three years ago.
“I was 26. It happened too early,” Mary said of her mother’s passing. “It’s so hard to see when it is so close and so personal, but as you get older, you learn to appreciate the time you had together as a gift. And the loss offers something that you wouldn’t have otherwise. It makes a strong person.”
An organisation such as this, which reaches out to help grieving families, would hit home with the mother-of-four as Mary has in the past talked about how she felt alone in her anguish when her mum died.
“I felt alone in my pain,” the royal told a Danish TV and radio station in 2015.
“As if nobody understood what I was going through and I had come to a standstill while the whole world around me kept moving forwards.
“I would have liked to have spent more time with her,” she said.
Gallery: Princess Mary with her children…
Princess Mary’s mother Henrietta ‘Etta’ Donaldson died from a heart condition two years before she met her future- husband Crown Prince Frederik and later embarked on her enchanted life as royal in Denmark.
2013: Crown Princess Mary of Denmark with her daughter Princess Josephine of Denmark at the annual Summer photocall for the Royal Danish family at Grasten Castle.
Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark with their children on the balcony of Amalienborg Palace in 2016.
2013: Crown Prince Frederik, and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark with their children Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent, and Princess Josephine watch the Guard change at Grasten Castle after attending the annual Summer photocall.
Crown Prince Frederik, and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, with their daughter Princess Isabella depart Amalienborg Palace for Princess Isabella’s first day at Tranegard School in 2013.
Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark with their children Princess Isabella and Prince Christian attend a Gala Night to mark the 75th Birthday of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark at Aarhus Concert Hall in 2015.
Crown Prince Frederik, and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark with their children on the balcony of Amalienborg Palace in 2015.
Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and their children, Princess Josephine, Princess Isabella, Prince Christian and Prince Vincent pose for photographs on their annual skiing holiday on February 10, 2013 in Verbier, Switzerland.
Princess Mary with her eldest child, Prince Christian watch the International Friendly between Denmark and Australia at Parken Stadium in Denmark.
Mary and Frederik with their daughter Princess Josephine.
Mary of Denmark and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark hold their new-born baby twins as they leave the Rigshospitalet on January 14, 2011 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The royal parents with their son their son Prince Christian on his first day of school on August 12, 2011 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Princess Isabella and Prince Christian at Mogeltonder Church on May 20, 2012 in Tonder, Denmark.
Mary with her big Danish royal family at their annual Summer photocall at Grasten Castle on July 26, 2013.
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and wife Princess Mary present their then yet to be named son, born in Copenhagen, Denmark on October 18, 2005.
Mary holds son Prince Christian at his christening.
Prince Frederik of Denmark, Princess Mary of Denmark and son Prince Christian attend the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling on June 19, 2010 in Stockholm, Sweden.
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