State Visit from Bulgaria 29.-31. August 2006

[Larzen]

State visit from Bulgaria August 2006

On invitation of HM King Harald V President Georgi Parvanov and Mrs Zorka Petrova Parvanova will pay a state visit to Norway 29.-31. August 2006. The State Visit will start in Oslo in the afternoon of the 29th and end in Stavanger on the 31st.

In additon to the ceremonial program, President Paranov will give a speech at the Nobel Institute. The President will also participate in a business lunch with Norwegian and Bulgarian business people.

In Stavanger the visit includes a visit to the Military divison at Jåttå and a trip on Lysefjrden onboard one of the coast guards ships. President Parvanov and Mrs Parvanova will return to Bulgaria in the afternoon on the 31st of August

http://www.kongehuset.no/dt_kongehus...gid=5&aid=5910

Norway usually has two incomming and two outgoing statevisits pr year, in May there was an incomming visit from Spain, and King Harald and Queen Sonja has already visited Switzerland, later in fall they will also visit Ireland.

This spring President Parvanov was on a state visit to Denmark, the thread for that visit is here.

Local paper in Stavanger http://www.aftenbladet.no/
home page for the city in english http://www.stavanger.kommune.no/publ...=English&sub=1

[Smilla]

Why doesn't Mette-Marit take over some of Sonja's duties? Would it be a sign of lacking respect to send a crown princess instead of the queen? (like having a minister's wife give a guided tour to a president's wife?)

[Larzen]

Beeing the hostess of statevisits is the Queens most important official duty, so as long as she is healthy and everything is normal it is she who accompanies the consort of the head of state. The invitations are from King Harald and Queen Sonja, not from the royal family.

There are some exceptions
The Japanese statevisitvisit in 2005 where King Harald was sick, Sonja and Haakon had other duties the last day so Mette-Marit was the hostess of the last day in Trondheim

The Portugese statevisit in 2004 where the King was out with Cancer and Mette-Marit had just had a baby so Märtha Louise had a bigger role than normal, among other she went with her mother to Ålesund along with the President and first lady.

The statevisit from Finland in 2000 when Princess Märtha Louise took over for the Queen who I think was on sickleave after a surgery in her feet. Atleast she did not take part in the visit at all.

The agenda for the events involving the royal family translated from Kongehuset
http://www.kongehuset.no/dt_kongehus...d=5&gid=15&aid=

29.8
14.30 The Crown Prince meets the President and First Lady at the Airport, Gardermoen, Oslo
15.30 The King, Queen and Crown Princess meets the President and First Lady at the Palace Square
16.30 The King and The President visit the Nobel Center
16.40 The Queen and First Lady visit the Munch Museum
20.00 Gala Dinner

30.8
10.00 The President lays a wreath at the National Monument, Akershus
10.25 The Queen and First Lady visit The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, Bygdøy
13.00 The Goverment gives a lunch Akershus
20.00 The King, Queen, Crown Prince and Crown Princess is present for the return arrangement, Grand Hotel, Oslo

31.8
10.45 the King and Queen meets the President and First Lady at the airport, Sola, in Stavanger
11.05 The King and President visit Jåttå
11.20 The Queen and First Lady visit Ullandhaug
12.45 Trip on Lysefjorden onboard KV Ålesund
15.25 Walk trough Gamle Stavanger
16.35 The King and Queen takes farewell to the President and First Lady at the airport

BTW I wonder just how many visits the Queen has made to the Munch museum and The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History since she got married, certainly there are other sights worth showing of as well (and Im not talking about the Viking museum and Vigelands parken which are the other safe bets) Not very interesting program for this visit IMO

[Madame Royale]

Originally Posted by Smilla

Why doesn't Mette-Marit take over some of Sonja's duties? Would it be a sign of lacking respect to send a crown princess instead of the queen? (like having a minister's wife give a guided tour to a president's wife?)

I guess because the Queen is still able and willing. There's no need for the Crown Princess to take on any of Sonja's engagements.

[GrandDuchess]

Originally Posted by Larzen

BTW I wonder just how many visits the Queen has made to the Munch museum and The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History since she got married

That's a good comment Larzen, one should really place an enquiry to the Royal Court about that - it would certainly give them something to think about!

[Larzen]

Originally Posted by Her_Majesty

Are there any pictures yet?

There are, but not from a source that can be posted here under the new rules. Sonja is in white and black, Mette-Marit in a navy blue suit with what looks like the samme (silly IMO) hair rose from the spanish statevisit and her hair loose. Astrid is also inside the palace in a black and white outfit. The hat of the First Lady blew of outside

I dont expect so much attention to this state visit as it was for the spanish one in the press.

Merged posts: first pictures from welcomming ceremony
Aftenposten calls their article Gone with the wind at the Palace square
http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/ko...cle1438742.ece
Pictures by Scanpix/Aftenposten

This time the children/spectators were allowed close to the palace to meet the royals and President, which they were not allowed to when the Spanish royals were there for security reasons, and they stopped to talk to them before going inisde.


By Pål Weaver from welcomming ceremony and gifts exchange


More pictures from ANB/SISTE. The pictures can be enlarged
http://www.siste.no/bildeserier/article2262851.ece

[Her_Majesty]

Originally Posted by Larzen

There are, but not from a source that can be posted here under the new rules Sonja is in white and black, Mette-Marit in a navy blue suit with what looks like the samme (silly IMO) hair rose from the spanish statevisit and her hair loose. Astrid is also inside the palace in a black and white outfit. The hat of the First Lady blew of outside

Thanks. I hope there'll soon be first pictures (that are allowed to post here). I hope Mette-Marit will wear a new Tiara at the galadinner tonight.

Btw, it's the King's and Queen's wedding Anniversary today.

[unlikeanygirl]

Thanks Larzen.

MM looks lovely. I think she was smart not to wear a hat. Looks like a windy day. The hair piece takes some getting used to. A little smaller would have been better but still, she looks good.

[BeatrixFan]

Mette-Marit looks stunning and Queen Sonja's white and black number is very zhoosh. Full marks gals. Feel a bit sorry for the Bulgarian Mrs - losing your hat only for it to be picked up the future King of Norway must be embarassing but a good dinner party story.

[AnaM]

I love the Crown Princess's suit but I wish she could have picked something with color. At least the shoes and hat could have been a different color.

[Valhalla]

Many great pictures from the state visit at Nettavisen.

http://www.side2.no/kjendis/article723505.ece

[norwegianne]

I liked the heart-shaped pockets of Princess Astrid's suit.

[Her_Majesty]

I quite like the dresses of Mette-Marit and Sonja they wore during the welcome-ceremony. I like the Queen's hat. Furthermore I don't like MM's head-piece, but her shoes are stunning!

I wonder how often Sonja wore this blue Gala-dress.Well, I like it, cause it's beautiful, but I cannot see it anymore on her. Btw, I love the tiara.

I like MM's dress. The best one she wore since a long time. Sadly, it doesn't seem she has a new tiara.

A picture of Queen Sonja attending the galadinner:

Polfoto

[mims111]

I like MM's outfit too and the best for me is her headpiece (Im mad on pieces like this) But it seems she is in love with black and dark colour. Does she simply like it or they have problems in family?

[Smilla]

Originally Posted by mims111

I like MM's outfit too and the best for me is her headpiece (Im mad on pieces like this) But it seems she is in love with black and dark colour. Does she simply like it or they have problems in family?

Her dad is very ill, but she generally has a thing for dark colours,no matter how joyful the occasion.

[Larzen]

Well atleast she choose a light dress for the gala although the jacket seems a little bulky over this quite beautiful recycled dress, I want her necklace for me Its the first time she wears it in public for 5 years. The King and First lady looks like they would rather be somewhere else
scanpix-Vg-ANB

Picture special from VG
http://www1.vg.no/bildespesial/show/spesial.php?id=3458

[norwegianne]

Originally Posted by Larzen

The King and First lady looks like they would rather be somewhere else

The King looks like that a lot of the time...

I look forward to the information when they go to Rogaland. Although, I wish they'd chosen some more interesting places to visit. Okay, the NATO stuff on Jåtten might be fairly cool, but you have to have pretty nice weather if a touristy visit to Gamle Stavanger (a bunch of old wooden houses that were preserved in the 60s and look very nice on postcards... although the cannery museum is quite neat) is going to be anything but wet. Stavanger is not famed for its nice weather. (My sister's boyfriend looked at some pictures she'd taken from the city, and thought she'd photoshopped the sun in.)

Other than that - the Iron Age buildings at Ullandhaug (I suppose that's the thing they'll visit there, as the university and the radio/television transmitter aren't things you usually show tourists... well, unless you're in my family ) are actually kind of neat. It'll be interesting to see whether the sheep are still walking around the buildings, as they tend to do in summer, or if they've been sent back to the farm for the winter.

A trip in Lysefjorden is pretty nice - although they should have walked up to Prekestolen on foot, and sat on the plateau and looked out at the view, and dangled their royal and presidential legs out from it. http://www.speiding.no/grafikk/arran...ekestolen2.png

[kwanfan]

I think Mette-Marit looked really great today! Many of the royal ladies seem to have recycled a dress but made it seem different by adding a new piece or changing the style of the dress a bit. Mary with her engagement gown, Letizia with her prewedding dinner dress, and now Mette-Marit with this gown.

[RachelD]

Greetings!

I'm just like Mette-Marit in the sense that I love to wear dark colors. Or better said, I like to wear jewel tones (red, green, blue, purple, any color but in dark tones). But Mette-Marit just wears DARK colors. I wish she would combine some light colors with her dark outfits... give them a little va-va-voom. The cut of her clothes is very classic, I like it!

[Eliza]

I think CP MM looks just perfect! She's very pois and confident.
Love her evening gown but wish there was a better picture. It looks like an overall pink gown with a white wrap? Just lovely