Crown Princess Mary has baby boy

COPENHAGEN - Denmark's Australian-born Crown Princess Mary gave birth early on Saturday to a son, the royal palace said in a statement on its Web site.

The 33-year-old wife of Danish Crown Prince Frederik gave birth to a healthy son at the Copenhagen University Hospital at 0157 local time (12.57 NZT), the palace said.

"Mother and baby are doing fine. His royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik was present at Rigshospitalet all the time," the court said.

The princess was plain Mary Donaldson, a real estate agent from Tasmania, until a fairytale romance with Frederik that began when they met in a Sydney bar during the 2000 Olympics.

Now she is in line to become the first Australian-born woman to be a queen, a prospect which has whipped up royal fervour in her homeland where republican sentiment is usually strong.

Frederik's mother Queen Margrethe and the royal family are very popular in Denmark. Said to be Europe's oldest royal house, their lineage dates back to the Viking king Gorm the Old, who died in 958.

- REUTERS