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After a perilous Atlantic crossing, Crown Princess Martha of Norway and her three children, Princess Ragnhild, 10, Princess Astrid, 8, and 3-year-old Prince Harald, arrived in New York City as refugees. During a press conference at the Waldorf Astoria, Martha, the wife of Crown Prince Olav, specifically requested that no fanfare and politics "be eliminated from the reception accorded to her " by the United States, according to the New York Times.
The Princess was adamant that the primary reason for accepting President Franklin D. Roosevelt's invitation to live in the United States for the "duration of the war was the one of personal safety of her children."
Princess Martha and her three children were among 870 passengers aboard the United States Army Transport American Eagle, which survived a "stormy twelve-day voyage" from Finland. Most of the passengers did not "fully realize the perils they passed through the mine-clogged waters of Europe."
After retiring to her suite, the first thing the Crown Princess did was call her husband, Crown Prince Olav, in London. She had not spoken to him since April 10 when she and the children fled Norway. He was in "fine spirits," she said.
She did state, however, that no "pressure of any kind" was put upon her to "declare a regency for Norway" with her young son as king. There were reports that Germany, "either directly, or through the King of Sweden, had urged her to declare a regency." This was based on the "theory that King Haakon and Crown Prince Olav had deserted the throne by fleeing to England."
Martha was adamant, stating: "The fight for Norway continues through London. I am sure the end will be all right. I am sure Norway will be independent and free again." She added that she thought the reports of treason in Norway were "greatly exaggerated."
The only treason in Norway, she said, was from Quisling.
While their mother met the press, the two young princesses were out shopping, and Prince Harald was resting "under the care of his nursemaid."
The family planned to stay overnight in the hotel before traveling to Hyde Park by car. Princess Martha said they would remain for about a week at President Roosevelt's private residence, but she admitted she did not know where the family would settle. She was also asked if she thought her husband would join her. "I don't know, but I wish I did."
Not too long afterward, Martha and her three children moved to Bethesda, Maryland, settling into Pook's Hill. President Roosevelt persuaded the owner, Merle Thorpe, to rent the house to Princess Martha. The family enjoyed the property, which led the President to prevail on "Thorpe to sell the entire Pook’s Hill estate to the Norwegians."
The Norwegian government purchased the 140-acre property in August 1941.
They remained at Pook's Hill until after Norway's liberation in 1945, and the family returned home. The estate was put up for sale, and the "new owners tore down the house and subdivided the estate almost immediately."
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