Australian-born Princess Mary of Denmark has found herself embroiled in a tabloid scandal involving her husband and a Mexican socialite with the unlikely name, Casanova.

A “private” trip to the Spanish capital Madrid by Mary’s husband, Prince Frederik of Denmark, has made headlines, with unsubstantiated allegations he linked up with Genoveva Casanova while in town.

According to Spanish magazine Lecturas, Prince Frederik was accompanied by art expert Casanova to the exhibition, Picasso, the sacred and the profane at the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum.

Frederik was snapped by paparazzi walking through the El Retiro Park public garden with Casanova at about 7pm while two bodyguards followed “at a safe distance behind”.

The pair then reportedly had a very public dinner together at the restaurant El Corral de la Morería, in the heart of Madrid.

Spanish magazine HOLA! and its English-speaking parent magazine, Hello!, reported the recent trip by Frederik was private, “in which he had a very specific plan – museums, flamenco and gastronomy”.

HOLA! reported a mutual friend was unable to accompany the Prince to the exhibition due to illness, so he asked Casanova to go in his place.

“Controversy has arisen since during his stay,” it wrote.

The tabloid magazine scandal broke in the middle of a three-day state visit by the Spanish King Felipe and Queen Letizia in Copenhagen.

As the salacious headlines hit the news stands, Mary and Frederik were photographed together at another royal function, stepping out of their chauffeured limousine in a seemingly much less cordial mood.

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Casanova, meanwhile has vigorously denied any impropriety in a  lengthy statement issued via her official Instagram account on Wednesday (AEDT).

She categorically denied “the statements that suggest a romantic relationship between Prince Frederick [sic] and me”, translated into English by HOLA!

“Any statement of this type not only completely lacks the truth but also misrepresents the facts in a malicious manner.

“This is already in the hands of my lawyers, who will take care of the pertinent steps to protect my right to honour, truth and privacy.”

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Frederik, the heir to the Danish throne, married former Hobart resident Mary (née Mary Elizabeth Donaldson) in 2004. They have four children together, with the eldest, Christian, celebrating a milestone 18th birthday last month.

In April this year, Mary made her first return trip to Australia in more than a decade.

Who is Casanova?

According to Casanova’s social media, the 47-year-old Mexican-born philanthropist and former contestant on Spain’s Celebrity MasterChef now lives in Madrid.

She’s appeared on the Spanish version of Mask Singer (2020), and in 2006 had a small part in the 2006 movie Goya’s Ghosts, starring Javier Bardem and Natalie Portman.

Casanova was previously married to equestrian Cayetano Martínez for three years, who is the current Count of Salvatierra and Duke of Arjona, according to Hello!

They share twins Luis and Amine, 23, who both reside and work in the UK.

“It should be remembered that Genoveva is very passionate and knowledgeable about art and the work of Picasso, present in several exhibitions … in Madrid capital,” writes HOLA!

“For several years, she worked as director of projects and institutional relations at the Casa de Alba Foundation, an institution that since 1975 has ensured the care and conservation of the artistic heritage of Casa Alba, which includes some of the most important treasures of our country.”

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, King Felipe VI of Spain, Queen Margrethe of Denmark, Queen Letizia of Spain and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark at a gala dinner at the Christiansborg Palace on November 6. Photo: Getty

Spanish and Danish royals keep stiff upper lip

Meanwhile, the official show must go on.

On November 6, Frederik and Mary greeted the Spanish royals at the Vilhelm Lauritzen Terminal at Copenhagen Airport in Copenhagen on the first day of the three-day state visit of the Spanish Royals to Denmark.

That night they were welcomed at a gala dinner at the Christiansborg Palace.

On day two, the royals joined forces during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Danish National Monument of Remembrance at Kastellet.

Crown Princess Mary in Hobart with her family Prince Vincent, Prince Christian, Crown Prince Frederik, Princess Josephine, Princess Isabella. Photo: Instagram/Danish Royal Family

A family affair

Mary and Frederik famously met in a Sydney pub while she was working in the Harbour City and he was visiting for the 2000 Olympic Games.

“I was asked by a journalist, what did I know about Denmark before meeting my future husband?” she said during her last official visit to Australia in 2013.

“I replied, ‘Hans Christian Anderson and the Sydney Opera House was designed by a Dane’.”

Frederik and Mary welcomed their first child and future king, Prince Christian, in October 2005, eldest daughter, Princess Isabelle, arrived two years later, followed by twins, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, in 2011.

On October 15, the family last gathered on the balcony of the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen to celebrate Prince Christian’s 18th birthday.

He is second in the line of succession to the Danish throne since birth, after his father.