80th Birthday Celebrations of King Harald V and Queen Sonja


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Harald V isn't only the understanding, caring and down to earth king who fights for the weak, those who are bullied and those who are struggling with addictions etc. He is also the funny king - watch the videos in this article:
https://www.nrk.no/norge/kong-harald-fyller-80_-_-han-har-en-vidunderlig-humor-1.13374761
Translated by me:
''What I primarily think of when I meet King Harald, is the laughter, humor and twinkle in his eyes. In the beginning there was perhaps a bit stiffer, and the humor was not so visible. But it has turned out in full bloom gradually, and creates the closeness he has to those he meet''.

The quote came from Prime Minister Erna Solberg when NRK interviewed her in connection with the 25th anniversary of the king and queen.

NRK has followed the royal couple at several state visits and missions, and many highlights the King's humor as a central feature.

''He has a wonderfully humor and loves to laugh. And so we do a lot'', said Queen Margrethe of Denmark.

''He is very funny. When he is socially confident and are in a setting where it is possible, then he is the very funny and has an incredibly quick comment'', said Crown Prince Haakon.

''I've had a lot of fun with the king. To be at the Council of State at the palace is a very solemn thing, the ministers stand up, deliver the papers, sits down in a certain way and say certain things. The ministers often gets a bit stressed by that, and then the king laughs. And then we all laughs together, and then it becomes a very liberating laughter in the room'', said Jens Stoltenberg.

In other news: The king was at the front page of Dagbladet today and was praised for the person he is. This is the newspaper that has wanted a republic for decades and who went to war against the monarchy in 2016.
 
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King and Queen anniversary celebrated with sporty stamps - Norway Today
King Harald and Queen Sonja’s 80th anniversaries celebrated with stamps where the royal couple is depicted in sporting environments.

Posten has chosen to honor the two jubilant each with its own stamp, and both are given out on the king’s birthday on February 21th.
– Many stamps with the royal couple shows them in official contexts.
This time we have chosen to show the king and queen in more informal surroundings. It is natural to pick subjects that tells about how sporty after 80 year they are, tells stamp director Halvor Fasting.

While sailing veteran, King Harald is photographed in the sailboat “Framl XVII” under NM Express in Bunnefjorden in 2014, the outdoor enthusiast Queen Sonja is depicted during hiking in Flakstad in Lofoten in July 2013.

King and Queen was the first time on stamps as royal couple on the king’s birthday in 1991. King Harald together have been depicted on stamps 22 times, while Queen Sonja has graced six times.
The value of the stamps is respectively 23 and 36 NOK. Both are designed for use on standard letter from 50 to 100 grams and 100 to 350 grams.
Pictures of the stamps:
https://i1.wp.com/norwaytoday.info/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/tbb38537.jpg?resize=777,437

http://www.folkebladet.no/nyheter/a...lvq/ALTERNATES/w980-default/high_tbb38539.jpg
 
:previous: Those are some very nice stamps. Happy and sporty couple. thank you for all the information :flowers:
 
Post 1:

Past celebrations of the King/Queen and their predecessors:

King Haakon VII celebrated his 80th birthday on August 3th 1952 with balcony appearances at the Royal Palace and Oslo City Hall, driving in open cars through the crowds and a white tie gala dinner at Akershus Castle.

King Olav V celebrated his 60th, 70th, 80th, 85th birthdays and his Silver Jubilee with foreign guests, white tie gala performances, white tie gala dinners at Akershus Castle, balcony appearances and driving in open cars through the crowds.

King Harald V and Queen Sonja's Silver Wedding Anniversary in 1993:

August 28: They gave a white tie gala dinner and dance at the Royal Palace.

August 29: They were driven in an open car to and from a service in Oslo Cathedral before they appeared on the balcony and attended a white tie gala dinner at Akershus Castle.

All the events were broadcast live on NRK, and among the many foreign guests who attended were Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik, King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia, Queen Beatrix, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Victoria, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, Prince Constantijn, Prince Johan Friso, Prince Joachim, Princess Anne and Prince Edward.

The next day: The King and Queen and their guests went on a 3 days cruise (the Silver Cruise) in Nordfjord and Sunnmøre in the beautiful north-western part of Norway. And the royal guests had memories for life.

Pictures: Søk | Scanpix


60th Birthdays of King Harald V and Queen Sonja in 1997:

February 21: The King broke with tradition and did not celebrate, but he appeared in public when he attended the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. He was given a cake and blew out the candles live on TV.

He and the Queen choose instead to celebrate in June with a joint celebration in Trondheim:

June 20: They appeared on the balcony and gave a black tie gala dinner at Stiftsgården.

June 21: They attended a service at Nidaros Cathedral and in the evening they attended a white tie gala performance at Olavshallen and a white tie gala dinner at Erkebispegården.

All the events were broadcast live on NRK, and among the many foreign guests who attended were Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik, King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia, King Albert and Queen Pola, Prince Charles, Crown Princess Victoria, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Prince Felipe.

The next day: The King and Queen and their guests went on a cruise (the Arctic 60th cruise) in Nordland. And the royal guests had memories for life.

Pictures: Søk | Scanpix

70th Birthday of King Harald V in 2007: (The biggest royal birthday celebration we've had in Norway)

February 21: The King and the royal family attended a service at Trefoldighetskirken (the Trinity Church), he unveiled a statue of his mother (Crown Princess Märtha) in the Palace Park and attended a black tie gala dinner with entertainment at Akershus Castle (given by the government) in the evening.

NRK1 (Norway's largest TV channel) broadcasted from 11:30 to 16:30 where they sent live from all the events and looked back on (then) 16 years with King Harald as monarch. The eminent NRK commentator Geir Helljesen and royal correspondent Anne Baggethun (now both retired) was part of the broadcast. The then-Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg were among the guests in NRK's studio.

NRK1 had full coverage of the gala dinner in the Dagsrevyen (Norway's largest news program) from 19:00 to 19:30 and sent live from Akershus Castle from 19:30 to 19:55. They also broadcasted the documentary (Our King is 70) from 19:55 to 20:55. Norway's only news channel (TV 2 Nyhetskanalen) also broadcasted all the events live. It was a fantastic day, and I will never forget it. (I was only 18 at the time)

February 23-25: (attended by foreign royals)

February 23: The royals attended a black tie gala concert at Oslo City Hall in the evening. The concert was a gift to the King and Queen from all the counties and municipalities of Norway. (It was televised by TV 2)

Later in the evening, the royal guests and Heads of state attended a dinner given by the Crown Prince and Crown Princess at Skaugum.

February 24: The King and Queen invited their guests to a day at the Norwegian museum for cultural history at Bygdøy. (live on TV 2 news channel)

In the evening, the King and Queen gave a white tie gala dinner/ball at the Royal Palace.

Afterwards, the King and his family appeared on the balcony to watch a short concert with fireworks (a gift by the Armed Forces to the King) at the Palace Square. (live on NRK1/TV 2 news channel)

February 25: The King's 70th birthday ended with a concert in Sollihøgda chapel and a sleigh ride to Toresplassen, where the royal guests had lunch.

The guestlist: Royal Encyclopedia: Guestlist for HM King Harald V's 70th Birthday
In addition to the mentioned guests in this list, the Presidents of Finland and Iceland with spouses were also present.

Queen Margrethe was not present due to a operation, King Albert and Queen Paola canceled due to illness and King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia were only present at the dinner at Skaugum, but the guest list was still impressive.

Pictures: Søk | Scanpix

70th birthday of Queen Sonja in 2007:

July 4: She was celebrated in Stavanger. There is still information available on the royal website - read here: http://www.royalcourt.no/nyhet.html?tid=32475&sek=27262

NRK's coverage was (of course) much smaller and less extensive than under the king's 70th birthday, but the media in general were very interested. NRK1 (Norway's largest TV channel) sent live for an hour in the morning and broadcast a one-hour documentary on the Queen in the evening. TV 2 News Channel sent live from most of the events.

July 5-7: The celebrations continued with a cruise along the coast of Southern Norway, and concluded with a private programme at the King and Queen’s holiday retreat at Mågerø. There is still information available on the royal website - read here:
http://www.royalcourt.no/nyhet.html?tid=32543&sek=27262
http://www.royalcourt.no/nyhet.html?tid=34261&sek=27262
http://www.royalcourt.no/nyhet.html?tid=34261&sek=27262

The guestlist: Royal Encyclopedia: Guestlist for HM Queen Sonja of Norway's 70th Birthday

Pictures: Søk | Scanpix
 
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Post 2:

75th Birthdays of King Harald V and Queen Sonja in 2012:

This was not round birthdays (as we call it in Norway), and the television/media coverage was therefore much smaller and less extensive than it was under the King's 70th birthday.

February 15: The royals attended the opening of the exhibition entitled “Royal Journeys 1905-2005” in Oslo. The exhibition at the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design was the Government’s gift to King Harald and Queen Sonja in honour of their 75th birthdays. (Televised by NRK1 from 12:45 to 13:45 and live coverage on TV2 News Channel.) There is still information available on the royal website - read here: Opening of Royal Journeys Exhibition - The Royal House of Norway

May 31: The King and Queen celebrated with an appearance on the balcony to greet 3 000 pre-school children and to watch a performance by the Royal Guard Norwegian Military Drill Team. (Televised by NRK1 from 13:30 to 14:30 and live coverage on TV 2 News Channel.) The royals also attended a service at Oslo Cathedral. (It was not televised)

They attended a gala performance (given by the government) at the roof of the Opera House in the evening. (Televised by NRK1 from 19:30 to 21:15)

There is still information available on the royal website - read here: Happy Birthday! - The Royal House of Norway

July 4-5: Private Celebrations of the King and Queen with many non-royal friends at Bygdø Kongsgård, Høvikodden and Oscarshall. Queen Margrethe, Prince Henrik, King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia attended as well. (This was a totally private celebration, not television coverage at all)

25 years (Silver Jubilee) as King and Queen in 2016:

January 16: The Crown Prince Couple hosted a private dinner at Skaugum.

January 17: The royals attended a service in the Palace Chapel before they attended the Winter activities in the Palace Square.

They later appeared on the balcony befor they walked through the crowds in the freezing weather from the Palace to the Aula of the University of Oslo, where they attended a gala performance. There is still information available on the royal website - read here: Splendid jubilee celebration - The Royal House of Norway

The King and Queen hosted a private dinner at the Royal Palace in the evening.

Queen Margrethe, King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia were pressent.

NRK1 broadcasted the service in the Palace Chapel from 10:55 to 11:55, the Winter activities in the Palace Square from 12:35 to 14:00.

NRK2 sent live from the Winter activities in the Palace Square from 14:20 to 16:00.

NRK1 sent highlights from the day's celebration from 18:00 to 19:00 and broadcasted the gala performance from 20:15 to 22:00.

June 18-29: Silver jubilee tour along the coast with the Royal Yacht Norge. During the course of their trip, the King and Queen visited six cities, and public festivities were held each place in their honour. Their Majesties hosted a garden party in each city.

June 23: The King and Queen celebrated their Consecration Jubilee in Trondheim with “breakfast with the people” at the Ravnkloa fish market. Mayor of Trondheim Rita Ottervik spoke at the event which also featured music, children’s art and breakfast delicacies.

Later in the day, the royals attended a church service in Nidaros Cathedral and appeared on the balcony at Stiftsgården where they held a garden party for 600 guests. There is still information available on the royal website - read here: Revisiting the consecration ceremony - The Royal House of Norway

NRK1 (Norway's largest TV channel) sent live from 09:00 to 17:20 and broadcasted a summary of the events from 19:30 to 20:55. (It must be one of the longest television broadcasts in Norway's history)

September 1: The King and Queen hosted a garden party in the Palace Park for 1 500 guests from throughout Norway. It was here that the King held his amazing speech. There is still information available on the royal website - read here:

NRK1 broadcasted the garden party from 13:10 to 16:20.

Pictures: Søk | Scanpix

80th Birthday Celebrations of King Harald V and Queen Sonja in 2017:

Norway's amazing monarch celebrates his 80th birthday tomorrow abroad with his family.

NRK had until yesterday not planned any special broadcasts to mark the day, but now I see that they are planning a one-hour broadcast in the evening on NRK1 with guests in the studio.

If we compare this with how he celebrated and how NRK covered his 70th birthday in 2007 (se my above posts where I describe it in detail) then, this is very disappointing.

The very big celebrations in May with many foreign royal guests: (As the royal experts say)

I have very low expectations for this as well.

The only thing that has been confirmed by the royal court and the government is a dinner at the Opera House on May 10th (I doubt it will be televised) and the 80th birthday tour in June.

If there is a celebration with foreign royal guests present, then I fear it is going to be a completely private event in July or August.

In fact, the entire 80th birthday celebrations might be a non event. And if that happens, who's to blame? It must be the new Lord Chamberlain (employed since 2015) and her peoples who've already done a poor job.

I don't mean to be negative and I hope (of course) that I will be pleasantly surprised.
 
TV2 news channel broadcasts live from the palace and the streets of Oslo tomorrow, where people are given the opportunity to congratulate the King.

It used to be great interest in Norwegian royal celebrations here at TRF (the King's 70th birthday thread has 889 posts) many of these members are sadly not active here anymore. But I know that there are still many here who are interested, and it would be nice if some of you were a bit more active here.
 
TV2 news channel broadcasts live from the palace and the streets of Oslo tomorrow, where people are given the opportunity to congratulate the King.

It used to be great interest in Norwegian royal celebrations here at TRF (the King's 70th birthday thread has 889 posts) many of these members are sadly not active here anymore. But I know that there are still many here who are interested, and it would be nice if some of you were a bit more active here.

thank you ROYAL NORWAY for your hard work i really enjoy your posts :flowers: and i think people are waiting here for the celebration in may .
 
thank you ROYAL NORWAY for your hard work i really enjoy your posts :flowers: and i think people are waiting here for the celebration in may .
Thanks!

There are only a few minutes to Norway's beloved monarch turns 80. Here is a long article by Harald Stanghelle (a Republican who likes the king) I don't have time to translate the whole article now, but here is some of what he says: Forandringenes konge - Aftenposten
"We shall know that we - in spite of our differences - are one people. That Norway is one."

It was what King Harald said in his speech on the great garden party in the Queen-park, six months ago. In two short sentences, he summarized his own reign as a unifying symbol.

The party which marked 25 years of King Harald and Queen Sonja on the throne, were used to convey the monarch's hopes for the nation he was born to be the head of state for. The hope that tNorway will be developed further "on trust, fellowship and generosity."

At King Harald's 80th birthday, these words can be turned toward the king. For hardly anything reflects his own reign more than just that:

Trust. Communities. Generosity.

"Sometimes I still think so", has King Harald said when he recalls how "terrified" he was when he in 1991 become monarch. Perhaps this is the key to understand the enormous position he has among the Norwegian people after these 26 years.

Video from Dagbladet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVT5e3npKv4
 
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King Harald celebrates 80th birthday with his grandchildren on winter holiday - Norway Today
King Harald will spend his 80th birthday with his grandchildren and immediate family over the winter vacation.

Where the royal family are vacationing is unknown, though is understood to be not a castle. But NTB news reported that Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Märtha Louise, and the grandchildren, are with the royal couple on the king’s birthday.

Marius Borg Høiby is busy with his studies in California. Princess Märtha Louise’s estranged husband, the writer, singer, catwalk-entertainer, catalogue model, occasional war-correspondent, and all-round TV celebrity, Ari Behn, is not present.

The official celebrations for the king and queen’s 80th birthdays on February the 21st, and July the 4th, will take place on the 10th of May. On that occasion, the government will hold a gala dinner in the foyer of the Opera House in Oslo.

‘We hope for good weather, a good mood, and a taste of early summer’, said Prime Minister, Erna Solberg (Høyre), to Aftenposten at the weekend.


The castle will release a ‘greetings protocol’ on the occasion of the king’s birthday, which the public can sign between the hours of 14.00 and 16.00 on Tuesday. An electronic protocol will also be posted on the royal house’s website.

King Harald gave a long interview to NTB news last week, stating that he intends to keep his ‘Oath to the Constitution’ for his lifetime. He expressed that age does not weigh on him.

‘I always thought that those who were 80 were old aged, but I do not feel old aged myself. Age is just a number’, said the King.
 
Harald V isn't only the understanding, caring and down to earth king who fights for the weak, those who are bullied and those who are struggling with addictions etc. He is also the funny king - watch the videos in this article:
https://www.nrk.no/norge/kong-harald-fyller-80_-_-han-har-en-vidunderlig-humor-1.13374761


In other news: The king was at the front page of Dagbladet today and was praised for the person he is. This is the newspaper that has wanted a republic for decades and who went to war against the monarchy in 2016.

Thank you for your brilliant posts, Royal Norway. As far as I can judge, King Harald is a laudably unpretentious, genial, honorable, and solicitous monarch who keeps up with the times.
 
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Thank you for your brilliant posts, Royal Norway. As far as I can judge, King Harald is a laudably unpretentious, genial, honorable, and solicitous monarch who keeps up with the times.
You're very welcome!

It bubbles over with articles about Norway's beloved king. I will translate some of them later.

The King's 80 years in pictueres (VG)
VG Foto

Although His Majesty is abroad with his family, TV2 news channel has sent live from the palace, had experts in the studio, spoken with the Prime Minister, been in a kindergarten where the children sang to the king, spoken with young people (who just love him) and calls him the best king in the world.

People have been interviewed in the streets and talks about how inclusive, warm and modern he is. Many say his speeches has changed their lives.

This is written by a 16 year old, and it just says a bit about the extreme position he has here. The palace had to keep the doors up longer today because the queues with people (many of them young people) who wanted to congratulate the King were so longe.

Gratulerer med dagen, Kong Harald. Her er mitt ønske. | Iver Daaland Åse - Aftenposten
Today, King Harald has birthday, so I thought he deserves a speach. Dear King Harald, Norway's great pride and role model, whose words captivates an entire world. Happy Birthday! Eighty years and ever equally vigorous. You show in a magnificent way how well Norway can be at times, and I am grateful!

In your now world famous speech from garden party Slottsparken you said:

"The Norwegians believe in God, Allah, Altet and Nothing. Norwegians like Grieg and Kygo, Hellbillies and Kari Bremnes. In other words, Norway is you."

His Majesty's life in pictures:
Kongen fyller 80: Her er Haralds liv i bilder - Aftenposten
 
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I wrote in post 34/35 (where I went through past royal celebrations) that I thought the entire 80th birthday celebrations might be a non event in comparison to the King/Queen's big joint 60th birthday celebrations in 1997 and the King's even bigger 70th birthday in 2007, but it looks like I was wrong.

The Royal Court's Communications Manager Marianne Hagen informed on live television on February 21 that it will be held a gala dinner at the royal palace on May 9 with foreign guests present. (most likely white tie with tiaras and everything)

On May 10, there will be a dinner given by the government at the Opera House. The royal experts also believe that the royal family and their foreign guests will make an appearance on the balcony earlier in the day.
 
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Happy to hear :flowers: look forward to pics in May.

Not surprising. It's not like a big birthday every year or every five years. Every ten years for milestone birthdays is fitting. Especially considering it is a joint birthday for the queen and king.
 
The Royal Court's Communications Manager Marianne Hagen informed on live television on February 21 that it will be held a gala dinner at the royal palace on May 9 with foreign guests present. (most likely white tie with tiaras and everything)

On May 10, there will be a dinner given by the government at the Opera House. The royal experts also believe that the royal family and their foreign guests will make an appearance on the balcony earlier in the day.

I wonder if Charles and Camilla will attend the white tie dinner on 9 May? The BRF are close to the NRF, so if there were to be a royal birthday party C&C were likely to attend, this would be it.
 
I wonder if Charles and Camilla will attend the white tie dinner on 9 May? The BRF are close to the NRF, so if there were to be a royal birthday party C&C were likely to attend, this would be it.
Charles and Camilla are close to the King and Queen, so the possibility exists. But I reckon that it is Anne (also very close to the King and Queen) and/or Edward and Sophie who will be present.

And as I wrote in post 34:

Princess Anne and Prince Edward were among the many foreign guests in Norway under the Silver Wedding Anniversary in 1993.

Prince Charles were among the many foreign guests in Norway under the joint 60th Birthday Celebration in 1997.

Prince Edward, Princess Anne, Timothy Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were among the many foreign guests in Norway under the King's 70th Birthday in 2007.

More about the celebration in May:

The highly reliable royal expert Kjell Arne Totland said on television some days ago that he has heard that the dinner at the Opera House on May 10 will be white tie with tiaras, orders and everything, which I doubt, since there will be a gala dinner at the Palace the day before.
 
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:previous:Sorry I saw that post after, and I remember you had mentioned the holiday here.
yes, I was surprised by the large amount of photos in the dailymail.
 
:previous:Sorry I saw that post after, and I remember you had mentioned the holiday here.
yes, I was surprised by the large amount of photos in the dailymail.
There's nothing to be sorry for. I was also very surprised to see the Se og Hør photos in the Daily Fail.

In other news: I don't think it's a long time until we get more information about the celebrations in May. I have an idea after talking with two royal experts, but since they (very often) are wrong, I will wait to say anything until I'm sure.
 
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Kong Haralds ungdomsstafett og pølsefest på Skimuseet - kongehuset.no
On the occasion of King Harald's 80th birthday celebration in 2017, the Association for the Promotion of Skiing, the Norwegian Ski Federation and the Norwegian Confederation of Sports invites King Harald, the Royal Family and the participants of King Harald's youth relay to pølsefest (party for the children/youngsters with hotdogs.) at Holmenkollen on March 11.
 
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Kong Haralds ungdomsstafett og pølsefest på Skimuseet - kongehuset.no
"On the occasion of King Harald's 80th birthday celebration in 2017, the Association for the Promotion of Skiing, the Norwegian Ski Federation and the Norwegian Confederation of Sports invites King Harald, the Royal Family and the participants of King Harald's youth relay to pølsefest (party for the children/youngsters with hotdogs.) at Holmenkollen on March 11. "


"His Majesty King Harald was celebrated with pølsefest tonight. The royal family and over 100 young cross-country skiers from across the country participated."

http://www.kongehuset.no/aim/kongeh...879eecbc70ba019c750b9dbcbb5258c4792da0f37.jpg
http://www.kongehuset.no/aim/kongeh...75e18510cda8ea52df79bc5b62d258c47c9e8d904.jpg
http://www.kongehuset.no/aim/kongeh...be8b814989d6f08a8a9ee750560358c47a7b1af45.jpg

Pølsefest i Skimuseet - kongehuset.no
 
:previous:

It is marvelous to include a hot dog party with youth athletes in the celebrations of the sovereign's 80th birthday. It would be unheard-of in various other monarchies.


A long queue of well-wishers - The Royal House of Norway

A long queue of well-wishers
23.02.2017

Congratulations poured into the Royal Palace on 21 February in celebration of the 80th birthday of His Majesty King Harald.

Many marked the occasion by sending their greetings and good wishes online, on paper, as drawings and video clips.

Some 9 300 messages were posted on the congratulatory message register on the kongehuset.no website. They came from Norway and abroad, from individuals and from institutions, from families, school classes, nursery schools and senior centres. The register is no longer open for new entries, but it is possible to read the thousands of congratulatory messages by following on the link in the link list (primarily in Norwegian).

Register of congratulations at the Royal Palace


The official register of congratulations was set up at the main gate of the Royal Palace. The President of the Storting, Mr Olemic Thommessen, was the first to sign, followed by Prime Minister Erna Solberg. Starting at 10:00 am the diplomatic corps had the opportunity to leave their congratulatory messages. Ambassadors from countries around the world came to the Royal Palace to sign the register.

http://www.royalcourt.no/aim/kongeh...7eef58af05af3a4cc.jpg/Scale?geometry=370x555>


[...]

Children’s drawings

Many children have sent lovely drawings to the King, such as this one by six-year-old Martine.

http://www.royalcourt.no/aim/kongeh...24fa58af0202299e7.jpg/Scale?geometry=370x555>


[...]

Facebook messages

Many people posted a congratulatory message to the King on the Royal House of Norway’s official Facebook page – Kongehuset. The Nordic Tenors made the most of the opportunity. With the help of their Facebook friends, the musical trio put together this video clip to wish the King a happy birthday:

http://www.royalcourt.no/video.html?tid=151888

King Harald spent the day of his birthday together with his family. Both the King and the Queen turn 80 this year, and there will be an official celebration in May.
 
The pølsefest looks nice event with free atmosphere. Super idea how to celebrate birthday.

Thank you for the video Royal Norway! I enjoyed it.
 
:previous:

It is marvelous to include a hot dog party with youth athletes in the celebrations of the sovereign's 80th birthday. It would be unheard-of in various other monarchies.
Agree! And thanks for your contribution to this thread.

Glad to see that other members have started to take an interest in this thread and as I said in another post here, I know that people are interested because I see that people are here to read, and some of them uses the thank button.

The pølsefest looks nice event with free atmosphere. Super idea how to celebrate birthday.

Thank you for the video Royal Norway! I enjoyed it.
You're very welcome!


As I said in post 41, It bubbled over with articles about Norway's beloved king from 20th to 22th of February. I will translate some of them later.

Here is a long article from VG + (a paying part of VG) where they go through all of the King's 80 years, they also added pictures to some of the years. This is the first 10, and I will translate the other 70 in the coming days: Kong Harald år for år i 80 punkter: I dag er han 80 år - VG+
King Harald each year in 80 points:

Today he is 80.

Today it is 80 years since King Harald V was born. Here are glimpses of each year that has passed, until he become the whole of Norway's people's king.

1938 (1 year): The prince live happily at Skaugum along with his big sisters Princess Astrid and Princess Ragnhild, mother, Crown Princess Märtha and father Crown Prince Olav.
Picture: http://touch.vg.no/out/images/article/2017/02/20/23930209/1/box-1024x768/historiskebilder.jpg

1939 (2 years): Grandfather King Haakon takes care of the prince and princesses while their parents are at their 70-day trip to the US. When Crown Prince Olav and Crown Princess Märtha return home with the American Boat Stavangerfjord, King Haakon took the kids to Bergen to meet them.

1940 (3 years): The winter is spent at Skaugum. When Germany invades Norway on April 9, Crown Princess Märtha and the children flees to her family in Sweden, before traveling to the United States in August.
Picture: http://touch.vg.no/out/images/artic...1024x768/7c5122e25c74a3dd4887e2eb62fc738e.jpg

1941 (4 years): Princess Martha and her three children live in Washington untill the war ends. They often visit President Franklin D. Roosevelt at his home in Hyde Park, New York.

1942 (5 years): At Christmas, Princess Ragnhild, Prince Harald and Princess Astrid sends greetings to the Norwegian people through radio from the United States.
Picture: http://touch.vg.no/out/images/artic...KIVET___2__verdenskrig___Historiskebilder.jpg

1943 (6 years): During the war, the Crown Prince family is visiting the training camp for Norwegian pilots in Canada, Little Norway several times.

1944 (7 years): On Norway's National Day, Prince Harald leads the parade near the family's home at Pook's Hill in Maryland.

1945 (8 years): Prince Harald come back to Oslo with his mother, sisters and grandfather King Haakon, on June 7, 1945. Crown Prince Olav had already arrived in the country a few days earlier. The family are met
by a joyous crowd.

1946 (9 years): The parents breaks royal traditions with private education, and allows Prince Harald to be a pupil at Smestad school in Oslo.

1947 (10 years): Participates in the official celebration of King Haakon 75th birthday. The gift from the Norwegian people is the Royal Yacht Norway.
 
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Sonja looks stunning for her age. I can't believe she's almost 80 looking at the pics. She really looks wonderful.

Long live Harald and Sonja.
 
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