Queen Mary has been left visibly shaken after a motorised scooter ploughed through a crowd and knocked her to the ground during her royal visit to Greenland.
The 52-year-old n-born Queen of Denmark was greeting fans in the country’s capital Nuuk when she was hit by a scooter ridden by an elderly man.
Mary’s youngest children, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, were just metres away when the monarch was knocked to the ground, horrifying onlookers.
King Frederik was also greeting fans nearby when the dark grey scooter struck his wife, causing her to lose her balance.
The popular queen cried out as she fell and looked frazzled after the incident, but managed to maintain her composure after regaining her feet.
Her security guards quickly leapt into action and stopped the scooter from moving any further.
The driver of the scooter appeared more shaken than the Queen following the incident, saying he ‘did not know what happened’.
The elderly man said he had meant to extend his arm toward Queen Mary, hoping she would take it, but hit the accelerator instead.
Queen Mary of Denmark was on a royal visit to Greenland when she was struck by a scooter while greeting the crowd
The Palace media team confirmed Mary was not hurt during the incident and she was able to continue on her planned schedule of events.
A spectator said the crowd was left in shock following the incident.
‘I could see how much it hurt her, her eyes watered immediately. It must hurt to be hit at that speed. The police immediately barricaded and removed her from the situation,’ he said.
Both police and palace security were satisfied with the elderly man’s explanation and have ruled the incident an innocent mistake.
But Queen Mary’s fans, who both applaud and worry about her fondness for being close to the public during walkabouts, raised questions about her security.
‘Why was someone allowed to get so close on a motorised scooter?’ one woman asked online.
‘Very weak security. Lucky this just seemed to be an odd incident. Hopefully more sensible measures will be taken by the security team,’ another fan wrote.
The Queen didn’t let the incident impact the rest of the trip
King Frederik, Queen Mary and their youngest children Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine were visiting the country together
‘I know everyone wants to be close to her… but a bit of common sense please,’ pleaded a third.
Some of Mary’s fans feared she was ‘definitely injured’ during the incident but was keeping her pain private.
‘If she wasn’t sore then she would have been the next day,’ one fan said.
‘She is very good at present, as if everything is wonderful, that’s her job,’ said another.
But others sympathised with the scooter user.
‘Actually, looks like a mobility scooter, not a recreational one. So the disabled person was there, like everyone else, close by, as part of the gathered crowd,’ they said.
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