Sonja and Harald's long courtship

[Odette]

I never heard about that either. I somehow don't belive it's true.
Just like norwegianne said; I heard that the couple tried to seperate a few times, but always got together again.

I am so sorry I cannot come up with the exact publications I read about it. It was more than once that I read it. Can any one else help me out? It is something I could not forget since it showed her desperation about the situation and her chagrin over the long fight she had to put up until she was accepted.
I have tried to google and see if I can buy a book about her life but I cannot find anything for sale.
I hope someone can come up with the information.

 

[Odette]

Do you know where you read it? I've never heard it before.

I would suspect one of the publications had to be a Point De Vue issue but cannot be sure. The only thing I am sure of is that I read about it more than once.
The only thing I never heard of were the divorce rumours, mentioned a few threads ago.

 

[Maura724]

It is something I could not forget since it showed her desperation about the situation and her chagrin over the long fight she had to put up until she was accepted.

Definitely. I certainly hope it's just something the press made up at some point because that's really sad if it's true. Do you remember what year it was or how close she came to death?

 

[Odette]

Definitely. I certainly hope it's just something the press made up at some point because that's really sad if it's true. Do you remember what year it was or how close she came to death?

It had to be late 1967 or early 1968. She was supposedly visiting friends in France where she went to get away.
Mind you at the time of their romance there were always headlines about Harald and Princesses Sofia and Irene.......Wishful thinking on K O and Q F parts since all three had other ideas.........still it must have been hurtful since he always had to accompany someone at official functions while she was in the shadows.
Perhaps something may have been repeated at the time of MM's engagement to compare the roads both of them travelled and why Q S was so much more accepting of MM that the court was of her. Somewhere along the line one of KH sisters wrote a book that was not at all flattering towards KS...........Oh how I hate senior moments....a few years ago I would know exactly where to look for information.......

 

[Maura724]

It had to be late 1967 or early 1968.

So shortly (no more than a few months) before the engagement was announced in March 1968. Was this what prompted King Olav to finally go ahead and give them permission to marry (or what prompted Harald to demand that they be allowed to marry)? Do you have any idea how serious it was? Not that any suicide attempt wouldn't be "serious," but how close did she come to "succeeding"? (Also not the right word.) That would have been so tragic!

 

[Odette]

Maura724 I have no idea how serious it was. (Again if we can use this description about it) Thank God all went well and no harm was done.

 

[Maura724]

Absolutely - I can't imagine a more horrible end to their story!

 

[Odette]

I am still wondering though about the divorce rumours mentiond above. They seemed to me like one of the strongest royal couples.

 

[Maura724]

In one of the other threads in this forum, Larzen wrote:

"The King and Queen has admitted they have had their ups and downs in the marriage like most couple but that they work trough it, in the 80/90s they were not living in different parts of the palace as they were living at Skaugum . Se og Hør today in VG retracts the statement that it was Crown Prince Harald who sent his Head Aide de campe to the president of Stortinget to hear about a divorce. Friends of Harald and Sonja says to VG today that divorce never was an issue, but that the public lifestyle put strains on their marriage. There are noithing written about anyone else involved, just the public preassure on them and how they did their work and the rather old fashioned way the Crown Prince was raised. Sonja once said something like he discussed it with himself and then it woul be that way, and that it took some getting used to."

"Per Egil Hegge who is very credible and is writing the auhtorised book on the King which will come out in two weeks or so, to mark his 70th birthday has no comment, the president of Stortinget back then Jo Benkow has no comment, The then Prime Minister Kåre Willoch says he has never heared about any divorce rumours, and the palace spokesperson says the King and Queen does not know if someone talked to the President of Stortinget about a divorce. Accoding to VG the King and Queen was more than suprised when they saw the cover of Se og Hør yesterday."

I've never believed the divorce rumors myself, but I think it's easy to imagine Harald and Sonja having problems at certain points given their history and the public life they have to lead. It's easy enough for that sort of information to get out, and I can see false rumors of divorce starting from there. They're obviously really committed to each other--that's why they lasted for nine years before marriage, and that's why divorce would never have been an issue in spite of any problems they might have had.

 

[Her_Majesty]

You know, I've always been interested in the Norwegian Royals and especially Queen Sonja. I've been reading many stories about them and I never heard about that suicide-rumors. If there were a grain of truth in that would have read about that in any of the many articles. Honestly.

Furtermore I really don't think that goes well with the Queen's personality. Just look at her at engagement videos from that time. To me she looks like quite a tough and strong Lady. Happy, and not like a woman who just tried to commit suicide.
I suppose the engagement has been a done deal already around early 1968. So.. extremely unlikely.

To me this sounds like a fantastic gossip story written by "reliable" sources like Bild or S&H. It's like the story (published by a German gossip mag once) that Sonja wanted to divorce after she had lost her first child. The yellow press just needs such stories from time to time. Just crap.

Well, honestly. I read many stories about them, but I don't belive in this at all.



The divorcing rumors came up in the early 90s.
According to some source (I have no idea who it was... I think this guy who wrote the Harald biography) the Crown Prince asked the Parliament what would happen if his parents divorced. Well, according to this guy the couple went to a marriage-therapie or something and now they are happier then ever... blabla.
Like Larzen I don't know if I should belive that. ... however, I don't really care as they are still married nowadays.

 

[Anita]

I am so sorry I cannot come up with the exact publications I read about it. It was more than once that I read it. Can any one else help me out? It is something I could not forget since it showed her desperation about the situation and her chagrin over the long fight she had to put up until she was accepted.
I have tried to google and see if I can buy a book about her life but I cannot find anything for sale.
I hope someone can come up with the information.

I've read it too in the French magazine "Point de vue" a few years ago . I don't know if it's true but I still have this article .

 

[Odette]

I've read it too in the French magazine "Point de vue" a few years ago . I don't know if it's true but I still have this article .

Thank you Anita. Is there any way you can post the article here?

 

[Maura724]

I found this article in French which basically summarizes Harald and Sonja's story. It mentions that she attempted suicide while she was in France after reading rumors that Harald would marry a foreign princess. (Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean it's true.)

Les 40 ans de mariage des souverains norvégiens | Noblesse & Royautés

 

[Royal historian]

it is sad for me that princess irene of greece has missed this oportunity to become queen of norway even though she was 100% royal to a woman who has 'nt has a drop of royal blood in her in my view i think harald hould apologise to irene of greece because he was suppose to marry her instead of sonja now he and sonja are hamily marry and irene living by herself with her sister her majesty the queen of spain

 

[jinigirl]

But maybe Irene wasn't interested in Prince Harald and becoming future-queen of Norway either.
There are rumors that Irene had a secret relationship with a older man. I'm not sure why this hasn't ended in a marriage, but on the other hand I can't see Queen Frederica giving approval for a marriage with a non-royal man....

 

[Her_Majesty]

it is sad for me that princess irene of greece has missed this oportunity to become queen of norway even though she was 100% royal to a woman who has 'nt has a drop of royal blood in her in my view i think harald hould apologise to irene of greece because he was suppose to marry her instead of sonja now he and sonja are hamily marry and irene living by herself with her sister her majesty the queen of spain

Now come on.. Irene didn't miss the opurtunity to get Queen of Norway, because Harald never had the intention to marry her.

King Olav wanted his son to marry Irene of Greece, but Harald didn't.. as he was in a relationship with Sonja already.

So why should he have married a (how you call it) 100% Royal woman if he didn't love her?
Complete nonsense.

 

[Royal historian]

Now come on.. Irene didn't miss the opurtunity to get Queen of Norway, because Harald never had the intention to marry her.

King Olav wanted his son to marry Irene of Greece, but Harald didn't.. as he was in a relationship with Sonja already.

So why should he have married a (how you call it) 100% Royal woman if he didn't love her?
Complete nonsense.

Not only his father wanted the marriage so did queen frederica and and mostly european royalty expected harald to choose a princess and irene was the best candidate since benedikte had went on marrying a german prince.i believe if irene were to marry harald he would have been popular as much as he father was and the house of norway would have been a good model family to the norwegianne people. In my view she is the rightfull queen consort of norway

 

[Anita]

Not only his father wanted the marriage so did queen frederica and and mostly european royalty expected harald to choose a princess and irene was the best candidate since benedikte had went on marrying a german prince.i believe if irene were to marry harald he would have been popular as much as he father was and the house of norway would have been a good model family to the norwegianne people. In my view she is the rightfull queen consort of norway

Well, Sonja is now the Queen of Norway, liked by the Norwegian people and that all that matters . One will never know if Irene would have been a so much "better" queen than Sonja . And, yes, I'm happy for Harald being married with the woman he loves . What would have been that, Harald and Irene ?????? (Nothing against Irene though .)

 

[Odette]

Princess Irene had no intention of ever marrying then Prince Harald. She was reputed to be in love with a Greek doctor but Queen Frederika would not allow the marriage because the gentleman was a commoner.
She is a very happy aunt who devotes her time to feeding the needy. She is a very Meditteranean person who probably would be miserable in the Norwegian climate.
All's well that ends well I suppose.

 

[iowabelle]

I wonder if a long courtship contributed to an apparently happy marriage. Charles and Diana might have fared better if they had had a long courtship (IMO they probably would have realized they didn't suit each other and they could have gone on to form better relationships). Maybe the duration of William and Kate bodes well for the future. (I know, not Norway!)

 

[Odette]

Iowa it makes me wonder. Very happily married couples decide after years together to call it quits. Up a few threads ago there was a mention that perhaps KH was contemplating divorce before he ascended to the throne.

 

[iowabelle]

I know I was surprised when my parents ended it after almost 32 years (although I can't say it was a happy marriage, I just figured they enjoyed being unhappy).

I didn't realize that H & S might have been having serious difficulties (I guess all real-life couples do have some issues). They seem very in sync with each other, like the Luxemburgers (who I also hear have had problems, to my dismay).

 

[Odette]

Whatever was the issue with either couple seems like they worked things out. Or perhaps like some couples are so used to each other it would be easier to try to get along than making waves...Who knows? Thankfully they kept their issues to themselves.

 

[Her_Majesty]

In this thread members speculated about a possible attemted suicide of (then) Sonja Haraldsen.
Speculations are prohibited at TRF.

Our Community Rules say:

Whenever possible, opinions should be based on factual information obtained from reputable sources and should be backed up by references to those sources. The moderators reserve the right to delete posts containing the more fanciful types of gossip and speculation, whether they originate in gossip magazines and websites or are simply fabricated.

Those suicide rumors have never been affirmed by any reliable source. They are based on a declaration of the Frensh magazine "Point de Vue".
Any further speculations will be deleted without notfication.

Thanks for your understanding!

The Norwegian Forum Moderators
​

 

[The Crown Prince]

Queen sonja and King Harald , had to wait such a long time to get married ,
after so many years not being able to marry , how where they able to change the mind of the King ???? and why was he so against it in the first places??

Sheer determination is all that I can say. Besides, I personally believe that Queen Sonja is a shining example of a true royal consort. She has (as far as I know) played this royal with unequal grace and dignity and I admire her for that. Crown Princess Mette-Marit has a helluva example in her mother-in-law and in order for her to contiune to restore class and dignity to the shaky Norwegian monarchy, she'd better take note!!

 

[grandlordbenji16]

Even though they were never officially boy friend and girlfriend i think they were at least some mutual affection on the then crown prince harald and irene of greece at almost every gathering he was escorting her. I always believe his threat to remain a bachelor was only to scared his father the king and the government if he wasnt allow to marry sonja he probably would marry irene in the end. i wonder how irene and queen fredericka who must have seen it as personal insult react to prince harald engagement although politically the greek family could not attend the wedding princess irene presence might have cause some stir among those then traditionalist who believe the crown prince should marry a princess instead of a commoner

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/6540/ogaaainccc4sd7k2glcohcu.jpg
source: süddeutschezeitung

Moderator note: replaced directly posted image with a link

 

[Her_Majesty]

It has been discussed before that acually King Olav and Queen Frederika srranged the meetings between Harald and Irene. Olav thought she was the perfect future daughter-in-law and Frederika thought Harald was the perfect son-in-law. Neither Harald nor Irene ever really had the intention to marry. They weren't even a couple.

 

[mbrien1]

How did King Harald V of Norway first meet Sonja?

I know that there was controversy over Harald marrying a commoner, but does anybody know how they first met?

 

[Maura724]

They met at a party at Johan Stenersen (a mutual friend)'s home in June 1959. Sonja hadn't intended to go to the party and had been persuaded by her mother at the last minute. It was the first time she'd had an evening out since her father's death three months earlier.

A week or so after the party, Harald, who was graduating from the military academy in August, called her and asked her to attend his graduation ball with him.

 

[IloveCP]

I admire Sonja for her waiting 9 years to marry the man she loves.She was kinda like the kate middleton of the 60s!