Birth of Maud Angelica Behn: April 29, 2003

[Alexandria]

That's a very proud looking daddy!

I just realized that their daughter's names form their initials: Maud (Martha Louise) and Angelica (Ari) ... Am I going overboard? Must be all those English classes where I had to (over) analyze even the most minute details in books!

[Jacqueline]

Norway gets first royal baby in 30 years

OSLO (Reuters) - Norway's Princess Martha has given birth to a daughter, the Nordic nation's first royal baby in 30
years and the first female member of the family who will escape royal sex discrimination.

Martha's husband Ari Behn was at her bedside when the baby was born at 8:10 p.m. (7.10 p.m. British time) at
Norway's main hospital in Oslo. "This is a happy day for all the Norwegian people," Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik
told TV2 news.

The baby will be called Maud Angelica and is third in line to the throne behind Crown Prince Haakon and Martha. Maud
was the name of Norway's first queen after independence from Sweden in 1905 and was a granddaughter of Britain's
Queen Victoria.

She is the first royal baby born in Norway since Haakon in July 1973, though the royal family already has one child --
Crown Princess Mette-Marit has a son, Marius, from a former relationship before she married Haakon in 2001.

King Harald has ruled that Martha's daughter will not have a royal title. She will move down the line of succession if
Haakon and Mette-Marit have children -- six-year-old Marius has no claim to the throne and no title.

Under the old law of succession, Crown Prince Haakon, 29, is heir to the throne, leapfrogging his sister Martha, 31,
because he is a man.

Maud Angelica is the first royal baby born since the law was changed in 1990 to let the eldest child inherit the throne,
regardless of sex, and will stay ahead of any younger brothers in the line of succession.

Pollsters say the birth may improve the monarchy's popularity. Some critics say Norway's young royals, who are
sometimes seen chatting with friends over a drink at trendy bars, have become too close to ordinary people.

Traditionally strong support for the royals among Norway's 4.5 million population dipped in the past couple of years on
misgivings about Haakon and Martha's choices of spouse.

Article From: swissinfo

Congratulations to the proud parents!!!

[Julia]

Wonderful news!

[Mandy]

1. April 30, 2003: Ari Behn's Mother, Marianne Solberg Behn. (Dagbladet.no)
2. April 30, 2003: Martha received a visit from the proud grandparents. (VGnett)
3. Picture of true happiness. (VGnett)
4. April 30, 2003: Happy Queen Sonja. (Dagbladet.no)
5. King Harald & Queen Sonja April 29, 2003. (VG)
6. King Harald & Queen Sonja April 29, 2003. (Scanpix)
7. APRIL 30, 2003: Marianne Solberg Behn & Wenche Rasche. (Scanpix)
8. APRIL 30, 2003: Angja Bjorshol & Espen Bjorshol, Ari's sister & brother with Marianne Solberg Behn, Ari's mother. (Scanpix)

[Fireweaver]

Thank you for the pics Mandy. Her Majesty looks extremely pleased :)

[Mandy]

Queen Sonja moved to tears

Norway's Queen Sonja could not hold back her tears as she made her first comments after becoming a grandmother for the first time. "I am very grateful that everything has gone well," she said after Princess Martha Louise's daughter Maud Angelica was born Tuesday evening.

The queen had just arrived at Oslo's Gardermoen Airport from a solo trip to London, and told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) that she had learned the good news while on the plane.

The queen and King Harald were to meet their granddaughter and her proud parents on Wednesday morning.

The queen told NRK that she thought the choice of name - Maud Angelica - was "just beautiful", and the immediate reaction in Norway also seemed to be one of approval.

The choice of the English Maud was no surprise with its historical connections - the first queen of the royal house was named Maud - but Angelica was unexpected.

Language researcher Ivar Utne of Bergen University said that Maud had never caught on as a name in Norway, but that it had been growing in popularity in Sweden.

Utne's colleague Jorgen Ouren of Statistics Norway is confident that Angelica will prove to be more popular when future Norwegians naming their daughters.

Princess Martha Louise's birth in 1971 didn't spark a wave of Marthas but it did seem to contribute to a rise in Louise as a choice for baby girls.


(Aftenposten Interactive/NTB)

[Alexandria]

From Polfoto: A picture of the "glad" uncle, Haakon in London upon hearing about Maud Angelica's birth.

[Sulan]

Wonderful news! :flower:
.... but I want to see the baby.... I have seen the other ones before :P

But, I understand Märta Louise and Ari if they dont want the press to come yet... When we got our daughter, we just wanted to sit there watching her, all by ourselves... at least the first two days.../ Sulan

[Alexandria]

That's a very sweet sentiment from Ari. I would want to stare at my baby all the time, too. Imagine having to share her with the rest of the world. I suppose the public will have all of Maud's life to look at her, but these couple of days are just for mom, dad, grandparents and aunts and uncles.

[sara1981]

i understand its more important for Royal family gets Press of pictures for magazines not for stranges.

its so happy for King and Queen of Norway become grandmother and grandfather for firstime the newly parents not wants gets pictures after birth maybe wait bring baby outside of the hospital for days then show the baby then annoucement in the British magazine or Foreign magazine.

Sara Boyce

[Mandy]

Christening fuss for royal daughter

Princess Martha Louise and husband Ari Behn claim they want as little fuss as possible around daughter Maud Angelica, but their choice of her christening date is weighty with tradition, and cries out for special attention.

Maud Angelica, third in line to the throne despite not having her own title or flag day, will be christened on July 2, the hundredth anniversary of the birth of great grandfather King Olav.

The choice of date is seen by experts as a clear signal that Maud Angelica carries the royal bloodline on, despite the more private profile borne by her parents.

Maud Angelica will be christened in the gown sewn by Princess Ingeborg for her first grandchild, Prince Georg of Denmark, in 1920. Since then the gown has been used at baptism ceremonies for both the Danish and Norwegian royal families.

Sociologist Hedvig Skonhoft Johannesen believes it is difficult for the public to take the claims that Martha and Ari want a quiet, private life seriously.

"A baptism in the palace chapel on the centenary of King Olav's birth shows that they want royal pomp and splendor for the christening," Johannesen said.

Johannesen believes that Martha and Ari have a difficult time trying to balance the demands of fame and their desire to live a relatively independent life together.


Aftenposten's Norwegian reporters
Liv Berit Tessem and Wenche Fuglehaug
Aftenposten English Web Desk
Jonathan Tisdall

[Mandy]

ARTICLE FROM "THE NORWAY POST"

7. Mai 2003

Maud Angelica to be baptized on July 2nd

Maud Angelica, the newly born daughter of Princess Martha Louise and Ari Behn, will be baptized the Chapel of the Royal Palace on July 2nd.

This date is the 100th anniversary for the birth of her great grandfather, the late King Olav V of Norway.

This has been announced by the Royal Palace. Oslo Bishop Gunnar Staalsett will conduct the service, and he will also perform the baptizm.

Maud Angelica will wear the baptizmal dress which was made by her great-great grandmother, Princess Ingeborg, in 1920.

All of King Olav's children, grandchildren and great grandchildren have been baptized wearing the same dress.

Princess Martha Louise and Crown Prince Haakon have both been baptized at the Palace Chapel.

(NRK)

Rolleiv Solholm

[Alexandria]

I've been reading a lot of posts on this subject at the Scandinavian Message board. I am sitting on the fence of this issue myself. My thoughts on this are as follows:

a) I don't think that Martha Louise and Ari are trying to claim more attention for their daughter or themselves by choosing a significant date for Maud's baptism. The way I perceive it is that it is their way of acknowledging Maud's very special familial ties. In "regular" families a bride might choose to get married on the same day her own parents got married on. This doesn't mean that the bride is trying to steal the thunder away from her parent's anniversary, just that she is honouring it.

B) I think that too big a deal is being made out of the fact that Maud will don the baptismal dress her great-great grandmother sewed. That's just a family tradition that is being carried on. My own children and my brother's children will wear the baptismal gowns my brother and I wore because it has family history attached to it.

c) As much as Martha Louise, Ari and Maud will try to live more private lives, I don't think they will be able to achieve that completely or easily. The press attention granted to Maud's birth will attest to that. Photographers and journalists were camped outside the hospital the minute they found out Martha Louise had gone into labour and people tried to steal a look of little Maud before her parents officially released photos of her. Regardless of the fact that her mother has given up her royal status and that Maud will bear no title herself, Maud is still a member of the royal family. She is still the King and Queen's granddaughter and the niece of the future King of Norway. Her position is much like the Casiraghi children in Monaco or Princess Anne's kids in Great Britain. Andreas, Charlotte, Pierre, Zara and Peter Phillips do not bear titles themselves, but their grandfather/grandmother is the head of Monaco/Great Britain and their mothers are born princesses.

[Mandy]

I agree with you Alexandria that Martha and Ari are not trying to claim more attention for their daughter or for themselves by choosing a significant date for Maud's baptism.
Martha was 19 years old when her grandfather King Olav died. That makes her old enough to remember him well. Maybe she remembers him quite fondly and wishes to celebrate his anniversary in a special way. What better way is there to honour one's memory than to have one's child baptised on his or her anniversary date? Just in passing, Martha received her first tiara from her grandfather, King Olav on her 18th birthday.
As for "traditions" we all follow our own traditions. And, so should Maud Angelica's parents if they so wish. Besides, should Maud Angelica accede to the throne some day, Norway would prabably look back on this with satisfaction.