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| Heiko Junge / NTB |
"You have always been concerned that we in the family are a team. When things go badly, we can lean on each other, and when things go well, we can share the joy. There is a lot of strength in that, said His Majesty King Haakon in his speech to his father, King Harald, on the occasion of his 88th birthday.
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| @NTB |
King Harald was closely connected to his family. He experienced great grief when he lost his mother at the age of 17. Crown Princess Märtha died of illness at age 53, and King Harald said this remained a great loss.
King Harald had a rich family life throughout his life, even though the beginning was difficult and it took time before he could marry. It was not until nine years later that Crown Prince Harald was able to get engaged to Sonja Haraldsen from Vinderen in Oslo.
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| @NTB |
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| @NTB |
It was not uncontroversial that our future king would marry a non-royal. For King Olav, this was not just a family matter, but also a matter of state with consequences for the future of the Royal House. After consulting both the President of the Storting, the parliamentary leaders, and the government, King Olav gave his consent: the Crown Prince of Norway could marry civilly.
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| Vidar Knai / NTB |
On August 29, 1968, a royal wedding took place in Oslo Cathedral. Oslo was decorated with flags and flowers; nearly 3,000 soldiers from all branches of the armed forces stood shoulder to shoulder along the wedding route from the Palace to the cathedral, and a double royal salute was fired from Akershus Fortress: two 21-gun salutes.
After the wedding, Crown Prince Harald and Crown Princess Sonja moved to Skaugum, the official residence of the Norwegian heir to the throne, where the children grew up. Princess Märtha Louise was born on 22 September 1971. Barely two years later, on 20 July 1973, Prince Haakon Magnus was born. The parents placed great emphasis on their upbringing being as normal as possible. Both the Prince and Princess therefore attended municipal kindergarten and regular school.
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| Christmas 1990. Photo: Knut Falch / NTB |
– When I look back, it's the holidays that I remember best. My mother, my father, and my sister- there were four of us on holiday, and the four of us on weekend trips in Norway. It took many years before we traveled abroad, said King Haakon on the occasion of the biography "Haakon" from 2023.
Crown Prince Harald was interested in the children, and he would often lie down on the floor to build Lego when he came home after a day of work at the Palace.
– The King is simply kind. It is an underrated quality. From the biography "Haakon", 2023
Gradually, grandchildren arrived. The royal couple experienced the role of grandparents as early as 2001, when then Crown Princess Mette-Marit joined the family with her son, Marius.
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| Lise Åserud / NTB |
Princess Ingrid Alexandra was born on 21 January 2004 as third in line to the throne, after her father, then Crown Prince Haakon, and Prince Sverre Magnus, born in 2005. Princess Märtha Louise and Ari Behn's first daughter, Maud Angelica, was born in 2003, followed by Leah Isadora in 2005 and Emma Tallulah in 2008.
I didn't think I would become a grandfather, but I did.
King Harald wanted to see his grandchildren often. Sunday dinners together were important – at the Palace, at Skaugum or in Lommedalen.
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| @Royal House |
On several occasions, the Royal Couple took their children and grandchildren on trips at home and abroad, with Queen Sonja as an enthusiastic tour guide. King Harald wanted their grandchildren to experience and see places central to Norwegian history. In 2015, the family traveled along the country's northernmost coast on the Royal Ship Norway, and in 2018, they went to Svalbard. The whole family also traveled to South Africa in 2017, where, among other things, the visit to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela had been imprisoned, made a great impression.
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| Heiko Junge / NTB |
For six decades, Queen Sonja was King Harald's closest supporter, both privately and in his work as the country's Crown Prince and later King. In a speech on the occasion of the Royal Couple's 80th anniversary in 2017, he thanked the Queen and said:
– Today I thank you for the opportunity and support to fill the role, as it has been right for me. I could not have done this without my wife by my side for almost 50 years.
In a monarchy, the family is inextricably linked to the lifelong work of both the monarch and those who will inherit the throne.
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| King Harald, Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Ingrid Alexandra at Bygdø Royal Palace 2012. Photo: Julia Marie Naglestad, The Royal Court |
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| Proud grandpa holds Ingrid Alexandra at her christening @Tor Richardsen/NTB |
There is a special bond and a deep understanding between those in the line of succession. This connection was also strong between King Harald, Crown Prince Haakon, and Princess Ingrid Alexandra.
– He has become a friend and colleague. He asks me for advice, and I get advice from him. The relationship has become closer and closer. He is a wise guy, said King Harald about his son in connection with the book "The King Tells".
The family mantra has been that even if you have to follow each other in the deed, you have to find the security to do it in your own way.
In his speech to his father on his 88th birthday, then-Crown Prince Haakon said.
– Dear Dad, you have been my most important teacher and mentor throughout my life. You have always shown me great trust.
And in the speech to Princess Ingrid Alexandra in connection with the day of authority, King Harald said:
– I've told you this several times, but a grandfather is allowed to repeat his most important advice over and over again: Be yourself. And trust that that's enough – always."
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