Princess Marie of Denmark

"I'm a very happy man," revealed Denmark's Prince Joachim when asked about his new girlfriend in March 2006. "If I'm radiating joy that's why, and I'm not complaining." The couple first met in 2004 but romance was only on the cards in the autumn of 2005 when the prince's divorce from Princess Alexandra, the mother of his two children, became final.

Born on February 6, 1976, Marie, who originally hails from Paris, lived in Switzerland with her four brothers for most of her life, apart from stints at university in Boston and working in IT in New York. She first hit headlines when she was photographed with her royal love while they enjoyed a private holiday together in Avignon, France, in August 2005.

Like Joachim, who is six years her senior, Marie has openly expressed her own feelings about their relationship. "Prince Joachim is a wonderful person," she says. "He's so warm, sweet, and very affectionate. He's been through a very hard period and dealt with a lot of difficult things, but he's also a very patient and honest person. I love him very much."

Apparently a hit with the Danish royals, most importantly the pretty brunette seems to get on well with Joachim's two sons Nikolai and Felix - and even his former wife. Joachim and Marie are often seen happily socialising at the same events as Alexandra and her husband Martin Jorgensen and even saw in the New Year together at a 2007 party.

Her increasingly frequent weekend trips to Denmark had many believing Marie could soon be a royal bride, then in October 2007 the news that everyone had been expecting finally came. The Palace announced Marie and Prince Joachim were to wed. They tied the knot on May 24 at picturesque Mogeltonder Church, located in a medieval village just to the west of the South Denmark municipality of Tonder.

Marrying Joachim, Marie followed in the footsteps of other modern-day commoners turned European princesses like the wife of Joachim's brother, Princess Mary, to whom she bears a striking resemblance. Like Marie, Mary was a career professional from another country who won the heart of a Scandinavian prince.