The Queen of Denmark has announced that her beloved father, John
Donaldson, has died.
Queen Mary shared the news that her dad, who was 84, had passed
away in their home town of Hobart, Australia.
In a short statement, issued on the morning of April 12, the
Danish royals announced ”it is with great sadness that Her Majesty
The Queen announces the death of her father, Professor John
Dalgliesh Donaldson, in Hobart, Tasmania. He was 84 years old.”
In a personal statement, Queen Mary said ”my heart is heavy and
my thoughts are grey. My beloved father has died.”
The Danish queen continued ”I know that when the grief subsides,
the memories will light up and what will remain the strongest is
the love and the gratitude for everything he gave me and taught
me.;;
Professor Donaldson had been unwell for some time. Queen Mary
was last with her father in March when she made a hugely successful
State Visit to Australia, her first since her husband became King
of Denmark in January 2024.
Queen Mary was greeted by huge crowds as she returned to Hobart
and was overcome with emotion as she was cheered back to her home
town.
The Danish royals revealed that, during that recent visit, Queen
Mary and her father had ”several good and present moments
together”.
Professor Donaldson will be buried in Australia where his family
will hold a private memorial service for him.
He was close to his daughter and was at her side when she became
Crown Princess of Denmark on her marriage in May 2004, famously
calming her nerves as she arrived at the church. He was unable to
travel to Denmark to see her become the country’s queen but just
weeks later, Mary chose a photo with him at her side to mark her
first birthday as Queen of Denmark.
John Dalgliesh Donaldson was born in Port Seton in East Lothian,
Scotland on September 5 1941 to Peter Donaldson and his wife, Mary
Dalgliesh. He would later name his youngest daughter after his
mother. He married Henrietta Horne in 1963 and with several other
members of his family, they emigrated to Tasmania in Australia that
same year. He became a Professor of Applied Mathematics. Henrietta
Donaldson died in 1997 and Professor Donaldson went on to marry
Susan Horwood, a novelist who writes as Susan Moody.
She survives him as do his four children with Henrietta
Donaldson. The couple had a son, John, and three daughters – Jane,
Patricia and Mary, The Queen of Denmark. John Donaldson was also a
grandfather and his grandson, Crown Prince Christian of Denmark, is
set to reign one day.
The Danish Royal House has set up an online
condolence book.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source royalcentral.co.uk ’
