Kate Middleton and Princess Mary in royal double act

Striking resemblance: Mary, the Crown Princess of Denmark, became a style leader before Kate married Prince William
12 April 2012

One is a glamorous commoner who married a prince and became a global fashion icon. The other is the Duchess of Cambridge.

Tomorrow Kate will meet the Crown Princess of Denmark, another young brunette transforming the face of one of Europe's oldest monarchies.
They will unite in Copenhagen to publicise a Unicef mercy mission to send food to the millions starving in east Africa in the worst drought there in 60 years.

Their similarities have not gone unnoticed. Designer Karl Lagerfeld, speaking before the royal wedding in April, said Kate bore a "striking resemblance" to Princess Mary. He said: "Kate is like a younger sister to Mary, who is both beautiful and elegant."

Australian Mary, who at 39 is a decade older than Kate, met Crown Prince Frederik in a pub in Australia during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. After a long-term relationship, she became wife to Denmark's heir apparent.

Born Mary Donaldson, she was the fourth child of a Scottish mathematician and his wife who had emigrated to Australia in the Sixties. She grew up in Tasmania, and held joint Australian and British citizenship. Like Kate, she shares a passion for sport and campaigns for bullied children.

The one big difference is that Mary has four children - most recently giving birth to twins this year. Recently she and Prince Frederik were pictured in New York dancing at a charity ball.
Kate and Mary, with Prince William and Frederik, will see food and emergency supplies being packed at a distribution centre. William and Kate will then watch a British Airways 747 being loaded before it departs for Nairobi.

Mary, who undertakes humanitarian work, recently returned from an aid mission to Africa.
Prior to the photo call, the two couples will spend two hours together over lunch at the Crown Prince's palace. William and Frederik have known each other since childhood and the families are linked through Prince Philip, whose father's family was of Danish descent.

Tomorrow's event will be carried live on several Danish TV stations. Michael Bjerre, London correspondent for the Danish daily newspaper Berlingske, said: "We have royalty ourselves but there has always a lot of attention in the royal family of Britain. The Crown Princess is a very modern woman.

"[Mary and Kate] have the same background from 'common' families. The Danish royal family is not as stiff as it is here, but she's been even more of a moderniser. I could imagine that Kate will become the same thing. In many ways you could see them as siblings."

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