At 46 years of age, Princess Mary has a baby announcement! Her long-time bestie Amber Petty decided to become a foster parent at the age of 47.
“At 47 years old I’m at an age where I’m conscious time is ticking loudly. It’s time to get on with stuff,” Amber writes in The Daily Telegraph.
Explaining that she contacted the MacKillop Family Services foster agency in Melbourne a few years ago, Amber kept her plan a secret from her friends and family.
“I didn’t want to lose an ounce of energy on my mission by fielding warnings from my nearest and dearest. I’d also never been a parent. Let alone a parent of a traumatised child,” she added explaining she was concerned she was “going to end up screwing the whole thing up” and be left with a child consoling her.
Despite her fears, Amber was later approved as a foster carer. The responsibility weighed heavily on her shoulders, but she decided she would give it her best, explaining that her heart was in the right place and she would keep smiling and “wing it.” Amber wanted to create some nice memories for her new child.
Princess Mary’s friend admits that others react “interestingly” when they find out she has fostered a child. But to Amber none of it really matters.
“There are so many misconceptions about what fostering involves … You don’t have to be in a relationship. You don’t need to give up your job,” Amber tells New Idea.
“One thing I will say too, is the federal and state governments would be terrified if the public became aware of the lack of funding going towards caring for our vulnerable Australian kids. They know how bad the problem is, and they largely turn a blind eye.”
Amber, who has known the Danish princess for 20 years, has played a large and important role in Mary’s life, both before and after her 2004 wedding to Crown Prince Frederik.
Amber was a bridesmaid at the wedding and the friends are often seen holidaying together.
Appearing on The Morning Show to mark the 10th anniversary of her best friend’s wedding in 2014, Amber revealed she was sometimes envious of the family Mary had when seeing pictures of the princess with her husband and four children, Christian, 12, Isabella, 11, and 7-year-old twins Vincent and Josephine.
“I tell you what, it’s also reminded me every time I look at the photos of what they’ve got in 10 years, I look at my photos and go, where’s all my stuff, where’s all my stuff ? Ten years and I’m still sitting there on my own. What is happening?” she said on The Morning Show.
“They are beautiful photos and they are a beautiful family, and I miss them as anyone would living sort of on the other side of the world from people you care about.”
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Read the full story in this week’s issue of New Idea, on sale now.
