Lifeguard Unknowingly Saves Future King Of Denmark After Prince Christian, 10, Is Swept Out To Sea In Australia

Princess Mary of Denmark had quite the scare while on holiday in Australia where she was born.

This was the trip the Denmark Royals have taken to Australia with their children since 2011, and began with Prince Christian being swept to sea by a strong rip current at Mermaid Beach on the Gold Coast. The future King of Denmark was swimming at the beach when a rip current began sweeping him away. A quick-thinking lifeguard quickly paddled to his aid and made a rescue. However, the lifeguard had no idea at the time who he was saving, and only found out that he had saved a member of the Denmark Royal Family when a bystander informed him after the feat. Crown Prince Frederick sent the lifeguard a personalized thank you letter for his efforts.

The Daily Mail reports that Australian-born Princess Mary of Denmark was visiting her home country when her son, Prince Christian, was swept out to sea by a rip tide. The 10-year-old prince was swimming at Mermaid Beach on the Gold Coast with his family when the incident took place. A lifeguard, Nick Malcolm, was on duty at the time of the incident and quickly sprung into action. The lifeguard paddled out to the boy and quickly swam him back to shore. Malcolm’s supervisor, Stuart Keay, notes that Malcolm was able to get the child quickly back to shore before things got “too serious.”

“We got him before it got too serious, but he wouldn’t have been able to get back in.”

However, at the time of the rescue, Malcolm had no idea he was dealing with the Denmark Royal Family and was simply doing his job. It wasn’t until a bystander at the beach informed him that he had just saved Princess Mary’s son that the lifeguard realized that the child he saved was the heir to the Denmark throne.

“We didn’t have a clue. He’s kept it pretty quiet, I’m sure we’ll give him plenty of stick now we know.”

Though Prince Christian had a close call on the beach, that didn’t stop the Denmark royals from returning to the same beach the next day. Princess Mary took her children, 10-year-old Prince Christian, 8-year-old Princess Isabella, and 4-year-old twins Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent, back to Mermaid Beach the following day. Though the family appears to be spending a lot of time on the beach, they also have been spotted doing some shopping at Marina Mirage.

Princess Mary of Denmark was seen at the boutique shopping center with her two daughters, Princess Isabella and Princess Josephine, enjoying a girl’s day out. The Denmark Royals don’t stand out as significantly as the British Royal Family. Therefore, they were able to enjoy an undisturbed shopping trip without interruption. In fact, many of the boutique owners did not even realize they were servicing the Denmark Royal Family until approached after by media. The shop workers noted that “they were just like any other customers.”

A Gold Coast lifeguard had to rescue Princess Mary’s son Christian from a rip at Mermaid Beach. @AmandaAbate #7News https://t.co/8tWKp8PKBN

— 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) December 20, 2015

Princess Mary is known as the “People’s Princess,” and does not use her royal standing to her advantage. In fact, the Denmark Royal Family went to the Dreamworld theme park together and stood in line just like everyone else to ride a roller coaster, and then headed to the waterpark to cool off. Princess Mary hails from Tasmania, Australia, and famously met her royal husband, Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark, at Slip Inn pub in Sydney, Australia.

What do you think about the Denmark Royal Family and their seemingly normal vacation and Prince Christian’s scare at Mermaid Beach?

[Image via the AP]