State visit to Australia: February 23 - 27, 2015

[dazzling]

Official brief on first day's visit

 

[Iluvbertie]

A report from The Canberra Times with photos:
Norwegian royalty touch down in Canberra

I'm a little disappointed this is all I could find in our newspapers.

I have seen nothing in any of the major papers or on the main news stations - it simply isn't 'news' here.

 

[Huddo74]

No suprise really! Most Australians are only aware of the British Royals and The Danish Royals and have no idea other Monarchies exsit

 

[dazzling]

His Majesty King Harald V (R) and Queen Sonja of Norway are shown around the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney, Australia, 24 February 2015. King Harald and Queen Sonja are on an officials visit to Australia.

ANP

Image Upper.com - Free Image Hosting - View Image

Day 3 picture gallery

 

[dazzling]

Opened seminar on Antarctica

His Majesty the King opened Antarctica seminar at the Australian National Maritime Museum today. The second day of the King and Queen's state visit takes place in Australia's largest city, Sydney.
More information

 

[Iluvbertie]

And still no mention of this visit in the major media outlets. This visit simply isn't making the news down here.

 

[polyesco]

Article and pictures
King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway take in Australia's sights

meeting with the prime minister
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B-hKzdnCMAAE-w9.jpg

 

[Roslyn]

I'm glad TRH have had a chance to have a good look at Sydney Harbour. It's very beautiful.

 

[COUNTESS]

And still no mention of this visit in the major media outlets. This visit simply isn't making the news down here.

They are very lovely people, but I doubt they would make news here either. Your Head of State is a foreign person who lives in a different country, so no fancy State Dinners, etc. I think it was a break from the cold.

 

[Chubb Fuddler]

The Governor-General hosts fancy State Dinners if they are scheduled as part of a State Visit. It is irrelevant that the Queen does not live here. We don’t have a constitutionally or legal defined head of state. I prefer to call the Queen the Queen, and the Governor-General the Governor-General. Either of them can be described, if necessary, as functioning as head of state depending on the circumstances. The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia does not help clarify the situation by the interesting implications of Section 61, which states that the “executive power of the Commonwealth is vested in the Queen and is exercisable by the Governor-General as the Queen’s representative, and extends to the execution and maintenance of this Constitution, and of the laws of the Commonwealth.”

If the Queen moved to Canberra permanently, we would still need a Governor-General to carry out the functions assigned specifically to him by the Constitution, such as his role in the Federal Executive Council. It is this separation between power vested and power exercisable that gives the Governor-General the authority to act without consulting the Queen. But the Queen still has the upper hand because she can sack the Governor-General. It also means that any discussion on Australia’s head of state is likely to get stuck in a never-ending loop.

Back to our royal visitors. I'm having great difficulty remembering more than a handful of State Visits that made it onto the evening news. The President of Ukraine was here last year, who knew? Not I. Unless it's a State Visit from one the Great Powers, as they used to be called, it will not make the news here. As for Norway, a brief glance at NRK and Aftenposten suggests that the Norwegian media is as indifferent to the visit as is the Australian media, though there is some coverage if you dig deep enough. But media attention is only one aspect of a State Visit. The main point is the personal encounters at the numerous engagements undertaken by the visitors. This is what will help maintain a good relationship between the Kingdom of Norway and the Commonwealth of Australia.

Kongeparet får kritikk for å fremme norsk våpenindustri - Nyheter, tv og radio fra hele verden - NRK.no

Kong Harald fronter norsk industri i Australia - Dagen.no

 

[dazzling]

King Harald V And Queen Sonja Of Norway Visit Australia - Day 4

gettyimages.com.au gallery

 

[dazzling]

Picture gallery from www.kongehuset.no of the visit to Australia

 

[polyesco]

Harald and Sonja in Australia in 1970
Endelig tilbake i Australia… | Kongebloggen - Kjell Arne Totland

 

[dazzling]

Closed state visit in Perth
The last part of the King and Queen's state visit took place in Perth on Australia's west coast. Marine cooperation and petroleum activities was current main theme... Summary

 

[CyrilVladisla]

King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway visited Australia in 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smL1j_3_FPA