Princess Mary of Denmark expecting baby

COPENHAGEN - Denmark's Australian-born Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik, heir to the throne, are expecting their first child by the end of October, the Danish royal court said yesterday.

A brief statement from Amalienborg Palace said the royal couple, who got married last May, were "happy to announce" that they were expecting a child "by the end of October this year".

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