Norwegian Monarchy: Articles from 2017

[Jennifer]

[mod]This thread is for Norwegian Monarchy: Articles from 2017.[/mod]

Norwegian drug lord helped to solve the theft of King Harald's priceless antiques

Norway's biggest drug trial in history is now in the Norwegian courts. The main defendant in the case, Gjermund Cappelen, has pleaded guilty in importing several tonnes of hashish to Norway and claims he has had help to this by the police officer Eric Jensen. During the trial, many unknown stories have been revealed – including new information on the theft of a number of royal antiques in 1991.

It was on 8 June 1991 that an unemployed thief broke into Oscarshall Castle in Oslo and stole national treasures. He stole in peace and quiet for the burglar alarm was not turned on. Six of a total of seven stolen antiques resurfaced four years later. The police officer, Eric Jensen, who is accused of corruption, obtained the stolen goods back thanks to tips from the drug baron, Gjermund Cappelen.

Among the antiques that were stolen on that night were a bust of King Oscar II and Queen Sofia, a wash table that was in the king's bedroom, a pitcher in silver and a clock. These antiques are world renowned and therefore, impossible to be sold on the open market. Thus, the thief put all the antiques in the attic at his home just outside Oslo. The man told his friend about the theft, and they, in turn, told it again to their friends. This resulted in the man himself being robbed, and the antiquities vanished for four years.

Read more:
Norwegian drug lord helped to solve the theft of King Harald's priceless antiques – Royal Central

[Jennifer]

Crown Princess Mette-Marit writes open letter about son

Crown Princess Mette-Marit's son, Marius Borg Høiby, from a previous relationship, will celebrate his 20th birthday on Friday, and his mother has written an open letter to the Norwegian Press. She criticises them for the pressures put on her son.

"NRK TV news followed us when we were playing in Frogner Park in the afternoon. Marius was three-years-old. No one would think of doing that to a child today," writes the Crown Princess. "Marius has always had a role that has been difficult to define. He is and will remain an exceptionally important part of our family." She adds that "He should not have a public role and is not a public person."

Marius will move to the United States to study Business Administration as he desires to have a private life. The pages about him on the official site of the Norwegian Royal Family will be removed. He will only appear in public for family occasions but will not perform any duties on behalf of the royal family. With her open letter, Crown Princess Mette-Marit shows that she supports her son's decision completely.

Read more:
Crown Princess Mette-Marit writes open letter about son – Royal Central

[Jennifer]

King Harald of Norway congratulates Trump

His Majesty King Harald V of Norway congratulated President Donald Trump after his inauguration as President of the United States on Friday. His Majesty King Harald of Norway wrote in his greeting:

The Honorable
Donald J. Trump
President of the United States of America

The White House
Washington D.C.

Your Excellency,

On the occasion of your inauguration as President of the United States of America, I wish to extend my warmest congratulations and my best wishes to you personally and to your family, and my hopes for the welfare and prosperity of the American people.

Harald R

Read more:
King Harald of Norway congratulates Trump – Royal Central
Double post auto-merged: January 24, 2017, 03:11:14 PM

Happy Birthday, Princess Ingrid! I hope she had a wonderful day & all her wishes came true.  :thumbsup:

Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway celebrates 13th birthday

Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway is now a teenager. The second-in-line to the Norwegian throne turns 13-years-old today. She is celebrating privately with her family today.

As expected, the Royal Court of Norway released four new images of the young Princess in celebration of her birthday. They were taken by Cornelius Poppe in December. They can be viewed at this link.

She was born on 21 January 2004 at 9:13 am local time in Oslo University Hospital. She is the first child of Crown Prince Haakon and second child of Crown Princess Mette-Marit. The Crown Princess has a son, Marius Borg Høiby (b. 13 January 1997), from a previous relationship. Ingrid Alexandra has a younger brother, Prince Sverre Magnus (b. 3 December 2005), as well.

Read more:
Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway celebrates 13th birthday – Royal Central

[Jennifer]

I also like dogs too! They are loyal, loving and sweet companions. I don't have a dog, but I hope I will get one sometime in the future.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit and the Norwegian royals' dog is found and more royal moments

Safe and sound! Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway and her family had quite the scare when their three-year-old Labradoodle Muffin ran away. Fortunately for the family, their pet found her way home in time for cuddles.

Click here to see more:
Crown Princess Mette-Marit and the Norwegian royals' dog is found and more royal moments - Photo 1

[TLLK]

https://www.nrk.no/norge/8-av-10-vil-beholde-kongehuset_-storst-oppslutning-blant-de-unge-1.13383378

In a poll taken this year 81% of the Norwegian population support having the nation remain as a constitutional monarchy.

[Jennifer]

If King Harald believes that he is still healthy enough to continue being a king at his age, then that's good. Just because he is a elderly man, doesn't mean he has abdicate. If he wants to be king until the day he dies, then that's his choice & people should respect it.

King Harald: "I will not abdicate"

His Majesty King Harald of Norway celebrates his 80th birthday next week. For the occasion, His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen granted an interview to NTB (Norwegian News Agency) where they talked about what it is like being monarchs when they get older.

The King says he has no plans to abdicate, he feels healthy and says that age is only a number. "To step back is out of the question unless I receive a clear message from my children that it is time." King Harald therefore strongly opposes the other European monarchies, which in the recent years has seen abdication. 2013 was a great abdication-year in Europe when both the Netherlands and Belgium got new Kings after abdication. Spain got a new king after the abdication of King Juan Carlos in 2014. King Harald, therefore, rejects strongly that he will abdicate. In the interview, he says, "I took an oath on the Norwegian constitution. For me, this oath applies to my entire life."

Read more:
King Harald: "I will not abdicate" – Royal Central
Double post auto-merged: February 20, 2017, 03:46:37 PM

Princess Märtha Louise speaks openly about her royal childhood in interview

Last Friday, Her Royal Highness Princess Märtha Louise of Norway participated in a very popular talk show, Skavlan, which is broadcasted once a week on both Norwegian and Swedish television. Here she spoke candidly about several sensitive themes, her mental challenges, her belief in angels and the debate that occurred in Norway when she was young about whether she could take over the Norwegian throne or not.

In the 1980s, the Norwegian Parliament began to discuss whether women and men should be equal to inherit the Norwegian throne. Also, within the Norwegian Royal Family, this was a topic of conversation. The Princess says in the interview: "We talked about this in the family and discussed the problem with the Prime Minister and the King [Olav]. Everyone was discussing these things."

The Constitution was finally changed in Norway. Women were equal to men to inherit the throne in 1990, but as a transition, it was decided that this did not apply to Princess Märtha Louise since she was born before 1990. In the talk show, the host, Fredrik Skavlan, mentioned to the Princess that she wished she was a boy when this discussion took place. The Princess said: "Because I am so sensitive, I felt that it would have been easier if I were a boy, then we would have this discussion, I would not have been a problem for the state or my family."

Read more:
Princess Märtha Louise speaks openly about her royal childhood in interview – Royal Central

[LouisFerdinand]

King Harald V was born on February 21, 1937.     
Happy Birthday to Harald V!!   
Happy 80th Birthday King Harald of Norway - YouTube   
 
:bday3: :bday3: :bday3: :bday10: :bdaycake: :bdaycake:

[Jennifer]

King Harald's birthday celebrations – without the King

His Majesty King Harald of Norway is 80 years old today. The King himself is on vacation with the entire Norwegian Royal Family. Nevertheless, there are several standard events marking a Norwegian King's birthday, despite the fact that the King is not even in the country.

Today at noon a 21 gun salute fired from the cannons at Akershus Fortress in Oslo. Many people had turned up to watch the salute in honour of the King. It is tradition to have a gun salute from 11 fortresses in Norway for the birthdays of King Harald, Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit.

Read more:
King Harald’s birthday celebrations – without the King – Royal Central

King Harald celebrated his birthday in South Africa

Last week, King Harald of Norway turned 80 years old. The King was on a private vacation with the family that day, and no one knew where the Norwegian royal family was. Some claimed the royal family went skiing in Switzerland while others rumours said that they were on a Mediterranean cruise. Now it is revealed that the Norwegian royal family celebrated King Harald's birthday in South Africa.

Norwegian magazine "Se & Hør" was the first to report this yesterday. While they were in Cape Town, King Harald took all of his grandchildren and went on a historic trip to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was locked up for 18 years. For King Harald it was important that the holiday would give his grandchildren knowledge and memories, they could take with them.

See pictures from the official celebrations of King Harald in Oslo here.

Read more:
King Harald celebrated his birthday in South Africa – Royal Central

[Jennifer]

Princess Märtha Louise running for election against her own will

Her Highness Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, daughter of King Harald and Queen Sonja, is the third candidate on "the Community Party's" parliamentary list ahead of this autumn's parliamentary elections in Norway. Meanwhile, the Princess's ex-husband Ari Behn was placed last on the same list. However, this is against their will.

"The Community Party" tend to list famous people against their own will, and they have done this many times before. Norwegian celebrities Thomas Seltzer, Vendela Kirsebom, Ole Paus, Aylar Lie, Harald Eia and Anne-Kat Hærland were also placed on the list without having been asked whether they want to participate in the election.

This is nothing but an attempt to create attention for the party. The party has never had any representation on either a local or a national level in Norway. The party has received much attention due to the unorthodox demonstrations they have held the recent years. The party's chairman, the anarchist Øystein Meier Johannessen, placed severed horse heads on stakes outside the Norwegian parliament to demonstrate against the European Union in 2011.

Read more:
Princess Märtha Louise running for election against her own will – Royal Central

[Jennifer]

Although I know little about Norweigan politics, I thought it was wrong for this political party to add Princess Märtha Louise and her ex-husband, Ari Behn to a voting ballot without their permission. Neither of them are connected to the group so they should be left out of it. I think it's important for political parties to keep people who don't want to be involved in politics out.

Prime Minister Erna Solberg is violating the laws by publishing major political decisions before she requested the King's approval of new legislation and major national projects. King Harold should know about the decisions she makes because he is the one who has to approve of the laws. It's important for these politicians to work together with the monarchy,even if they don't agree with everything. The country needs to have balance.

Prime Minister of Norway accused of showing disrespect toward the King

"Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, [showed] lack respect for His Majesty the King and his elected Assembly," said the former President of the Stortinget (the Norwegian national assembly), Dag Terje Andersen to the Norwegian media on Monday morning.

Andersen believes that Prime Minister Solberg has gone behind the King's back by publishing major political decisions before she requested the King's approval of new legislation and major national projects. Andersen refers to several incidents where Prime Minister Solberg, or members of her government, have held a press conference and promised things to the Norwegian people without the King's formal approval.

"One thing is that the Conservative Party, at its yearly national convention, always toast in honour of the King, and then shows systematically little respect for the King in State Council. But what is really irresponsible is that this damages the public debate and the critical journalism," said former President of the Stortinget to the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang.

Read more:
Prime Minister of Norway accused of showing disrespect toward the King – Royal Central


Double post auto-merged: April 04, 2017, 12:26:23 PM

I like how honest Princess Märtha Louise was about not being too fond of children. Not everyone can admit this. Within time, she was able to like children and after she met her nephew, Marius Borg Høiby, her thoughts changed. I like how she and her family treats him like a real family member. It's lovely to have a family that is warm like that. She is now more comfortable with children after she had some of her own.

Princess Märtha Louise opens up about motherhood

Her Highness Princess Märtha Louise of Norway has opened up about motherhood in a new interview with the Norwegian women's magazine, Kvinner og Klær (KK); her colleague, Elisabeth Nordeng was also interviewed. They had both just returned from India for a retreat related to their Soul Spring business.

Admittedly for the Princess, she was not keen on having children and never had a real connection with them until she met her nephew, Marius Borg Høiby. Marius is the son of her sister-in-law, Crown Princess Mette-Marit through a previous relationship. He was adopted as one of the family after Mette-Marit married Crown Prince Haakon.

The journalist hosting the interview, Kjersti Salvesen, described Märtha Louise as the talkative type. Her Highness gives out sound advice in the interview, "If you have any problems, you should talk to your mum." She added that she often speaks to her mother, Queen Sonja about her problems.

Read more:
Princess Märtha Louise opens up about motherhood – Royal Central

[Jennifer]

Unusual State Council in Oslo today – here is what happened

Earlier this week it was announced that a State Council would be held at the Royal Norwegian Palace in Oslo. This is highly unusual as usually all the State Council meetings are held on Fridays. Whenever the King does not have the opportunity to attend the State Council on Fridays, his son, Crown Prince Haakon attends behalf of his father. When the Crown Prince also not have the opportunity to attend the State Council, the meetings are usually held in the Prime Minister's office in a very simple ceremony. Therefore, the fact that this session was scheduled on a Wednesday was highly suspicious.

Generally, some extra meetings of the State Council are held during a cabinet period. This happens when the Prime Minister replaces some of the government's ministers, or in some cases, alerting the King to a political crisis. These meetings are announced in advance by the Norweigan Royal Court – this has not happened this time. Therefore, it was unlikely that changes in government were to be announced; especially as there are parliamentary elections in Norway in September.

Read more:
Unusual State Council in Oslo today – here is what happened – Royal Central

[Jennifer]

500 mayors and councillors sing Happy Birthday to King Harald and Queen Sonja

Mayors and councillors from all over Norway gathered at a grand gala dinner in Oslo City Hall yesterday. Oslo's mayor, Marianne Borgen invited the King, the Queen and the nation's mayors to Oslo City Hall after the annual conference for municipal politics was over.

The King and Queen arrived at the dinner and were welcomed by Mayor Marianne Hagen and accompanied to their seats by Gunn Marit Helgesen, president of the central municipal associations. Kampen concert-band played the fanfare when His Majesty and Her Majesty arrived the grand hall.

Mayor Borgen welcomed the King and Queen in his speech and spoke much about His Majesty's speech from last summer. Read more about this speech here. After the speech was finished, all spontaneously stood up in respect for Their Majesties, who both celebrate their 80th birthday this year and sang the Norwegian birthday song for them.

Read more:
500 mayors and councillors sing Happy Birthday to King Harald and Queen Sonja – Royal Central

[Jennifer]

Exclusive: New details about King Harald and Queen Sonja's birthday celebration

This year is a significant anniversary year for the Norwegian Royal Family. Last year, King Harald and Queen Sonja celebrated ruling Norway for 25 years, and this year, they both celebrate their 80th birthdays. This has already been highlighted on several occasions, but the big party is in mid-May. Royal Central can now announce that the King and Queen will also be celebrated by the military forces on 9 May.

A spokesperson from the Royal Lifeguard has stated to Royal Central that His Majesty the King's Guard will host an honour parade in honour of the King and Queen on 9 May, the day before the Norwegian government is due to hold a big dinner in honour of Their Majesties. The spokesperson further revealed that the show would be held at the Palace Square in front of the Royal Norwegian Palace in Oslo.

May will, therefore, be a very hectic month for the Norwegian Royal Family. On 8 May, the King will participate in the celebrations of the Norwegian liberation day. On 9 May, the parade will be held, and on the 10th of May, he and the Queen will be celebrated by the government with a grand gala dinner. Seven days later, Norway will celebrate its national day. Early in April, the King and Queen attended a dinner for Norwegian mayors in Oslo when all spontaneously stood up in respect for Their Majesties and sang the Norwegian birthday song for them.

Read more;
Exclusive: New details about King Harald and Queen Sonja’s birthday celebration – Royal Central

[Jennifer]

The celebration of King Harald and Queen Sonja – the guest list

Royal guests from all over Europe will celebrate King Harald and Queen Sonja's 80th birthdays next week in Oslo, Norway. Royal Central can now reveal that from the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg, the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, as well as the Hereditary Grand Duke and the Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg will attend the celebrations. This was confirmed by the Grand Ducal Court in an email to Royal Central yesterday. The last time members of Luxembourg's Grand Ducal Family were present in Oslo was during the official state visit in 2011.

Between 30 and 40 guests from Europe's royal families are expected to travel to Oslo next Tuesday and Wednesday. Additionally, the Icelandic and Finnish presidents will come. The Swedish Royal Family is to be represented by King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia. While from Denmark, Queen Margrethe, Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie will attend.

Read more:
The celebration of King Harald and Queen Sonja – the guest list – Royal Central
Double post auto-merged: May 08, 2017, 03:50:05 PM

King Harald starts the season for The Norwegian Royal Yacht

Thursday afternoon, His Majesty King Harald of Norway announced the season opening for the Norwegian Royal Yacht "DS Norge". This happened unusually early this year. It is not common for the King to order the royal yacht to be ready for use until the end of May.

The reason why this season starts extra early is that the Royal Yacht will be used in this year's celebration of the 80th anniversary of the King and Queen. All invited royal guests from all over Europe will have lunch on the Royal Yacht during the second day of celebration, which will take place next week.

During the summer season, the crew consists of 53 people, 17 officers and 36 other crew members. During winter time, the crew is reduced to a minimum of approximately 25 people. The duties are mainly guarding the ship and maintenance during the winter. In February, the ship receives new officers and military crew who undergo theoretical and practical training for the upcoming season.

Read more:
King Harald starts the season for The Norwegian Royal Yacht – Royal Central
Double post auto-merged: May 08, 2017, 03:51:18 PM

Ari Behn, former husband of Princess Märtha Louise, sent to hospital after car accident

Friday morning, Ari Behn, former husband of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, was involved in a car accident. The misfortune was so serious that the divorced man of the Princess was sent to the hospital. The police were told that the car he was in had driven off the road at 11:30 local Norwegian time. Police, the fire brigade and ambulance moved out to assist at the crash site.

To the press, the police declared that they arrived quickly to the scene of the accident. The incident occurred near Toppenhaugen, not far from Ari Behn's private residence. A bus driver first reported the crash.

The local newspaper Budstikka was informed by someone who witnessed the accident that the Princess's former husband got out of the car and stood on the roadside until the ambulance came while he was using his mobile phone. Ari Behn's car suffered considerable damage in the accident.

Read more:
Ari Behn, former husband of Princess Märtha Louise, sent to hospital after car accident – Royal Central