Crown Princess Mary of Denmark has donned her workout gear and sneakers for a special engagement to promote an anti-bullying campaign.
The Australian-born royal stepped onto the soccer field with Danish football star Kasper Schmeichel and showed off some of her own sporty moves.
In photos posted to the Danish Royal Family’s Instagram page, Mary was seen bouncing a soccer ball on her knee, then holding it and sharing a laugh with Kasper.
The princess dressed down for the meeting, wearing a black turtleneck under a white anti-bullying tee, Nike workout pants and grey trainers.
She and the men’s national team goalkeeper came together to support a new anti-bullying initiative supported by the Mary Foundation and the Danish Football League (DBU).
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“Bullying and well-being is one of the Mary Foundation’s focus areas, and today Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess and goalkeeper on the men’s national team Kasper Schmeichel met to focus on the good community in children’s football,” read the Instagram caption.
It went on to explain the new “Antibulli Fodbold” project, which aims to combat bullying in Danish football clubs among six- to 12-year-old children
“The project is part of the Antibulli concept, which aims to create good, safe communities and combat bullying in children’s sports,” the caption concluded.
Anti-bullying campaigns have been a major focus in Mary’s royal and charitable work for years now.
In fact, the princess helped introduce an anti-bullying program in Denmark based on an Australian model in a bid to reduce bullying for children across the country.
“In Denmark, the way we view bullying is changing,” Mary told The Weekly in 2017.
“Today the focus is more and more on the group and each child within the group, no longer just the children who bully and the children who are being bullied.
“It’s about the group, with the guidance and support of teachers and parents, creating a common set of values and a common understanding of what it means to be a good friend.”
Meanwhile, one of the programs the Mary Foundation pioneered – the “Free of Bullying” program – has been introduced in schools and kindergartens across Denmark.
Even Mary’s own children have experienced the benefits of the program, her youngest son once told her.
“Vincent came home from school and told me that they were learning about ‘mum’s project’,” she told The Weekly of son Prince Vincent.
She shares four children with husband Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark; Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, and twins Princes Vincent and Princess Josephine.
