“Have an amazing semester in Copenhagen - and make sure you say hi to Princess Mary, ok?” …
I am fairly confident that my many hilarious and original friends were joking when they each said this at my going away drinks last November. Who knows, a few may have meant it. Of course, I had just filled out the application for the Crown Princess Mary Scholarship by that stage, but it was already at the back of my mind as a distant possibility – I certainly didn't realise at the time, that I was telling the truth when I jokingly promised back that I would do exactly what they asked me to do.
For those who don't know, the Crown Princess Mary Scholarship is awarded annually on the couple's wedding anniversary to two students from the University of Copenhagen's partner universities in Australia. The two lucky recipients each receive a bursary of 10 000 DKK (the rough equivalent of AU$2 500 at the time I was on exchange) to support their studies in Copenhagen and are honoured at a fairly intimate reception with the Crown Princess at the University of Copenhagen.
Fast-forward to February: I am unwinding at a hostel in Prague with a friend after a big day of site-seeing and decide it probably wouldn't be my worst idea ever to go online and figure out how to get to Cesky Krumlov, or where to sleep in Cesky Krumlov the next day. May as well check my email while I'm at it… Imagine my surprise, there in the hostel lobby, to open an email from Anneliese (at UQ Abroad) telling me that I was one lucky recipient of the Crown Princess Mary Scholarship for 2009!
The majority of an amazing whirlwind of an exchange semester later, I found myself nervously waiting for the Crown Princess to arrive at the University of Copenhagen on a gorgeous Spring afternoon in late May, with another law student (and close exchange friend) from the University of Sydney – Jeffrey Feng. Everybody kept telling us that the Crown Princess was lovely, approachable and down to earth, and that we should not be nervous to meet her. Maybe it was the blinding flashes from the reporters covering the event that did it, or maybe it was the fact that neither of us had ever met a Crown Princess before – but it is fair to say that we were nervous anyway. Thankfully, our concerns melted away as soon as Crown Princess Mary arrived and put as immediately at ease with a few friendly words and an open smile. Standing at the head of a long table set up for all of the attendees, looking even more poised and beautiful than she does in photos (if that is possible), the Crown Princess went on to eloquently deliver a lovely speech explaining why Jeff and I were this year's recipients – you can find the text of that speech here: http://danishroyalwatchers.blogspot.com/2009/05/mary-2009-crown-princess-mary.html.
Afterwards, there was a small reception where the press were asked to leave and everybody was able to mingle over a glass of wine and finger food. The occasion was made all the more special for me, by the fact that my parents and grandma were conveniently in Denmark visiting at the time and so were able to share this all with me.
I cannot thank UQ Abroad, my referees and the University of Copenhagen enough for enabling this all to happen – in one way it still feels surreal several months later, but I will never forget that particular Spring afternoon. And to all of the students out there contemplating an exchange semester in Copenhagen – I strongly urge you to push any remaining doubts you have aside, and just do it. Whether or not you have any brushes with royalty, rest assured that your exchange experience in the enchanting and cosmopolitan capital that is Copenhagen will be nothing short of your own personal fairytale.
Rebecca James
University of Copenhagen (Semester 1/2009)
Program at UQ: Bachelor of Arts/LLB