Norwegian royal family

Norwegian royal family, King Harald is the son of King Olav V (1903-1991) and Crown Princess Märtha (1901-1954). He ascended the throne on the death of his father, King Olav V, on 17 January 1991. Like his grandfather, King Haakon VII (1905-57), his father Olav V (1957-91) the King Harald V chose the motto Alt for Norge! (All for Norway!).

The birth of a prince is always an historic event. However, it was a particularly special occasion for the Norwegian people when an heir to the throne came into the world on 21 February 1937. The prince was born at Skaugum, the estate that is still the home of the Royal Family. This was the first time in 567 years that a prince had been born in Norway, and the birth ensured the line of succession of the relatively newly established Norwegian Royal Family. King Haakon VII became King of Norway after the dissolution of the union with Sweden in 1905. According to the Constitution of 1814, he could only be succeeded by male heirs (this provision has subsequently been amended). With the prince's birth, the country was guaranteed a king, at least for the next two generations, and this meant a great deal to most Norwegians.

King Olav's announcement in 1968 that Crown Prince Harald wished to marry a commoner triggered a heated political debate on the future of the monarchy. The Crown Prince had known his bride-to-be for nine years before it was decided that they were to marry. King Olav himself made the decision after having consulted the Government, the President of the Storting and the leaders of the various parliamentary groups in the Storting.

The response was favourable. The vast majority of the population accepted Sonja Haraldsen immediately with great enthusiasm, which indicates the status enjoyed by the Royal Family and by Sonja Haraldsen as an individual. She became inseparably linked with the national unity symbolized by the Norwegian Royal Family.
The marriage took place in August 1968. The couple's first child, Märtha Louise, was born on 22 September 1971, and the second, Prince Haakon, on 20 July 1973.

The deep commitment shown by King Olav and the then Crown Prince and Crown Princess is one of the reasons the monarchy has such a strong position in Norway today. Another reason is the significance of the Royal Family as a symbol of social stability and political continuity in politically turbulent times. And above all, the Royal Family is a symbol of unity, which proved extremely important during the Second World War.

The Queen Sonja

When Crown Prince Harald acceded to the throne on the death of his father, King Olav V, on 17 January 1991, Norway also gained a queen for the first time in 53 years.

Sonja Haraldsen became Crown Princess Sonja when she married Crown Prince Harald on 29 August 1968. Their engagement triggered a debate on the future of the monarchy in Norway. However, there was much less criticism than many had feared when the heir to the Norwegian Throne chose a wife who was a commoner. From the very start, Crown Princess Sonja was accepted by the entire Norwegian population as a member of their beloved Royal Family.

Sonja Haraldsen was born in Oslo on 4 July 1937. She grew up at Vinderen in Oslo, took her lower secondary school diploma in 1954, and studied dressmaking and tailoring at the Oslo Vocational School. She took a diploma from the Swiss Ecole Professionelle des Jeunes Filles, a women's college in Lausanne which offered social sciences, accounting and fashion design. Later she took her upper secondary school diploma as an external candidate and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Oslo, where she studied French, English and art history.

Her Majesty has travelled extensively both in Norway and abroad, and is patron of a number of organizations. In 1972 Crown Princess Sonja participated in the establishment of a fund in her daughter's name, HRH Princess Märtha Louise's Fund, which is devoted to helping disabled Norwegian children. She is deeply concerned about the plight of refugees and immigrants and frequently visits institutions for the elderly, children and the mentally retarded. In the 1970s she took an active part in several large fund-raising drives for the benefit of refugees. To gain a first-hand impression of the refugee situation, she visited several sites, including a camp for Vietnamese boat refugees in Malaysia.

The Prince Haakon

Haakon and Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby, both 28, exchanged vows at Oslo Cathedral before hundreds of friends and relatives, including many European royals (25 august 2001).

The Crown Prince is the son of King Harald and Queen Sonja and was born on 20 July 1973. The royal line began when the Crown Prince's great grandfather, Haakon VII, came to Norway in 1905 after the dissolution of the union with Sweden.

Both names have royal traditions in Norway. The Crown Prince's great grandfather was the seventh king to be called Haakon, and many kings bore the name of Magnus in the Middle Ages. The Crown Prince now uses only his first name, Haakon.
Crown Prince Haakon represents the fourth generation of the Norwegian royal family. After he came of age, his duties as heir to the throne have increased.

Although his sister was born two years earlier, Crown Prince Haakon is the heir to the throne. According to the Constitution, Norway has a linear succession, and the right of succession was previously also agnatic (i.e. the oldest legitimate "man born of man" inherited the throne). The Constitution has now been amended so that women can also accede to the throne, but as an interim arrangement it was decided that the male line should have precedence for those born before 1990. In practice, this means that Princess Märtha Louise would only accede to the throne if her brother were to die before having any children or grandchildren.

Crown Prince Haakon has grown up in natural surroundings and been encouraged by his parents' interest in sports. Like his father and grandfather, he is a sailing enthusiast. The Crown Prince is also a good skier, and is keen on cycling and paragliding. He shares his sisters interest in culture and art, and is an avid patron of the theatre. His favourite dramatist is Henrik Ibsen, while his musical tastes vary.

Norway's day-old royal princess, pictured by her father Norway's Crown Prince Haakom, was given the names Ingrid Alexandra January 22, 2004, and could be joined by other queens on European thrones in the 21st century as monarchies change centuries-old laws of male succession.

Strong family ties

The Norwegian royal family has close ties to the Danish, Swedish and British royal families. King Haakon VII was the second son of King Frederik VIII of Denmark. His wife, Queen Maud, mother of King Olav, was the daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of England. King Olav's wife, Märtha, was the second daughter of Swedish Prince Carl and Princess Ingeborg. Crown Prince Haakon's mother, Queen Sonja, comes from an Oslo family and was married to Crown Prince Harald in 1968.