The terrifying moment Queen Mary is hit by a scooter and thrown to the ground during a fan meet and greet
Queen Mary of Denmark was visibly shaken after a scooter drove through the crowd and knocked her to the ground during her royal visit to Greenland.
The 52-year-old Australian-born queen was welcoming fans in the country’s capital Nuuk when she was hit by an elderly man on a dark gray scooter.
Her youngest children, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, were just metres away in the crowd when she fell, much to the horror of onlookers.
King Frederik was also greeting his fans nearby when his wife was hit by the scooter, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground.
The popular queen let out a strangled ‘argh’ as she fell. She looked exhausted but fought to keep her composure after getting back to her feet.
After the queen was hit, her guards quickly took action and made sure the scooter could not move any further.
The scooter driver appeared even more shocked than the Queen after the incident, saying he “didn’t know what had happened.”
He wanted to extend his arm to Queen Mary in the hope that she would accept it, but instead he stepped on the gas pedal.
Queen Mary of Denmark was on a royal visit to Greenland when she was hit by a scooter while greeting the crowd
The palace media team reported that the popular royal was not injured in the incident and was continuing with activities as planned.
A spectator said the crowd was in shock after the incident.
“I saw how much it hurt her, her eyes started watering immediately. It must hurt to be hit at that speed. The police immediately barricaded her and removed her from the situation,” he said.
Both the police and palace security are satisfied with the old man’s explanation and consider the incident an accident.
But her fans, who on the one hand applaud her for being so close to the public, but on the other hand also worry about her, had a lot to say.
“Why was someone allowed to get so close on a scooter?” one woman asked.
“Very weak security. Luckily this seemed like just a freak incident. Hopefully more sensible measures will be taken by the security team,” snapped another.
The Queen did not let the incident affect the rest of the trip
King Frederik, Queen Mary and their youngest children Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine visited the country together
“I know everyone wants to be close to her… but a little common sense would be appreciated,” pleaded a third.
Some people said she was “definitely injured” in the incident, but they preferred to keep it private.
“If she hadn’t been sore, she would have been the next day,” one fan said.
“She’s really good right now, like everything is great, that’s her job,” said another.
Others, however, did have understanding for the scooter user.
“It actually looks like a mobility scooter, not a recreational one. So the disabled person was there, just like everyone else in the area, as part of the crowd that had gathered,” they said.