Swedish Official Visit to Norway: June 10-11, 2005

[Lena]

Pictures from Aftenposten

 

[A.C.C.]

I think all the Royal women look excellent. Silvia looks amazing as usual. I love that gown, it looks so royal. Sonja and Mette-Marit look great. I wish there was a better picture of Martha Louise's dress, and Victoria looks great. I'm not a big fan of Victoria's gala wear, but this dress is perfect on her.

 

[Lena]

I don´t (and can´t) say this often...but this time I really have to say, that crown princess Victoria was the queen of style this evening.
As it was stated before the cut of MM´s dress isn´t the best (and this has nothing to do with her pregnancy). Märtha´s dress is ok, but a little bit too much "barbie doll". Queen Sonja´s dress would be better, when it wouldn´t have those wrinkles in the upper part. Queen Silvia´s dress reminds me of a Christmas tree ball we have in our collection at home.
It´s a nice gesture of Ragnhild and Astrid to wear blue and yellow, but I can´t help to think, that Ragnhild looks like a big yellow canary in her dress.
So only Victoria is left...I think I´ve said before, that the designer could have found an other solution for the fabric of the "skirt part" of the dress...but the dress is still lovely and the colour looks amazing on her. There´s also nothing bad to say about the hairdo and the tiara. Gosh, I´m satisfied with Victoria´s style-what a strange feeling

 

[Dennism]

I don´t (and can´t) say this often...but this time I really have to say, that crown princess Victoria was the queen of style this evening.
As it was stated before the cut of MM´s dress isn´t the best (and this has nothing to do with her pregnancy). Märtha´s dress is ok, but a little bit too much "barbie doll". Queen Sonja´s dress would be better, when it wouldn´t have those wrinkles in the upper part. Queen Silvia´s dress reminds me of a Christmas tree ball we have in our collection at home.
It´s a nice gesture of Ragnhild and Astrid to wear blue and yellow, but I can´t help to think, that Ragnhild looks like a big yellow canary in her dress.
So only Victoria is left...I think I´ve said before, that the designer could have found an other solution for the fabric of the "skirt part" of the dress...but the dress is still lovely and the colour looks amazing on her. There´s also nothing bad to say about the hairdo and the tiara. Gosh, I´m satisfied with Victoria´s style-what a strange feeling

O, Christmas tree ball. I like it. O, well. I am prepared to stand alone like my beloved cheese.

"Gosh, I´m satisfied with Victoria´s style"

Has hell frozen over? And it seems she won based on others doing not so well, at least in your view.

 

[Larzen]

Just as I expected alot (too many) recycled gown and no jewellery suprises. Silvia and Sonja need to share the welth around, especially in Sweden there is plenty to pick from

I really like Silvias gown, I dont see what is supposed to be tacky about it, there is no clevage and not much of slit either. Stunning hair as alwys, noone does hair better than the Bernadottes

I absolutly do not like Sonjas gown, she has modified the gown (by Kent Fredin) she wore for Haakons preweddingdinner and it looks like she is wearing a casual top with some roses randomly stuck to it, and dont get me started on her hair

Whilst Victorias gown is not my favourite she looks good, love the hair, she really need a handsom man at her side, they make a good looking couple.

Mette-Marit has now worn recycled gowns for the last two gala dinners (by Ove Harder Finseth) and both of them need some clevage and arms showing, no need to go dressed like she is heading for the vatican.

Märtha looks sweet in her fuchsia gown, but I wish Sonja would lend her a bigger tiara. I really like the picture of Ferner, Lorentzen and Behn together, much better than Ari by himself with an aide de camp. Nice gesture of Ragnhild and Astrid to dress in the colours of the swedish flag

 

[Lena]

O, Christmas tree ball. I like it. O, well. I am prepared to stand alone like my beloved cheese.



Has hell frozen over? And it seems she won based on others doing not so well, at least in your view.

hehehehe...yes, the devil jumped from Lena´s shoulder and had to go to re-heat his home
Well, I would say here your judgement is wrong, though I can see, that it sounded as if Victoria was just the "lesser evil". But that´s not true. Even in a competition with MM´s, Silvia´s, Sonja´s and even Madeleine´s best dresses (+styles) she would have gotten plus-points for this style from me.

 

[Dennism]

Well, I would say here your judgement is wrong, though I can see, that it sounded as if Victoria was just the "lesser evil". But that´s not true. Even in a competition with MM´s, Silvia´s, Sonja´s and even Madeleine´s best dresses (+styles) she would gotten plus-points from me.

O, my. She has impressed then. Okay. I misread you then. I thought she looked great and better than the others nonetheless. For me, it wasn´t a matter that the others looked worse than Victoria. For me, that is one of her better gowns.

 

[Dennism]

I really like Silvias gown, I dont see what is supposed to be tacky about it, there is no clevage and not much of slit either. Stunning hair as alwys, noone does hair better than the Bernadottes

Whilst Victorias gown is not my favourite she looks good, love the hair, she really need a handsom man at her side, they make a good looking couple.

Yes, well said about Silvia. Very astute of you. You have good taste. ha ha ha. Well, some on this board would say that Haakon certainly would qualify as a "handsome man".

 

[Genevieve]

i didnt really like silvias dressed... too tacky in my opinion. victoria's was lovely though. really feminine and that colour suits her a lot.

mette marit is repeating dress (the on used in copenhage) and sonja seems to me that is repeating as well.

All the ladies, except for Martha Louise, even Princess Astrid and Raghnhild are recylcing evening gowns they've worn before, including Victoria's "lovely" gown. So why pick on Mette-Marit and Sonja for repeating their dresses only?

What about the Queen of Sweden's dress is "tacky" in your opinon? There are no birds or palm trees on it. The dress seems to be made of a very nice material and the beadwork is spectacular.

 

[Lena]

Yes, well said about Silvia. Very astute of you. You have good taste. ha ha ha. Well, some on this board would say that Haakon certainly would qualify as a "handsome man".

I think he does. At least with the beard. There aren´t many men out there, who look good with a beard, but he clearly does (so does e.g Viggo Mortensen).
When I´ve seen the pic of him and Victoria I felt at once something like melancholy. How great it would be, when Victoria would have such a hubby on her side.
Well, of course it can´t/couldn´t be Haakon. Especially not when one looks at pics like this http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=157581 and remembers the lovely product (in form of a cute toddler in pink baby wear) of this marriage.
So the problem is on Victoria´s side...or on Sonja´s and Harald´s...wasn´t it possible to get an identical twin of Haakon

 

[Dennism]

and remembers the lovely product (in form of a cute toddler in pink baby wear) of this marriage.

Lovely and destructive product. Remember the poor cradle.

 

[carlota]

All the ladies, except for Martha Louise, even Princess Astrid and Raghnhild are recylcing evening gowns they've worn before, including Victoria's "lovely" gown. So why pick on Mette-Marit and Sonja for repeating their dresses only?

What about the Queen of Sweden's dress is "tacky" in your opinon? There are no birds or palm trees on it. The dress seems to be made of a very nice material and the beadwork is spectacular.

because i have not seen martha's, astrid's or ragnhild's until now and i just said my opinions about the ones i saw. that's all. i liked victoria's dress since the first time i saw it and saying a dress is repeating is not picking on it.

about your second question, i just find more elegant a dress in a plain colour (like the one mette marit or martha louise are wearing today) rather than a dress like the one silvia's wearing.

 

[Dennism]

What about the Queen of Sweden's dress is "tacky" in your opinon? There are no birds or palm trees on it. The dress seems to be made of a very nice material and the beadwork is spectacular.

ha ha ha. Palm trees. That would be funny and bad. Almost as bad as palm trees or other tropical designs on large blouses that I´ve seen before on a certain Crown Princess.

 

[norwegianne]

Nice gesture from the half-Swedish Astrid and Ragnhild to dress in those colours.

I agree that a bit more jewelry wouldn't have gone amiss. Celebrating just isn't the same without it, you know

 

[KikkiB]

Photos from the galla

No.1: Group photo of the Royal Families of Sweden and Norway (minus a few members )
No.2: Queen Sonja and King Carl Gustav
No.3: King Harald and Queen Silvia
No.4: King Harald gives a speech

from: www.nrk.no

 

[KikkiB]

More photos from the galla

From: www.nettavisen.no and www.aftenposten.no

Photo no. 3 is the misters Behn, Lorentzen and Ferner i.e. the guys who married a Norwegian princess if someone wondered...

 

[Genevieve]

Nice gesture from the half-Swedish Astrid and Ragnhild to dress in those colours.

Had not thought about Astrid and Ragnhild's choice of dress colours as a homage to Sweden's national colours. What a thoughtful and kind gesture on the part of the King's sisters.

 

[Danielle]

Where do I begin?

• Victoria looked really pretty, but I wasn’t too fond of the suit she wore earlier. I think there should be a law stating that royals can only wear the same outfit only after a certain period of time has past. I'm sick and tired of seeing Victoria wearing the same thing all the time. I know that it's unrealistic to get a new outfit every day, but could she have worn a dress she wore last year a least?
• Silvia looked beautiful as always
• I liked what Mette Marit wore. I think the dress looks very pretty on here
• It was really nice to see Märtha-Louise. While I don't necessarily like the dress a great deal, she looks very good, and especially after only recently having a baby.
• The sweetest photo
• Some outfits are absolutely awful and I don't want to mention. I shall keep my "comments" to myself (ha ha ha, Lena. I agree about Ragnhild's 'canary outfit')

Thank you everyone for the photos

 

[Danielle]

Had not thought about Astrid and Ragnhild's choice of dress colours as a homage to Sweden's national colours. What a thoughtful and kind gesture on the part of the King's sisters.

It is a nice gesture. I agree. But I think they could have picked different outfits. It just reminds of me what Märtha-Louise wore to CP Letizia and CP Felipe's wedding last year.

 

[Larzen]

HM King Haralds speech at the galadinner

H.M. KONGENS TALE VED GALLAMIDDAG PÅ SLOTTET 10. MAI 2005
Deres Majesteter,
Deres Kongelige Høyhet,
Det er med stor forventning og glede vi i Kongefamilien har sett frem til dette besøket.

Året 1905 representerer et tidsskille både i Sveriges og Norges historie. Dette er derfor et spesielt besøk for oss alle.

I Norge både markeres og feires året. Vi markerer at det er hundre år siden unionsoppløsningen. Vi feirer at dette skjedde på fredelig vis, og at det er samarbeid og fredelig sameksistens som siden den tid har preget våre forbindelser.

Slik kan unionsoppløsningen også tjene som et eksempel for vår tid. Veien fra konflikt og krig til fred og velstand går gjennom forhandling og kompromiss.


Tar vi et historisk tilbakeblikk på de 91 årene som gikk fra 1814 til 1905, er det ingen tvil om at unionstiden med Sverige var meget viktig for Norges videre utvikling og vekst.


Det var oppgangstider og vekst for norsk skipsfart. Det ble gjort store og viktige svenske investeringer i norsk bergverk og industri. Sverige og Norge vokste sammen - gjennom arbeidsinnvandring, familiebånd, forretningsvirksomhet og praktisk samarbeid over grensen. Vi beholdt imidlertid vår egen grunnlov, vår egen nasjonalforsamling, regjering, hær og statsforvaltning.


Unionen med Sverige var også en tid for språklig og nasjonal bevisstgjøring. Det var for oss en kulturell oppblomstring i litteratur og malerkunst uten sidestykke i vår historie.


Historikere har hevdet at dersom konflikten mellom Sverige og Norge i 1905 ikke hadde fått det utløp den fikk, ville kanskje Sverige og Norge ha sakket akterut i Europas modernisering. For mye tid og krefter ville ha blitt brukt på politisk strid.


I de 100 år som er gått fra 1905, har vi videreutviklet fellesskapet og vennskapet. Sverige og Norge er blitt verdens beste naboer! Limet i dette enestående nære forholdet er den omfattende og dyptgående kontakten over en av Europas lengste og eldste grenser. Det er en grense som binder oss sammen – ikke en grense som stenger.

Det svensk-norske samarbeidet er ikke begrenset til visse sektorer. Det er ikke å ta for hardt i å si at det langt på vei er altomfattende. Jeg for min del kan faktisk ikke se for meg noe område hvor vi ikke har kontakt.

På sportsarenaen har det variert litt når det gjelder hvem som har vært ledende, både innen vinteridrett og sommeridrett. Det er en stor glede å kunne konstatere at vi nå til og med har greid å slå Sverige på fotballbanen! Det er mange år siden sist. Det har ikke skjedd på svensk jord siden 1951.

Også internasjonalt er samarbeidet mellom våre to land godt forankret. Riktignok på litt ulikt vis og med forskjellig formell tilknytning – men allikevel med svært mange felles møteplasser. Og fremfor alt med stor grad av sammenfallende synspunkter og holdninger.


Selvsagt kan vi også ha ulike oppfatninger og målsetninger. Vi skal ikke feie under teppet at det kan oppstå uenighet mellom oss, i nordisk sammenheng, men også regionalt og globalt. Men uenighet er naturlig i alle familier. Det som er viktig er at vi alltid forsøker å løse problemene, - ikke gjøre dem større enn det de er. Og alltid gjennom dialog.


Deres Majesteter,
Fra et norsk ståsted ligger tre hovedmålsettinger til grunn for Hundreårsmarkeringen.


Vi ønsker å se på unionstiden med nye og friske øyne. Hvilken betydning hadde unionen for begge land? Hva skjedde i 1905? Det pågår spennende historisk forskning som forsøker å kartlegge dette.


Et annet interessant spørsmål er hvilken betydning det har hatt både for Sverige og Norge at unionsoppløsningen skjedde på fredelig vis. Fredsdimensjonen som senere alltid har preget våre lands politikk, ble på mange måter innført i svensk og norsk utenrikspolitikk i 1905. Det er en tradisjon som begge land kan være stolte av, og som både Sverige og Norge i så mange ulike sammenhenger har videreført, utviklet og styrket.


Hundreårsmarkeringen skal dessuten bidra til å bringe økt kunnskap om våre to land til begge folk. Det skjer mye nyskapende og spennende både i Sverige og Norge!


Selv om det svensk-norske samarbeidet i dag er tettere enn noen gang, er det alltid rom for videreutvikling og fordypning. Det gjelder ikke minst samarbeidet mellom regioner, fylker og kommuner. Et godt eksempel er samarbeidet mellom Gøteborg- og Oslo-regionene som vil kunne få økt betydning i årene som kommer.


Deres Majesteter,
Ingenting er vel et bedre symbol på den nære kontakten mellom oss enn den nye broforbindelsen over Svinesund som vi tidligere i dag hadde gleden av å åpne sammen. Den nye broen er et bilde på den utstrakte hånd mellom begge nasjoner.


Hundreårsmarkeringen gir oss mulighet til sammen å løfte frem de svensk-norske forbindelser i hele sin bredde. Slik legger vi også grunnlaget for et enda nærmere og tettere samarbeid i årene som kommer.

Jeg er helt sikker på at den yngre generasjon svensker og nordmenn vil videreføre denne oppgaven på en utmerket måte. Barna er nysgjerrige og kunnskapssøkende. Mange har klare oppfatninger om historie og statsform. Deres tiTRFo til Kongen er muligens ikke like oppløftende. Unni Lindell har intervjuet barn i alderen 5 -10 år.


Tobias, 8 år, sier følgende: ”Majesteten er faren til Kongen. Han er klokere i hjernen, men skjønner mindre likevel.”


Her ligger det helt klart et forbedrings-potensiale for de neste hundre år!

La oss sammen utbringe en skål for de svensk-norske forbindelser. For hva de har betydd i fortiden, for hva de representerer i dag, og for de muligheter de gir oss i fremtiden.

The red part is really cute, The King quotes an 8 year old who was aked was "Majesty" was and the boy answered: A Majesty is the father of the King. He has a smarter brain but even so he understand less.

Then the King says to the Swedish King "that there was room for improvement the next 100 years" (it sounds better in Norwegian )

 

[Alisa]

Thanks for all the pictures everyone. Over all I liked the outfits worn by Crown Princess Victoria the most. The dress is absolutely lovely, young, and hip.and I liked her hat the most.The other royal ladies "ruined" their outfits with their choice of hats.

For the gala, the hairs and make-ups were all lovely.The dresses were another story. I liked the style of Queen Silvia's dress, however I though the patterning should have been used only in the top part of the gown, it was just too much using the patterning in the skirt of the dress as well. The style of Queen Sonja's dress looked a little too old-fashion, CPss MM was way too covered up for a young woman, ML who looked great over all looked good in pink, but the material was just too shiny. Crown Princess Victoria looked great as well, but i'm still not a fan of the iridescent skirt of the dress.

 

[HMQueenElizabethII]

I really like Princess Martha LOuise's dress,she looks really lovely and beautiful.

 

[HMQueenElizabethII]

And Princesses Ragnhild and Astrid too.They looked very great.
About the hats,they all look very nice but i think Queen Silvia really interested in the white coat,she has worn it many times this year.

 

[carlota]

does princess ragnhild usually attend this type of galas? i can't really think of her being in any others in the last years...

btw, my guess is that she will stay in norway until at least the 16th for leah's baptism... (this is a bit offtopic but does anyone know if she owns any kind of house or flat there or if she stays in the palace when she visits norway?)

 

[HMQueenElizabethII]

I just often see Princess Astrid there at the Banquets like that.But alos last year we all saw Princess Ragnhild at Princess Ingrid Alexandra's Christening too.

 

[norwegianne]

does princess ragnhild usually attend this type of galas? i can't really think of her being in any others in the last years...

btw, my guess is that she will stay in norway until at least the 16th for leah's baptism... (this is a bit offtopic but does anyone know if she owns any kind of house or flat there or if she stays in the palace when she visits norway?)

Well, I think she does, if she is in Norway at the time, and it is relevant for her to attend, in the same way Princess Astrid does. It hasn't been quite so often since King Olav died, though.

Princess Ragnhild has an apartment in Oslo, and the family has a cabin in the mountains. She used to stay at the Palace when King Olav was alive, and had her own apartment there. But, either in the years before his death, or just after (I can't recall which on the top of my head), she bought her own place. It's in a part of Oslo nicknamed the Dowagers, she said that Erling Lorentzen wasn't very fond of that name, for some reason...

 

[Lena]

Here we can see the great interaction between Mette Marit and Victoria, I´ve talked about, when Mary and Victoria met at Sofiero.
Maybe just a little moment caught of a camera, maybe it´s just because they know each other for longer, maybe MM had just a good day in her pregnancy...maybe...maybe...maybe...and/but still I can see more "friendship" between MM and Victoria than between Victoria and Mary
The two pics are from UKpress

 

[Alexandria]

Here we can see the great interaction between Mette Marit and Victoria, I´ve talked about, when Mary and Victoria met at Sofiero.
Maybe just a little moment caught of a camera, maybe it´s just because they know each other for longer, maybe MM had just a good day in her pregnancy...maybe...maybe...maybe...and/but still I can see more "friendship" between MM and Victoria than between Victoria and Mary
The two pics are from UKpress

Maybe it is a shared Scandinavian sensibility that binds these two together!

I think Mette-Marit and Victoria have also had more opportunities to spend time together these last several years. I can remember lots of interaction between the younger Norwegian royals and the Scandinavian royals -- such as skiing trips with Martha Louise and Ari, Haakon, Mette-Marit and Marius. I do not recall many (any?) such holidays (short or long) between Frederik and Mary with Victoria.

Also, there must be a close relationship between Mette-Marit and Victoria since she is also Ingrid Alexandra's godmother -- and I believe that Victoria was asked not just because she will be a Queen one day as Ingrid Alexandra will be Queen in her own right, too. But because there is a trust and bond with Ingrid Alexandra's parents and Victoria.

Also, I have a question about the orders worn at the gala dinner. The Swedish royals were wearing a Norwegian order, while it seems that the Norwegian King and Queen and Haakon were wearing a different order (in light blue) than the one Mette-Marit and Martha Louise wore (royal blue). The King's two sisters also each wore different orders. What is the difference and why the difference?

 

[Danielle]

Here we can see the great interaction between Mette Marit and Victoria, I´ve talked about, when Mary and Victoria met at Sofiero.
Maybe just a little moment caught of a camera, maybe it´s just because they know each other for longer, maybe MM had just a good day in her pregnancy...maybe...maybe...maybe...and/but still I can see more "friendship" between MM and Victoria than between Victoria and Mary
The two pics are from UKpress

Great photos Lena! I wonder what they were talking about. Maybe they were sharing cooking tips or something. I didn't notice Victoria's shoes before, but I really like them. For once she isn't wearing the other ones so I guess we can all be happy.

Also, there must be a close relationship between Mette-Marit and Victoria since she is also Ingrid Alexandra's godmother -- and I believe that Victoria was asked not just because she will be a Queen one day as Ingrid Alexandra will be Queen in her own right, too. But because there is a trust and bond with Ingrid Alexandra's parents and Victoria.

That is a very important point to note, Alexandria. No parent would bestow that privilege to anyone, so Victoria must be very close to Haakon and Mette Marit.

 

[Dennism]

That is a very important point to note, Alexandria. No parent would bestow that privilege to anyone, so Victoria must be very close to Haakon and Mette Marit.

Well said. The plethora of future female regents will have an older counterpart who will be of inmeasurable service to them. Haakon and Mette-Marit have realized this already and thus, bestowed the honor onto the shoulders of Victoria.