it was hugs all round and a few curtsies too when the netherlands' king willem alexander and queen maxima arrived in denmark this morning waiting at copenhagen's kastrup airport was the scandinavian country's 74 year old monarch, queen margrethe, her husband prince henrik, 80 and their son crown prince frederik, 46 but maxima, glamorous in a grey coat by dutch designer claes iversen, had serious competition in the style stakes from australian born crown princess mary, 43, who was elegant in a nude coat and purple pillbox hat scroll down for video  sweeping a curtsey: crown princess mary of denmark curtsies to queen maxima at kastrup airport  royal welcome: a beaming king willem alexander steps off the plane to be greeted by queen margrethe  like the 43 year old dutch queen, mother of four mary chose louboutins for the occasion and even managed to sweep a low curtsey, despite the teetering height of the heels also on hand to welcome the dutch royals at kastrup airport's private royal terminal were other members of the danish royal family, among them frederik's younger brother joachim 45 year old joachim's french wife princess marie was also there and wore an ensemble that echoed her sister in law's queen margrethe, who along with queen elizabeth ii, is one of the world's only queens regnant, then led the way out of the airport, escorted by king willem alexander the dutch royals are at the start of a three day state visit to denmark, aimed at strengthening links between the two countries unsurprisingly, the programme is a busy one, with maxima and willem alexander set to criss cross the country over the next couple of days hand in hand: crown prince frederik and crown princess mary were at kastrup to greet the dutch royals  poised: the crown prince couple appeared ready for action as the dutch plane touched down  welcome: the danish royals gather on the red carpet to welcome their dutch counterparts  red carpet treatment: mary curtsies to king willem alexander while prince joachim (right) waits in line  today includes a lunch with danish prime minister helle thorning schmidt, a glamorous blonde who is married to stephen kinnock, son of british politician neil afterwards, the royal couple will travel north to aalborg in north jutland where they will attend a conference at the city's university before flying back to copenhagen for a reception at the christiansborg palace tomorrow will see them visit the carbon neutral samsø island, accompanied by crown prince frederik and his wife mary, to visit a special type of danish boarding school called an efterskole most danish teenagers spend at least a year at the state boarding schools, where they are encouraged to focus on specific interests such as music the efterskole on samsø focuses on aquatic sports, diving, aviation and golf, with pupils due to give the royal party, among them sport mad frederik, a tour of the school warm embrace: mary shares a hug with the netherlands' popular queen maxima  state visit: maxima and willem alexander are at the start of the three day state visit to denmark  on their way: queen margrethe prepares to show king willem alexander his danish honour guard  inspecting the troops: the dutch royals inspected their danish honour guard before leaving the airport  frederik and mary have suffered a bumpy few months, thanks to a film about the crown prince's playboy past that is set to be screened later this year a second programme, this time being made for australia's channel ten, could also cause some discomfort, thanks to claims that mary had had second thoughts in the run up to her 2004 wedding by contrast, queen maxima and king willem alexander have enjoyed a smooth ride of late, with maxima in particular becoming increasingly popular one of the most glamorous royals in europe, the argentina born mother of three has proved a hit with her dutch subjects, thanks in no small part to her charity work she will have plenty of opportunity to do more of that during this week's state visit, with a trip to bispebjerg hospital also on their itinerary arrival: the dutch royal couple were whisked off to fredensborg palace for a private meeting  all smiles: 43 year old queen maxima appeared to be on cheerful form as the visit began  joking around: king willem alexander traded quips with the danish royals on the steps of fredensborg  official visit: the dutch and danish royal couples pose for an official photo  meeting: the dutch royals also enjoyed a meeting with denmark's prime minister, helle thorning schmidt  glamorous: ms thorning schmidt, who is married to stephen kinnock, enjoys a chat with the dutch royals 
margrethe willem alexander elizabeth ii dutch crown princess mary denmark danish royal family danish
dutch king willem alexander and queen maxima are in denmark  were greeted by danish royal family, including queen margrethe  with elizabeth ii, margrethe is one of only two reigning queens  other danish royals, including crown princess mary, were also there 