Prince Frederik of Denmark and Princess Mary's Surprising Love Story (They Met in a Pub!)

Prince Frederik and Princess Mary of Denmark have a royally modern love story.

The couple has been married since 2004 and are now parents of four children — most recently making headlines for their decision to remove their 16-year-old son Prince Christian from Herlufsholm School after allegations of sexual abuse and bullying at the establishment surfaced.

In a statement released June 17, the couple said they would be taking time to decide what was best for their family.

"Bullying, violence and indignities are never acceptable. We must respond to the painful and devastating incidents by insisting on changes that ensure a safe environment for all," they explained. "And then we must recognize the courage of those who have shared their violent experiences."

RELATED: Princess Mary of Denmark Wears Historic Tiara in Dazzling 50th Birthday Portraits: See Photos!

ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty

But the couple started out as strangers — who met in a Sydney, Australia, bar.

Mary Donaldson was an Australian advertising executive when she found herself chatting to Prince Frederik, although he introduced himself simply as "Fred," at the Slip Inn on Sydney's Darling Harbor in September 2000. The pub was filled with people from around the world who were in town for the Olympics.

"Something clicked," Princess Mary said in a 2005 interview. "It wasn't the fireworks in the sky or anything like that, but there was a sense of excitement."

Shortly into their conversation, Mary found out that she was talking to the Crown Prince of Denmark, heir to the 1,000-year-old Danish throne.

"The first time we met, we shook hands," she said of their introduction. "I didn't know he was the prince of Denmark. Half an hour later, someone came up to me and said, 'Do you know who these people are?' "

Lennart Preiss/Getty

For a year, the pair got to know each other through a long-distance relationship that flew under the radar of the media.

"She got to know and love Frederik as the man he is, not as the Crown Prince," Mary's friend Chris Meehan later told the authors of Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark.

Patrick van Katwijk/WireImage

In 2002, Mary moved to Copenhagen, converted to the Lutheran Church and learned Danish, a notoriously tricky language to master. They announced their engagement in 2003 and married the following year at Copenhagen Cathedral. And the celebrations continued in Sydney! Banners were hung outside the bar where they first met to commemorate the happy occasion.

Perhaps the person most surprised by the royal romance was Princess Mary herself.

"I don't recall wishing that one day I would be a princess," she once said. "I wanted to be a veterinarian."

Patrick van Katwijk/Getty

The Olympics remain a special event to the couple — they attended the Games in Athens in 2004 (just a few months after their wedding), Turin in 2006, Beijing in 2008, Vancouver in 2010, London in 2012, Sochi in 2014 and Rio in 2016. In 2009, Frederik was inducted into the International Olympic Committee.

It turns out that they're not the only Scandinavian royal couple who found love at the Olympics: King Carl Gustaf of Sweden met his wife, Queen Silvia, back at the 1976 Munich Olympics, where she was working as a hostess and interpreter for the IOC.

Ole Jensen/Getty

Their main focus now is on their royal work and their four children: Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, 15, and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, 11.

"During the summer, we, together with our children, will make a decision about their future choice of schools," they said in their recent statement. "With thoughts about the many students who will continue at Herlufsholm, it is our hope that the school now gets more peace to ensure the necessary changes and succeeds in creating a culture in which all thrive and feel safe."