Competitive Queen Mary limbers up as she joins King Frederik and their 4 children for royal run – but who was the fastest?

Queen Mary and King Frederik looked sporty as they led their four children at the annual Royal Run in Copenhagen on Monday

Danish royals with correct crops

he Danish Royals made the best of the heatwave on Monday as they took part in the annual Royal Run – and one was faster than all the rest!

Queen Mary, 54, and King Frederik, 57, joined their four children, Crown Prince Christian, 20, Princess Isabella, 19, and twins Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent, 15, for a variety of races at the traditional fun run in Copenhagen, where they became the royal stars for the day.

The outing came amid news that Denmark’s former queen, Margrethe, had been hospitalised for a second time in recent weeks after a CT scan revealed a blood clot.

Asked about his mother during the events of the day, the King responded that she is “a pretty cool mother who doesn’t need to run”, adding that he plans to visit her in hospital on Tuesday.

See the best photos of the day below.

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Princess Isabella of Denmark, Prince Vincent of Denmark and Princess Josephine of Denmark during The Royal Run © Getty Images

The family enjoyed sunny highs of 23C in the Danish city as they completed the run alongside members of the public, with races lasting one mile, five kilometres and ten kilometres each.

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Prince Vincent of Denmark crosses the finish line after the One Mile Family Mile during the Royal Run in Copenhagen, Denmark, on May 25, 2026© NurPhoto via Getty Images

However, it was Prince Vincent, 15, who was the champion of the day, finishing the one-mile race in first place.

After travelling by boat to Nyhavn, he and his father, King Frederik, were the only royals to complete the 10-kilometre race and compete in the grand final, while Mary, Isabella and Josephine appeared at the finish line to congratulate them.

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Crown Prince Christian participates in Royal Run in Ringkoebing for a distance of five kilometers© Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima

Crown Prince Christian was missing from the end as he is currently taking part in a 10-day military exercise and needed to return.

However, earlier in the day, he took part in the 5km run at Ringkøbing, completing it in 22 minutes and 22 seconds despite stopping for selfies and handshakes.

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Queen Mary of Denmark participates in the Royal Run in Helsingoer © Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima

Queen Mary shared a photograph of herself limbering up with the family dog in preparation for her 5km race, wearing an official royal run T-shirt, tracksuit bottoms and pink trainers.

While she only competed in one race, King Frederik completed all three events on offer.

She told TV2: “I have to admit I have become a slow runner, but I ran the whole way. This year my husband wins because he is the only one who ran all the distances.”

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Princess Josephine of Denmark, Princess Isabella of Denmark, and Prince Vincent of Denmark participate in the Royal Run in Copenhagen© NurPhoto via Getty Images

And Princess Isabella, Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent all received medals after completing the 5km stretch in Copenhagen.

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King Frederik X of Denmark participates in the Royal Run in Middelfart © Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima

King Frederik, who celebrates his 58th birthday on Tuesday, was asked who the “fastest” in the family is.

He replied: “Well, I’ve stepped away from that boat. It’ll probably be my youngest son, but he’ll have to discuss that with his older brother in Ringkøbing.”

The King was the first to start the royal run, beginning the day at 10am after arriving in Randers on the Royal Dannebrog Yacht.