When people think of royals and podcasts, they likely call to mind Meghan Markle‘s Archetypes – or Queen Camilla‘s audio book club the Reading Room.
But now, the medium is being joined by a new royal, with Queen Mary of Denmark announcing the launch of a podcast about ‘loneliness’ among young people.
Taking to Instagram today, King Frederik’s wife, 52, posted a photograph of herself listening to a podcast in a pair of black trousers and matching turtle neck jumper.
Sporting a pair of stylish glasses and earphones, the mother-of-four looked engrossed in the podcast as she held her phone in her hands.
On a cream sofa, next to a side table filled with books, the Australian-born Queen looked typically elegant, with her hair left straight and loose and her features boasting a smattering of glamorous makeup.
The post, when translated from Danish to English, read: ‘I’m extremely excited to be listening to a podcast. I often listen when I have to move from one place to another.
‘Some days I’m in the mood for entertainment and other days I use it to gain knowledge and new input.
‘That is why I am also proud that we have now thrown ourselves into making a podcast in the Mary Foundation.
‘Our first podcast is called “Lonely youth”, and through three short episodes it gives a thorough insight into the nuances of loneliness by mixing expertise and personal stories from young people.
‘We know from the study “Loneliness in Denmark” that 73 per cent of 16-19 year olds experience loneliness, whether they are alone or with others. At the same time, 17 per cent of 16-24 year olds feel very lonely.
‘These are heavy numbers that we need to do something about. A podcast is not something we much experience with yet in the Mary Foundation, but I hope you will listen and feel welcome.’
Born out of Queen Mary’s desire to make society more inclusive and bring in those who find themselves on the margins, The Mary Foundation was established in 2007.
Mary ‘has always been particularly conscious of the people who are not part of a group, people who feel lonely and are unable to understand why they are excluded from the community,’ reads the foundation’s official website.
The Queen Mary Foundation was created thanks to a 1.1 million kroner national gift raised in Denmark and Greenland and donated in honour of Mary and Frederik’s wedding in 2004.
Mary is following in the footsteps of royals including the Duchess of Sussex, Queen Camilla and Princess Eugenie in launching a podcast.
Meghan Markle’s audio show Archetypes with Meghan, described as ‘a podcast where we investigate, dissect, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back’, first launched on Spotify in August 2022.
When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s lucrative deal with Spotify ended in 2023, Meghan signed a deal with Lemonada Media.
Previously only available on Spotify, Archetypes was released on all platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Audible and Spotify, on March 5, 2024.
Meanwhile, Queen Camilla’s Reading Room chart-topping podcast launched at the beginning of the week and returned for a second season in the middle of May.
Reading Room is an audio version of Her Majesty’s popular online bookclub, which has 172,000 followers on Instagram.
Her Majesty is renowned for her love of books and the season two launch came just weeks after the charity’s research into benefits of reading.
Elsewhere, Princess Eugenie’s podcast, Floodlight, returned for a second season in September 2023, with former prime minister Theresa May as the first guests.
The podcast, which Eugenie co-hosts with best friend Julia de Boinville, is about modern slavery and how to help end it.
