Who Is Denmark’s King Frederik, the Royal Who Trained With Elite Forces

Denmark’s newly crowned King Frederik X and his Australian-born wife, Queen Consort Mary, made a splash on January 14, 2024 with massive crowds cheering their appearance on the balcony of the Christiansborg Palace. Frederik’s mother, Margrethe II, became the first monarch to abdicate Denmark's throne in 900 years.

Here’s what you need to know about the royal, his elite military training, and the stylish Navy Frogman Omega Seamaster he wore in dress uniform.

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1. From party prince to military commander‍

Frederik, born in 1968, was known as a young ‘party prince’ and studied at Harvard in the early 1990s. He served at the UN mission in New York and as First Secretary of Embassy in Paris before training in all three branches of the Armed Forces.

He spent time in the Queen's Life Guard regiment and was appointed as a lieutenant of the reserve, as well as being a commander in the Navy and Colonel in the Air Force. Frederik served in the Royal Navy's Frogman Corps in 1995, which is based partly on the US Underwater Demolition Team and UK Special Boat Service. The Frogman Corps primary role is reconnaissance, but it is also tasked with assaulting enemy ships, sabotaging fixed installations, and advanced force and maritime anti-terrorism tasks in addition to special ops on land such as anti-terrorism work.

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2. Call me ‘Fred’

He met his future wife, Mary, at Australia’s Slip Inn pub during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She was born in Tasmania in Australia. Apparently, he introduced himself only as ‘Fred’ so Mary wasn’t aware of his royal title or the history of Denmark's monarchy which is more than 1,200 years old and founded in the 8th century (possibly even earlier).

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3. He’s sporty‍

Frederik completed his Frogman Corps training at the Torpedo Station at Kongsøre after working through nine months of courses that included combat swimming and advanced scuba diving. Of the 500-600 applicants each year, about a dozen complete all nine months. Frederik passed selection and completed continuation training for the naval elite special operations forces Frømandskorpset. Frederik has also completed six marathons in Copenhagen, New York, and Paris. In 2013, he was the first royal to compete in an Ironman, finishing with a time of 10:45:32.

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4. Frederik wore an Omega Seamaster at his ceremony

Newly crowned King Frederik wore his Frogman Corps Omega Seamaster Diver 300M on a tan Omega NATO strap at the ceremony, a choice Watches of Espionage deemed 'awesome'. It’s the type of elite watch 007 would likely approve of as well given James Bond’s penchant for beautifully designed wristwatches from Sean Connery’s Rolex Submariner to Daniel Craig’s titanium Omega Seamaster Diver.