Golden Wedding Anniversary of King Harald V and Queen Sonja

[ROYAL NORWAY]

As some of you may know, the Regent Couple said last year that they weren't planning any public celebrations of the anniversary.
Why? Due to the large-scaled and extensive celebrations of the Silver/Consecration Jubilees in 2016 and the 80th Birthdays in 2017.

Well, now, there's been a change of plans.

August 27th: The Queen opens her childhood home at Maihaugen open-air museum at 16:30. The King, The CP Couple and Princess Märtha Louise will also be in attendance.
The House (where Sonja Haraldsen and CP Harald spent a lot of time before they were allowed to marry) was moved from Vinderen in Oslo to Maihaugen at Lillehammer in 2016.

Read more about it here:

Queen Sonja’s childhood home becomes museum – Royal Central

The Queen’s childhood home is being cut up and moved - Norway Today

Photos of the house at Vinderen in the 1960s: pic 1 - pic 2

Photos of the house at Vinderen in the 2010s: pic 1 - pic 2

Photos of the moving in 2016: pic 1 - pic 2 - pic 3

Photo of the house at Maihaugen in August 2018

August 29th (the wedding day): The Royal Family (we don't know whom yet) is present at a Celebratory Church Service at Oslo Cathredral at 15:00.
And as one can see in the Royal House article below, 200 members of the public will be invited to attend. All you have to do is to send an Email to gullbryllup@slottet.no before Friday 24th of August at 16:00. - The first ones will be selected: Vil du være med på gullbryllupsfeiringen? - kongehuset.no

There will also, according to TV2's royal expert Kjell Arne Totland, be a private family dinner at either the Royal Palace or at the Bygdøy Estate in the evening.

And the court will probably release new official photos of Their Majesties.

September 3rd: Forsvarets stabsmusikkorps (The Staff Band of the Norwegian Armed Forces) honors the King and Queen with a concert that takes place outside Oscarshall Palace in Oslo at 18:30. The Regent Couple will be present and there is free entrance to the public. We don't know whether other members of the Royal Family will attend yet.

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Television-coverage:

The state owned Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK):

NRK1 (Norway's largest TV-channel):

August 28th:
Will send the first episode (which is about the marriage) of the 7-part 2016 documentary ''Konge og Dronning i 25 år'' (King and Queen for 25 years) from 21:20 to 22:20.

August 29th:
Will send the 1968 broadcast of the wedding from 11:40 to 14:00.
Will broadcast the Church Service at Oslo Cathredral live and talk to guests in the studio from 14:00 to 16:15.
Will send a live programme with guests in the studio from 19:45 to 20:55.
Will send a new interview with the Queen at her childhood home at Maihaugen from 21:20 to 21:50

TV 2 Group (Norway's largest commercial media company):

TV2 News Channel will likely be completely dominated by it.

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And if anyone wonders, yes, I'm going to go completely Golden Wedding Anniversary crazy.

 

[eya]

And as one can see in the Royal House article below, 200 members of the public will be invited to attend. All you have to do is to send an Email to gullbryllup@slottet.no before Friday 24th of August at 16:00. - The first ones will be selected: Vil du være med på gullbryllupsfeiringen? - kongehuset.no

And if anyone wonders, yes, I'm going to go completely Golden Wedding Anniversary crazy.

And we are waiting for your cover!

The Palace receive 3,500 emails!

"After we published the King and Queen invitation last afternoon, we have received over 3,500 emails! It is incredibly enjoyable that so many want to attend the party service that celebrates the royal couple's gold wedding ceremony. Now we will send invitations to the 200 who were first out."


The Palace shares pictures from the Engagement in 19 March 1968
Forlovelse 1968 - kongehuset.no

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Thanks eya!

That went pretty fast, didn't it.

 

[Barbara21]

It's great that the anniversary is also celebrated with public events.
I had no idea that the Queen's childhood home is a museum.
Is the house architecturally important, or beacuse is it related to the queen?

 

[An Ard Ri]

Yes I too was unaware about Queen Sonja's childhood home was a museum.The Golden Wedding Anniversary celebrations is looking to be a very popular late summer event.

 

[Stefan]

I also find it great that the Golden Wedding is celebrated with a public Event,. Actually the first time an european Royal Couple does so since the Golden and Diamond Wedding annviersaries of the Queen Elizabeth II. and Prince Philip, as the belgian, spanish and danish royal couples celebrated in private if at all.

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

It's great that the anniversary is also celebrated with public events.
I had no idea that the Queen's childhood home is a museum.
Is the house architecturally important, or beacuse is it related to the queen?

The house is a typical example of the architecture of the 1930s with a functionalistic style (called ''funkishus'' in Scandinavia), designed by Ernst Motzfeldt.
Is it architecturally important? No, I won't say that, but Maihaugen Museum needed a house from the 1930s in its residential area, so why not use the Queen's childhood home. - Especially since the house should have been torn down, anyway, due to development in the area at Vinderen in Oslo.

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BTW, The Court has now confirmed the presence of the entire Royal Family at the service at Oslo Cathedral next Wednesday, with the exception of the grandchildren. - From the Royal House calendar: The Golden Wedding Anniversary of The King and Queen is celebrated with a Special Service in Oslo Cathedral. The CP Couple, Princess Märtha Louise and Princess Astrid will also be in attendance (15:00).

 

[An Ard Ri]

I also find it great that the Golden Wedding is celebrated with a public Event,. Actually the first time an european Royal Couple does so since the Golden and Diamond Wedding annviersaries of the Queen Elizabeth II. and Prince Philip, as the belgian, spanish and danish royal couples celebrated in private if at all.

The Spanish one was a non event like most family events with the bickering Borbons

Glad to see the Norwegians are having a public event.

 

[Stefan]

BTW, The Court has now confirmed the presence of the entire Royal Family at the service at Oslo Cathedral next Wednesday, with the exception of the grandchildren. - From the Royal House calendar: The Golden Wedding Anniversary of The King and Queen is celebrated with a Special Service in Oslo Cathedral. The CP Couple, Princess Märtha Louise and Princess Astrid will also be in attendance (15:00).

Pity that the grandchildren will not be present. I had them also expected there.

 

[wartenberg7]

I really love this one:


http://www.kongehuset.no/aim/kongeh...91b616ecb91437a54375ee9c3a4f5aafc2d1a1088.jpg

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Pity that the grandchildren will not be present. I had them also expected there.

Well, it may be that they turn up anyway, you'll never know.

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BTW, the government has announced that the prime minister and several other ministers will attend the service.

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And to commemorate the anniversary, the Norwegian postal service has issued a new stamp.

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Well, this just get better and better!

Their Majesties will drive to and from Oslo Cathedral in the open-Lincoln Continental from 1966, the same car they used for their wedding 50 years ago.
It was also used for the Silver Wedding Anniversary in 1993, during the wedding of Haakon/MM in 2001, and for most openings of the Storting.

The last time was in October 2017: photo.

The rest of the family will drive in closed cars.

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Television-coverage: NRK1 has extended their planned combined coverage on Wednesday (which I wrote about in the first post) from 6 to about 8 hours. - And they've shown us the first clip of the interview with the Queen at her childhood home, where she said: ''Det er en spesiell følelse å være her igjen'' (It's a special feeling to be here again).

BTW, TV2 News Channel will send live from the opening at Maihaugen tomorrow, hopefully there will be some videos of it.

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

The Royal Family is present at the opening of the Queen's childhood home at Maihaugen museum in Lillehammer, read more about the house in post 1 & 7.

The programme:

16:30 (15:30 UK-time): The Regent Couple, The CP Couple, and Princess Märtha Louise arrives. - They will be welcomed by the management of the museum, followed by speeches and some entertainment.

17:00: The Queen opens the house.

17:45: The press is allowed into the house with the Queen present.

The house will open to the public on Wednesday (the wedding day).

Live-link: TV2 News Channel.

There are currently some political drama here again, but TV2's royal expert Kjell Arne Totland will be live from Maihaugen when the royals arrives, I think.

About Maihaugen in Lillehammer: Is Norway’s largest open-air museum outside of Oslo. The museum offers more than 200 buildings from different eras, superb cultural experiences, a variety of activities for children and adults, numerous exhibitions and several places to eat.

Photos: 1 - 2 - 3

I will leave it to others here to post pictures of the event.

Edit: It must be strange for them to back at the house they spent so much time at before they were allowed to marry.
BTW, the king was very close to his mother-in-law, Dagny Haraldsen, who lived in the house until 1976 when she moved to an apartment behind the Royal Palace. - She died in 1994 at the age of 95.
The King has described her as a wonderful and lovable person.

 

[polyesco]

Here are some first pictures
Åpnet sitt eget barndomshjem - kongehuset.no

 

[iceflower]

.

And here's a nice photo comparison: then and now ?


** Photos **


** kongehuset.no instagram photos **


** nrk.no: Her ble forholdet mellom Harald og Sonja berget **


** nrk.no: Dronningens barndomshjem åpnet i dag: Bli med inn! **


** tv2.no: Her gjenskaper de bildet 50 år senere ** Maihaugen fb gallery ** profimedia gallery **

 

[wartenberg7]

Why didn´t they just leave the house in Oslo and make a museum out of it there? What has the house to do in Lillehammer?


I think the photo comarisions, especially the one of the royal couple in the sitting room, are just amazing! It really looks like if time stood still!

 

[HereditaryPrincess]

Interesting that Sonja's childhood home is being opened to the public. I can imagine that it was nice for her to visit again and it would also be nice if she could take her grandchildren there one day.

 

[An Ard Ri]

A personal tour by the queen it doesn't get much better than that.

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Thanks polyesco & iceflower!

Why didn´t they just leave the house in Oslo and make a museum out of it there? What has the house to do in Lillehammer?

Read post 7.

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The Regent Couple and the court in 2017: We are not going to celebrate!

2018: Opening of the Queen's childhood home, Church Service at Oslo Cathedral, open-car procession, a concert at Oscarshall and hours of TV-coverage.

No, we are not celebrating. ??

 

[Somebody]

The Regent Couple and the court in 2017: We are not going to celebrate!

2018: Opening of the Queen's childhood home, Church Service at Oslo Cathedral, open-car procession, a concert at Oscarshall and hours of TV-coverage.

No, we are not celebrating. ??

They didn't invite foreign royals; so it doesn't count as a (full-fledged) celebration in their minds ?

 

[wartenberg7]

Thanks polyesco & iceflower!


Read post 7.

Thanks! Still I would have found it more fitting if they placed the house somewhere near the K and Q´s private Oslo residence (on Bygdöj it is located, isn´ t it?)

 

[W.Y.CII]

Love the then and now photo.

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Thanks! Still I would have found it more fitting if they placed the house somewhere near the K and Q´s private Oslo residence (on Bygdöj it is located, isn´ t it?)

You're welcome! ?

I for one couldn't think of a more fitting place than Maihaugen. - And it's not that the Regent Couple can't visit it, because they often spend time at Nordre Jørstad gård, a residence also located at Maihaugen, which is put to their disposal.

BTW: Bygdø kongsgard (the Regent Couple's summer/fall residence in Oslo) is owned by the state.

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Well, I was a bit busy last night, but here's a summary of yesterday's opening of the Queen's Childhood Home:

photo 1: The big painting on the wall is of the Queen's father, clothing retailer, Karl August Haraldsen. - He died in 1959 at the age of 69.

photo 2: The big painting on the wall is of the Queen's mother, Dagny Haraldsen (I write about her in post 13).

Photo 3: The big painting on the wall is of the then 6-year-old, Sonja Haraldsen.

Photo 4: The three pictures on the piano is of the Queen's sister, Gry Haraldsen (who committed suicide in 1970) and two of her four children.

More about the house:

Most furniture, objects, paintings and photographs come from the Queen and members of the Haraldsen family - while a few things have been reconstructed.

The first floor: Represents the 1960s, from when Harald and Sonja spent time there. - Opens tomorrow on the BIG day.

The second floor: Represents the 1930s, from when the Queen was born, and people will be able to see her nursery. - Opens next year, since it isn't done yet.

Outside: Its original look from 1935.

The Queen's speech: Tuengen Allé 1b på Maihaugen - kongehuset.no - translation

Kjell Arne Totland @TV2KjellArne
DEEPLY MOVED... #QueenSonja was deeply moved when she reopened her childhood home #TuengenAlle1B 50 years #otd after she moved out of it to marry #CrownPrinceHarald - now #King of #Norway. The fully furnished house has noe been moved to #Lillehammer. #GoldenWedding #royals

Queen Sonja (like the King) has never been afraid of showing emotions in public, and she almost started crying when answering questions from the press.

And let's go through some of what she talked about in the two NRK articles posted by iceflower:

A bit down in the below article - you will find a 4 min video from the press-meeting yesterday (inside the house):
She talks about how impressed she is with the staff at Maihaugen, and says that ''the feeling you get when you enter the house is actually the same as 50 years ago''. - She just waits for her mother (Dagny) to ''come down the stairs''.
The only thing different, according to the King, is the smell.
The Queen is asked whether she and the King are planning to visit the house often? Well, she said that she will be helping the people at Maihaugen with the second floor, and that they (she and the King) are going to ''drop by'' from time to time when they are at Jørstad gård (their residence at Maihaugen):
Dronningens barndomshjem åpnet - NRK

This article contains 3 videos from an exclusive NRK interview, which was recorded a few days ago, and will be sent on television tomorrow evening.
Everything she says in the videos is written down in the article - and the google translation is quite good, so it's really worth a read:
Her ble forholdet mellom Harald og Sonja berget - NRK - translation

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BTW: Doesn't the Queen look GREAT for 81?
Still out in the mountains on her trekking-tours and everything.

 

[Stefan]

You wrote that Dagny Haraldsen moved out of the House in 1974. Did it afterwars still belong to the Haraldsen Family or was it then sold.

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

After what I know, it remained in the family.

The Queen's nephew, Dag Swanstrøm (the son of her sister) has lived there in recent years. - A questionable businessman, convicted of fraud twice, but very close to his aunt.

BTW, didn't I wrote 1976?

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Well, I have watched the first episode (which is about the the Regent Couple's marriage) of the 7-part 2016 documentary ''Konge og Dronning i 25 år'' (King and Queen for 25 years) on NRK1 this evening.

And that put me in a writing-mood, so here's a marriage in brief:

The years leading up to the wedding in 1968:
As most of you know, CP Harald was supposed to marry a princess, not a commoner, who was the daughter of a clothing retailer.
But in 1959, he met Sonja Haraldsen at a dinner hosted by some fellow friends, and then it was done. However, the Queen claims they'd met a few years earlier, as young teenagers at a sailing event, and that Harald had helped her with a scarf. - He OTOH claims he doesn't remember it.
Anyway, the romance blossomed between them, friends kept their mouths shut and King Olav even invited Sonja (whom he thought was just a regular friend of his son) along with other friends to a birthday dinner for Harald at the palace, which she happily attended. - But when King Olav finally found out, he made it clear to his son that a woman without royal blood was out of the question for an heir to the throne, because it could put the future of the monarchy at risk.

And the rest is history: Nine years with waiting, a unanimous press who meant that ''the monarchy would end'' if Harald married a commoner, shocked politicians, a court and two governments who sent out press releases denying that the CP intended to marry her, and Harald and Sonja who tried to break up on several occasions, but who always ended up being back together again, etc, etc.
However, in 1967, the CP told his father that if he couldn't marry Sonja Haraldsen, he would remain unmarried. King Olav then started to think, and invited Sonja on board The Royal Yacht.
He sought advice from the government and the parliamentary-leaders in the Storting. Prime Minister Per Borten (from the Centre Party) went the king's errand, and only the Liberal Party's parliamentary-leader Bent Røiseland was positive. The others were awaiting or critical of such a marriage.
And 1967 turned to 1968 without the king receiving a formal response from the government. - The Prime Minister didn't know what he should advise HM to do.
But King Olav had to give an answer to his son, and he decided to say ''yes'' (well, he didn't really have much of a choice).

Parenthood:
Well, both Haakon and Märtha have told of two hands-on parents who, despite much traveling, always were there for them, and who loved to hug and kiss their children (something King Olav didn't like).
And when you think about it, perhaps they thought having lost two children (through CP Sonja's miscarriages), they had to take extra good care of the two other ones.

Marriage Problems in the 1980s:
Yes, as in most other marriages, there were some problems. - But according to the Regent Couple and their friends, not as serious as the media wrote in 2006.
And we must remember that (despite what is called his ''magical kindness and warmth''), the King was raised to discuss things with himself and nobody else before making decisions, and this along with a difficult father-in-law didn't make it easier for CP Sonja.
Where do I have this from? Well, Queen Sonja has mentioned it in several interviews (including one that was done with Aftenposten last year).

And the serious journalist Per Egil Hegge writes in his authorized biography of the King from 2006, that a political figure from the 1980s told about a discreet person from the circle around the palace who wanted to know how the political Norway would react if the CP Couple took out separation. - It was of course emphasized that the request was purely hypothetical.
The message back (from the politicians) suggested that such a thing would be very difficult to deal with for the public and the nation, and that it could have consequences for the position of the monarchy and perhaps also its future.
Both the King, Queen and the court have told Hegge that this is unknown to them.

But in a speech at Akershus Palace during the Silver Wedding Anniversary in 1993, the King did say this: "On the outside, everything has been in place for an harmonious and good life together, but of course we have also learned that there is nothing automatic for it to go well. Living together in a marriage is a lifelong learning, a constant challenge to show each other understanding, consideration and trust.

Even in marriage, which is based on a mutually binding love, it happens unfortunately that spouses are hurting each other. The crucial thing is that both parties have the will and ability to forgive and put behind what has been settled. For my part, I am certainly convinced that the marriage, home and community in a family are worth fighting for.''

Later life together:
Although they have separate bedrooms and enjoy themselves without each other's company, there is no doubt that they love each other. - And as TV2's royal exert Kjell Arne Totland said last year: ''The Queen deserves a lot of credit for that we have such a happy and beloved monarch in this country. - And the King has himself said that she means everything to him, and that he could never have handled the role of monarch without her.''

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Thank you! This is immensely helpful to those of us unable to view the documentary or understand Norwegian.

I wonder how Crown Prince Harald viewed the future of the Norwegian monarchy. With most of the press and politicians backing up his father's expectation that a marriage with Sonja would be harmful to the monarchy, and as the only heir in his generation, the risk of beginning the downfall of the monarchy if he married Sonja or remained unmarried had to be taken seriously. Was he honestly content to see the Royal House become extinct if he remained unmarried, or abolished if the expectations were proven correct? Did he perhaps foresee that he and Sonja would be allowed to marry in time, and that Sonja would win the respect of the people?

The house is a typical example of the architecture of the 1930s with a functionalistic style (called ''funkishus'' in Scandinavia), designed by Ernst Motzfeldt.
Is it architecturally important? No, I won't say that, but Maihaugen Museum needed a house from the 1930s in its residential area, so why not use the Queen's childhood home. - Especially since the house should have been torn down, anyway, due to development in the area at Vinderen in Oslo.

I was more surprised that it wasn't larger, since Sonja's family was affluent enough to send her to finishing school in Switzerland.

 

[Stefan]

The entire Wedding broadcast from 1968 was shown again by NRK

https://tv.nrk.no/serie/kongefamilien/FREP68001168/29-08-1968
What i found interesting is that at the start of the Service Sonja was seating at the one side next to her mother and Harald opposide next to King Olav. When they went to the Altar he mother went to the other side and seat next to Kin Olav. And onkly after they had been pronounced man and wife Harald and Sonja where seating together.

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Congratulations to my utterly amazing King and Queen!

Blog-post from TV2's royal expert Kjell Arne Totland (really worth a read):
He writes that the Regent Couple has strengthened and modernized the monarchy - and that family life with wife, children and now children-in-laws and grandchildren have undoubtedly helped shaping our ''folkekjære'' (beloved) monarch: Til lykke & lykke til! - translation

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Thank you! This is immensely helpful to those of us unable to view the documentary or understand Norwegian.

You're very welcome!

But the stuff about ''parenthood, marriage problems and later life together'' is taken from my head after watching lots of other documentaries/interviews and my reading of several books.

I wonder how Crown Prince Harald viewed the future of the Norwegian monarchy. With most of the press and politicians backing up his father's expectation that a marriage with Sonja would be harmful to the monarchy, and as the only heir in his generation, the risk of beginning the downfall of the monarchy if he married Sonja or remained unmarried had to be taken seriously. Was he honestly content to see the Royal House become extinct if he remained unmarried, or abolished if the expectations were proven correct? Did he perhaps foresee that he and Sonja would be allowed to marry in time, and that Sonja would win the respect of the people?

Question 1: He was once asked by a journalist whether it would've been a "menneskelig katastrofe" (human catastrophe) for him ''personally'' if the monarchy had fallen, due to him not marrying anyone other than Sonja?
To that he said ''no,'' but he thinks he had felt a lot of guilt, especially for letting down his father and Norway.

Question 2: Well, he has never talked much about that in interviews, but he has said that he thought the time would ''help and work'' for them.

I was more surprised that it wasn't larger, since Sonja's family was affluent enough to send her to finishing school in Switzerland.

The Haraldsen family had enough money to send her to Switzerland, but they were far from what I would describe as rich.

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Today's happenings:

14:45: Princess Astrid, Princess Märtha Louise and her children and The CP Family will drive in cortege from The Royal Palace to Oslo Cathedral.

14:50: The Golden Couple (Their Majesties The King and Queen) will drive in open-car procession from The Royal Palace down Karl Johans gate (the main street of the city of Oslo) to Kirkegata (Church Street), where they will turn into Oslo Cathedral.
And as I mentioned in post 12, they will use the Lincoln Continental from 1966, with the registration number A-5.

So what does this mean? Well, it means that The Regent Couple will be driven in the same car on the same route as during their wedding in 1968.

Photo of the then CP Couple in Karl Johans gate in 1968, during their Wedding.

Photo of the Regent Coule in Karl Johans gate in 1993, during their Silver Wedding Anniversary.

And here's a picture from the balcony, also during the Anniversary in 1993.

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The Church Service: Will be conducted by The Bishop of Oslo (since 2017), Kari Veiteberg. - Singers, choirs, cantors and priests who are employed at the Cathedral will also attend.

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After the service, the King and Queen will drive back to the palace in the same way - and in the same car.

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About Oslo Domkirke (Oslo Cathedral): Is the main church for the Church of Norway Diocese of Oslo, as well as the parish church for downtown Oslo. The present building dates from 1694-1697.

The church's connection to the NRF:
1929: Wedding of CP Olav and the then Princess Märtha of Sweden.
1938: Funeral of Queen (Consort) Maud.
1954: Funeral of CP Märtha.
1957: Funeral of King Haakon VII.
1968: Wedding of CP Harald and the then Sonja Haraldsen.
1991: Funeral of King Olav V.
And several Birthday-services for King Haakon and King Olav, the Silver Wedding Anniversary-service for the Regent Couple in 1993 and their 75th Birthday-service in 2012.

Photos of the church: Outside - Inside.

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Television-Coverage:
Will start on NRK1 at 11:40 and last to about 17:00.
Summary of the day from 17:50 to 18:50.
Evening coverage from 19:45 to about 21:00 from Maihaugen in Lillehammer.

TV2 News Channel will also have broad coverage of the church service, and will talk to their royal expert Kjell Arne Totland throughout the day.

I will post live-links if available.

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Photos of the King and Queen - NRK