Princess Mary sheds a tear as she leaves New Zealand with husband Frederik – after cryptic Christmas message about loneliness a month after ‘affair’ scandal

Crown Princess Mary appeared to shed a tear at Queenstown airport as she and her husband said goodbye to friends on the tarmac.

The royal couple headed to Brisbane on Thursday to continue their family holiday after just four days in New Zealand’s adventure capital with their three youngest children.

Crown Prince Frederik, 55, grinned and hugged airport staff, while Mary, 51, said an emotional farewell to a male friend after posting a cryptic Christmas post about loneliness on her foundation’s website.

Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, both 12, and Princess Isabella, 16, waited patiently for their parents to finish saying goodbye and checking in for the next part of their trip.

The holidays started early for Mary and the twins who arrived in Australia on December 6 to see family and even climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

They then crossed the ditch on a private plane, where they were reunited with the Crown Prince and Princess Isabella for a much-needed escape from the spotlight.

The prince and his Australian princess have been rocked by rumors of infidelity since November, putting their ‘fairytale romance’ under scrutiny.

The rumors started when Prince Frederik was photographed enjoying a night out in Spain with his friend Genoveva Casanova without his wife.

And every move they’ve made since has been the focus of speculation.

Before the family’s flight from New Zealand, Princess Mary shared a cryptic post about loneliness and the need for positive human connection ahead of Christmas.

In the letter posted on the Maria Foundation website, the future queen reflected on the past year – and said she thought it was shorter than previous years.

“And at the same time, so much has happened that it’s impossible to put it all into words,” she continued.

A clip shared on the Danish Royal House’s official Instagram speculated that the princess was using her foundation to point out the rumors about the affair.

‘We need each other if we want to succeed.’ And that applies not only to the working world and to those of us working to combat social isolation,” it said.

‘This applies to all of us. People need people.’

The post and powerful words were pictured alongside a beautiful photo of the royal family in the snow.

She wore a purple jacket under a warm woolen shawl and smiled softly at the camera.

‘The Danish royal family is lucky to have you. I hope your husband realizes that he has embarrassed you and his children beyond measure. You will make a good queen,” one fan commented.

Another wrote: ‘I think this is a sad year for Mary, her husband’s (alleged) betrayal and it’s public. What a courageous woman, she can handle anything. I adore her.’

Some came to the defense of the royal family and called on people to stop talking about the alleged affair.

But these people were often put down by others.

‘Have you seen the film from that morning, in which he walks through the city with his suitcase and without a PET, while he is waiting at a public bus shed to be picked up. He has made a fool of himself, Mary and many others! It is naive to continue to believe he is completely innocent,” one woman wrote.

She said it didn’t matter if there was an affair; the fact that he was in Spain with another woman was enough.

Others simply thanked her for her seasonal greeting.

“You are so amazing, our beautiful Crown Princess,” one fan wrote – echoing the sentiment of dozens of others.

Princess Mary landed in New Zealand on December 18, where she was met by Prince Frederik and their eldest daughter Isabella.

The Crown Princess had arrived in Australia twelve days earlier with her twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.

The party of three were pictured atop the Sydney Harbor Bridge, but the photo taken of each climber was quickly deleted from the tour company’s Instagram account.