The incident came during the December holiday down under of Crown Prince Frederik and Australian-born Princess Mary when their son Christian had to be helped from the sea at Mermaid Beach in Queensland.

Lifeguard Nick Malcolm, who was responsible for the rescue, chose not to speak to local media immediately following the incident.

“We got him before it got too serious, but he wouldn't have come back in,” Malcolm's supervisor Stuart Keay told Australia's Channel 7 television station.

The lifeguard, has since said he did not know Prince Christian's identity until after the incident.

“He (Christian) was in between the flags in the deep part before the break and just got swept off his feet,” Malcolm told Australian regional daily the Gold Coast Bulletin

“He was a really good swimmer — it helped that he didn’t panic,” he added.

Malcolm was personally thanked by the Crown Prince, according to Channel 7.

But a Danish Royal Family spokesperson claims the lifeguard was aware who the prince was and had been instructed to watch him closely.

“Lifeguards must always be alert, and in this case they knew who was in the water, so perhaps they were extra alert. They made extra certain that Prince Christian was okay – which he was. In other words, the situation was completely undramatic,” royal family head of communication Lene Balleby told Ritzau.

Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary along with Prince Christian and the couple's three other children have since continued their beach holiday.