King Harald And Queen Sonja Current Events: July 2004 - June 2005

[norwegianne]

King Harald and Queen Sonja has led relatively separate lives for a while now, but it's never been any talk of marital problems, at least not that I have heard any place.

They have separate interests, and the royal duties can take them places where they don't represent together. But to me they look as if though they are in love when I see them together in more informal settings.

[Mandy]

Pictures from ANB

1) 2004-09-17:Bioteknologinemda og UNESCO-kommisjonen arrangerer den 17. september en storslått, allmennrettet bioteknologikonferanse i Universitetets Aula i Oslo.Kongeparet var tilstede.

2) 2004-09-17-008: Fredag var dronning Sonja til stede da årets Forskningsdager ble åpnet på Universitetet i Oslo. Hun fikk blant annet med seg en meteoritt med hjem til Slottet. Det var en av Norges fremste romeksperter, forsker Knut Jørgen Røed Ødegaard ved astrofysisk institutt ved Oslo-universitetet, som overrakte dronningen en meteoritt som falt ned ved Vladivostok i Russland i 1947. Meteoritten dronning Sonja holder på bildet stammer imidlertid fra et meteorittregn over Argentina i 1576. Det er i år tiende gangen Forskningsdagene finner sted. Årets festival varer til 26. september, og rundt 200 arrangører har over 1.000 arrangementer på landsbasis. (Foto: Vidar Ruud, ANB)

3) 2004-09-17: dronning Sonja har i tillegg satt av tid til å besøke Forskningstorget som går av stabelen på Universitetsplassen samtidig med konferansen. Forskningstorget i Oslo består av 35 boder med spennende aktiviteter og foregår fredag 17. og lørdag 18. september. Der kan barn og voksne få støpe sitt eget middelaldersmykke, lære om meteoritter, bokstavelig talt smake på år 2010,arkeolog Unn Prdersen hjalp dronningen med å støpe et smykke.

[Larzen]

Both the King and Queen has said in interviews that it is imprtant for them to have separate things to do, the King sails, and the Queen walks in the mountains. They both stress that because so much of their work that we do not see is together, and also many of their official travels is together, its important to have some time to themselves, which I can understand. How many of us both live and work with your husband\wife?

Especially after they got grandchildren and the King got sick they have seemed very close to me It has been commented on in the glossys that they seem closer than ever, and the Queen even joined the King for this years sailing competitions in Mallorca which she usually doesn`t do. They were also seen on private sailing trips in Norway this summer. So I think it is just ruomers. (but then I thought Joachim and Alexandra was also just ruomers)

[Mandy]

Article in Norwegian about Sonja

http://www.dt.no/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...ENYTT/41007003

Foto: Bjørn Sigurdsøn

[Ephram]

Hallo,

I'm sorry for asking the question which is not on topic. Just now we have heard that Wangari Maathai is the recipient of this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Is King Harald of Norway who will be handing over the prize on this 10th of December?

Where will the ceremony be held? I'm interested to know...please

[Mandy]

Originally Posted by Ephram

Hallo,

I'm sorry for asking the question which is not on topic. Just now we have heard that Wangari Maathai is the recipient of this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Is King Harald of Norway who will be handing over the prize on this 10th of December?

Where will the ceremony be held? I'm interested to know...please

The ceremony usually takes place on December 10th each year at Oslo's City Hall and both Harald and Sonja usually attend the event. The award is handed out by the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

[Mandy]

October 8, 2004 - Article in Norwegian about Sonja (Translation summary please)

http://www.dt.no/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...T/110080244/0/

Accompany picture by Rune Folkedal

[Ephram]

Originally Posted by Mandy

The ceremony usually takes place on December 10th each year at Oslo's City Hall and both Harald and Sonja usually attend the event. The award is handed out by the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Ok. Thanks. I want to follow the ceremony on this December

[KikkiB]

Here comes a translation of the article you wondered about. Not the best translation ever but I think you will get the essence:o

The King and Queen may be coming

The possibility that the King and Queen will attend the centenniel of the disolvement of the Union in Drammens Theatre, is large. “It has not been decided yet” the Queen says.



Drammens Tidende (newspaper) meet Queen Sonja at the opening of the artexhebition “Open house” in Lychepavillion.

Saturday February 5th 2005 there will be a live TV-show which is the first part of the official Norway’s celebration of the centenniel since Norway’s independence. It has so far been much secrecy around the TV2 broadcasted show, and the Queen could not clarify if she and the King would visit Drammen that evening. “The possiblity is large. 2005 will be a buissy year, but exciting. The decission will be made later” the Queen says to Drammens Tidende.



Had a great time. Even if it still is not decided if the Queen will revisit Drammen in 4 months, there was no doubt that Queen Sonja enjoyed her visit at the contemoprary arts exhebition at Drammens Museum. “I did not know a lot of the artist beforehand, and it was interesting to get to know their expressions better” the Queen said after the tour.


Blew the timeschedule. A very interested Queen blew the timeschedule of the closed tour of the new exhebition “Open house”. 12 minutes after the very accurate schedule the official opening could start. Afteron the Queen said that she enjoyed the works of the 20 artists that were represented.

The favourite. “Contemporary art is my favourite in arts” said an allert Queen. “Open house” present works that has its theme in house, home and the things that surround us daily. Harald Gautneb is the director of the board of the museum. He said it was time that the Queen visited Lychepavillion. “It is nice that she gets to meet artists she otherwise would not meet. Otherwise I’m very happy that Drammens Museum is put on the map with such a celebrity visit. That the Queen visits is the prof that we do something that shows” says Gautneb.

”Professionalisation”. CIO of the museum Åsmund Thorkildsen said in his speach that he has emphasized on the professionalisation of the production of the exhebitions. “This is a joyous day for us. And it gives a new energy for the arts association. They fixes everything with this exhebition” said Thorkildsen about the new form of organising exhebitions in the Lychepavillion. Chairman of Drammen Arts Association, Helge Wahl said that a heated realestatemarket in Oslo gives people only a few minutes to decide, then it is a good opprotunity to invite artists with their artworks.” We hope that the visitors will meet works they experience recognition in” said Wahl. He thought it was exciting with an exhebition shows the fact that some people have “pushingly high standards” on their homes, as he called it.

Totally packed. 250 people filled the rooms to the last space. Rarely have an opening of an art exhebition in Drammen gotten so much attention, even of the mainstream visitors. County govenor Kirsti Kolle Grøndahl did the official opening of the exhebition. “You are welcome to look critically in all nocks and crannies, look for leaks under the kitchen sink, and sniff around for mould in the bathroom. Hasty coats of paint rise suspicion. What is the selling party hiding” she said. “Possibly will it be as usuall on open houses. Some will be interested, some happy, some disappointed, others curious – and some will not care. As in other open houses there will be different parts of the construction/the house/the decoration/the furnishings that rise interest. Maybe just one little detail will raise the biggest interest in the end” said Kolle Grøndahl.

[hrhcp]

OT: http://pub.tv2.no/nettavisen/english/article293082.ece
A French tourist was so shocked by the poor state of the roads in Nordland, Northern Norway, that she wrote a letter of complaint to Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik.

One would hope that she didn't write first to the King and got no where, and then to the Prime Minister ?

[HMQueenElizabethII]

So when will The King and The Queen pay their State Visit to Viet nAm and Singapore?I have left Viet Nam,so i cant take pics of them

[hrhcp]

Originally Posted by Reina

True, but I don't know what he and the queen did w/ their children or at least their daughter

i will take it in this content :Boy ... are memories ever short (or non-existent)
.... what is it, Harald had to fight/negotiate for 7 years before he got permission to marry his beloved, the commoner "Sonja"?

In such a context .... given Haakon's and Martha-Louise's "role models", it is imho to be almost expected that Haakon would take it a step further to marry a single-mom and for ML to marry a controversial author. So there !!!!!

Besides ... imho Haakon has done his country a HUGE service in converting 75 % of the house-holds to his favour. He has (pardon Alexandria) endorsed single-mom-hood in one fell swoop ..... which I admire.

It can't be said of all sexes (or even all moms) ... that 'some' single mom's devote ALL their time and energy to raising the kids by themselves, without a dad for the son (and daughter) there. Not well understood, so I gather ... such a pity ... is it ignorance or denial, I wonder ?

Imho, this (effort, over time, naturally) must have attracted Haakon to Mette-Merit.

[Larzen]

King Harald attende Erik Byes funeral on friday in Oslo. Erik Bye was burried on the expense of the state. He was a big journalist\TV person\song writer\singer, very much loved by norwegians. He also worked for the resistanse during WW2. In 1978 he became Knight of the first class of the Order of St. Olav and also Knight ofthe Icelandic Falcon Order

When the King for the first time could not open the yearly cultural events(festspillene) in Bergen last year because he was on a state visit to Belgium , Erik Bye was called in to open them as a "spare King"

http://blade.vg.no/bilder/bildarkiv/...4774.64347.jpg

http://cache.aftenposten.no/multimed...jp_231909h.jpg

http://cache.aftenposten.no/multimed...pg_229951h.jpg

[Josefine]

does the king only have one name? Harald


does anyone know what the name comes from his he named after someone

[Larzen]

King Harald only has one name. Almost all the old Viking-Kings in Norway was called, Haakon, Olav, Harald and Magnus. When Prince Carl became King of Norway he took the name Haakon, he gave his son Alexander the name Olav to undeline that they were now norwegian. And then Haralds son got the name Haakon Magnus, all very old Norwegian names, If Haakon and Mette-Marit ever gets a son Im sure he will be called Olav, unless Märtha uses the name first.

Here are some picture from the Statevisit to Singapore
This orchid is now Called The Queen Sonja Orchid
http://cache.gettyimages.com/comp/51...C30E9B9B114CE8

http://cache.gettyimages.com/comp/51...C30E9B9B114CE8

http://cache.gettyimages.com/comp/51...C30E9B9B114CE8

[HMQueenElizabethII]

King Harald and Queen Sonja will visit Viet Nam from 1st to 5th November.But it is not a State Visit.It is an official friendly visit.

[norwegianne]

Originally Posted by Josefine

does the king only have one name? Harald


does anyone know what the name comes from his he named after someone

The King has only that one name, yes.

He's probably named after the old Norse kings, as Larzen mentioned. There have been at least four of them before But let's not forget that one of King Haakon's brothers, I believe, also was named Harald. It is thus also a family name, from the Danish side of the family.