Prince Sverre Magnus turns 18

Front: HM the King, HM the Queen and Marit Tjessem. Behind fv: HRH the Crown Princess, HRH the Crown Prince, Prince Sverre Magnus and HRH Princess Ingrid Alexandra. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB

 Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway will celebrate his 18th birthday on December 3.   His family held a lunch in his honor on December 1

"President of the Storting
Representatives of the government and the Supreme Court

First of all – Dear Magnus, congratulations on your 18th birthday!

Welcome everyone, to this lunch to celebrate our handsome prince, Sverre Magnus.

Magnus, - for grandfather and me, it is a great pleasure to be able to mark your coming-of-age day together with the family, and together with people who in various ways represent Norway here today.

I must say it is a pleasure to see you in your new Aust-Telemark bunad. It has been exciting to be with you in this process and observe the choices you have made. Both colors, fabric and patterns are your choices. The bunad has become completely unique, and it bears your distinctive character. It is you.

And as you know, it also holds a little secret: I have embroidered bags for the bunad for the other grandchildren. But bags do not belong in men's clothing. What do I do then? Then you, Marius, came to my rescue. Because he says: Can't you embroider something I can wear on the inside of my jacket?

As said, as done - you now have an embroidered pocket on the inside of the jacket that can perhaps be used for a bit of everything. I'm happy with the solution - and I hope the bunad, and especially the embroidered little pocket, will always be a small reminder of grandma's toil.

Heiko Junge / NTB

Prince Sverre Magnus received a bunad as a birthday gift from the Royal couple, and today he is wearing it for the first time. The undercoat model is a gray jersey undercoat from Aust-Telemark from approx. 1870.

It actually warms my heart to see that there are so many people wearing bunad here today, almost everyone... A bunad is a reminder of roots and your roots, dear Magnus. About the legacy and ballast you carry with you through your extended family. You have roots in many places: From your father and grandfather you have roots in Oslo, Asker, Sweden, Denmark and England. Through your mother and grandmother, you have a part of Southern Norway and Rogaland with you. And from my side, you have  -  demonstrably through the bunad - roots from Telemark. You are a part of all this, Magnus.

Through your roots, you have acquired family stories, values, characteristics and common stories that are part of the fine young man you already are, and which is constantly developing.

You have a good and solid life foundation, dear Magnus. Everything is in place so that you can make good choices for your own future. It will be exciting to see. You are technically gifted, and you have developed an eye for photography, which makes me very happy.

Indeed, you have not already become a court photographer, when you took lovely pictures of your dear mother for her 50th birthday this summer. And not least, you are interested in hunting, much to grandfather's delight.

You are positive and interested in being involved when we invite you to experiences together as a family. We appreciate that immensely. And you are a real "water lion".

We all hold our breath when you fearlessly jump from the Kongeskipet - or jump onto the trampoline from the second floor at Skaugum. But amazingly, you come out of it all unscathed - time and time again.

I often think that young people today are exposed to unreasonable pressure. There is so much to decide on. So much that draws attention away from what really matters. So many expectations – both from society, school, friends and family. And then it becomes easy to expect a little too much of yourself.

But Magnus, I want to say something important to you and to the other 18-year-olds in our country today: It is good enough to be who you are. The most important thing is to be sure of yourself and listen to your own voice. The ability to empathize with other people's situations and being a good friend is much more important than being "good" at things. I hope you will also contribute to giving other young people around you security when it comes to this topic. We all have a job to do here.

Dear Magnus! You are blessed with a large family who are very happy for you and who only want you well.

Congratulations on your 18th birthday - we hope and wish you all the best in the future!

And once again we welcome you to the Castle on the occasion of this important family event - and raise a toast to our dear Prince Sverre Magnus.  Good luck, Magnus!"

Prince Sverre Magnus 2023 Photo: Dusan Reljin, The Royal Court