Queen Mary of Denmark shares a sweet moment with her daughter Princess Josephine, 13, after they completed annual Royal Run with 15-year-old Princess Isabella

Queen Mary shared a sweet moment with her 13-year-old twin daughter Princess Josephine as they pulled funny faces at each other during Denmark’s annual Royal Run.

The Queen, 52, was pictured looking cool in sunglasses to shield her eyes at the event, while she and her youngest daughter waited for King Frederik, 55, to finish the 10km race which takes place in Copenhagen.

Looking a picture-perfect pair in their purple running jerseys, the mother and daughter showed deep affection towards each other as Mary adjusted her daughter’s collar and Josephine, in response, poked out her tongue.

Elsewhere Josephine and her older sister, 15-year-old Princess Isabella, larked about near the finish line and were pictured falling about in laughter together.

As the Queen opened up and showed warmth and laughter, her demeanour contrasted with several frosty appearances during the summer holiday she recently took with King Frederik to Sweden and Norway, months after rumours of an ‘affair’ rocked the Danish monarchy.

The royal mother-of-four, who takes part in the Royal Run with her husband every year, was pictured sharing a tender moment with her daughter Josephine as they played spectators for a short while – before Mary joined the runners herself.

It was a rare outing for the King and Queen’s entire family – the youngest siblings of whom are often not seen in public while they complete their school studies.

However the show of family unity comes after a difficult few months for the Danish royal family, following rumours of an affair after King Frederik was spotted on a night out in Madrid with Genoveva Casanova, a Mexican socialite who lives in the Spanish capital.

The mother and daughter shared an intimate moment as Josephine stuck her tongue out at Queen Mary while they stood at the sidelines of the event

The Queen is ready for action! Queen Mary, 52, put on her cap and joined the other participants for the race

Elsewhere, Princesses Josephine and Isabella fell about laughing as they larked about at the event

Pictured: Queen Mary with Princess Josephine and her eldest daughter, Princess Isabella at the Royal Run in Copehagen

The Queen affectionately brushed her daughter’s hair away from her face at the beginning of the event

Spanish magazine Lecturas published photos of the pair in the city in late October and reported they had visited an old flamenco restaurant where they dined together until the early hours of the morning. After the photos were published, Genoveva issued a strong denial that they were having an affair.

Since then, during public appearances, King Frederik and Queen Mary have given off mixed signals with their body language – including several frosty appearances.

The couple displayed distance in their body language during summer holiday on the Daneborg ship as they sailed to Sweden and Norway (which also happens to have coincided with their 20th wedding anniversary).

During this trip, the couple showed signs of frostiness in their body language in moments with each other; although such signs appeared to thaw when they greeted their hosts in each nation. 

Twins Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent, 13, and their older sister Princess Isabella, 15, hold up their medals at the end of the Royal Run

The three youngest royal siblings looked ready and raring to go as they prepared to take on the race

A wave to the fans! The Queen beamed as she greeted royal watchers and racing spectators upon arrival

Mary beamed behing sunglasses as she got ready to participate and wore a number 2 bib which had her name on it

Mary waved to royal fans ahead of the beginning of the race

Upon arrival in Norway last week, the couple looked stern-faced before they docked to meet their hosts, King Harald and Queen Sonja.

Body language expert Judi James told FEMAIL: ‘Arriving on a boat in Oslo we can see Mary back to her rather cooler facial expression with her eye-direction staring out into the distance rather than returning her husband’s glance. 

‘He looks forlorn here, with one brow curled upward and the other lowered in a frown while his eye expression appears downcast and his lips barely pull into a royal smile.’

Judi added: ‘Mary’s authentic smile and more tactile behaviours when meeting the Norwegian royals only seems to add to the idea that she was looking cooler with her husband again.’ 

The couple’s candid body language in private moments was in stark contrast to the image projected to the world by the Danish palace on social media as it marked the couple’s 20th wedding anniversary.

A photo taken of Queen Mary and King Frederik aboard the Dannebrog showed the couple in a relaxed pose, beaming with their arms around each other while dressed in matching gilets.

Judi told FEMAIL: ‘To celebrate their wedding anniversary [the couple] do seem to have produced a pose that looks deliberately reminiscent of the way they used to behave pre-scandal.’

She added: ‘Their torsos in this anniversary pic are pressed together, albeit with a layer of puffer-gilet acting as a little air bag and their mutual smiles suggest they are enjoying each others company again. 

‘Frederik has a hand on his hip to suggest a happy holiday moment and his other hand is seen grasping his wife at the neck with what looks like quite a firm grasp.’

However, the expert drew attention to the fact Mary kept her sunglasses on in the photo, meaning ‘her eye expression is masked from public view and examination’.

Despite this, Danish royal expert Kenth Madsen has revealed people in Denmark have ‘forgotten’ Frederik’s night out in Madrid with Genoveva and are jubilant at having a new King on the throne.

Meanwhile, Danish media reports appear to portray an image of a happy couple to their readers. 

A report from Her & Nu, published earlier this month, described how the couple ‘practically beamed with love for each other’ as they boarded the Dannebrog ahead of their wedding anniversary.

Although the report made mention of King Frederik’s night out with Genoveva, it stressed the father-of-four had ‘buried’ any suggestion of an affair as he stood alongside his wife on the balcony at Christiansborg on the day he was proclaimed king.

The report also made mention of a declaration of love for Queen Mary that the King made in his book, Kongeord, published three days after he ascended the throne.

The quote read: ‘I love marriage, my wife, our children and the entire happy base that arises for the people who manage to stick together and persevere.’

The King and Queen of Denmark have soldiered on as Frederik ascended the throne at the beginning of the year, following his mother Queen Margrethe’s shock abdication on New Year’s Eve 2023.

The surprise announcement came two months after King Frederik had been spotted out for dinner with Mexican socialite Genoveva, who lives in Madrid.

Spanish magazine Lecturas published photos of the pair together as they headed to a traditional restaurant in the city, where they reportedly watched Flamenco performances and stayed until the early hours of the morning. 

After the photos were published, Genoveva issued a statement via her lawyers in which she vehemently denied any suggestion of an affair with the Danish royal, while the Palace refused to comment.