80th Birthday Celebrations of King Harald V and Queen Sonja


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Ingrid Alexandras manners seem to be quite perfect in public; but why could NOBODY just tell Sverre Magnus to just put out his hands of his pockets at an official function which was a very special day for his grandmother...?!!

Honestly, after his scene-stealing antics on the balcony a while back, he may very well have been instructed to keep his hands safely in his pockets!

About all of this, though, you never can tell for sure what's really going on. Have they not been told how to behave, or have they been told and just not taken their parents' instructions seriously or aren't good at remembering every detail in the moment? Especially in the case of the girls who are rarely in these situations and are used to being very casual around their grandparents.

As a parent, when my kids do embarrassing things in public, there are times when I feel I can fix it with a quick word and so I do, but there are times where I'm afraid of causing a bigger scene and so let it go until I'm behind closed doors. For all we know, after the fact there's an awful lot of "didn't you remember that I said you had to wait to sit?" and "I have told you not to make those faces!"
 
Honestly, after his scene-stealing antics on the balcony a while back, he may very well have been instructed to keep his hands safely in his pockets!

About all of this, though, you never can tell for sure what's really going on. Have they not been told how to behave, or have they been told and just not taken their parents' instructions seriously or aren't good at remembering every detail in the moment? Especially in the case of the girls who are rarely in these situations and are used to being very casual around their grandparents.

As a parent, when my kids do embarrassing things in public, there are times when I feel I can fix it with a quick word and so I do, but there are times where I'm afraid of causing a bigger scene and so let it go until I'm behind closed doors. For all we know, after the fact there's an awful lot of "didn't you remember that I said you had to wait to sit?" and "I have told you not to make those faces!"


If you have watched the report on Queen Sonjas birthday celebration closely you will have noticed that neither Prcss Märtha L. nor the CP couple were annoyed by their children´s antics... They seem to regard this as "normal".... It would have been very easy to instruct them very gently not to sit while their Majesties were still standing (a thing expected of anyone else!) or to give Magnus a hint to just put out his hands. Nothing of that happened! I was on the other hand very much pleased to see how thoughtful and keen Haakon took care of his old auntie Astrid! How can he on the other hand be so ignorant of the manners of his own son...?!
 
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I keep on being upset with the behaviour of the Behn girls! They use to act like no one taught them anything of "etiquette" or politeness. Yes, I know, kids are kids bla bla bla, but these girls are not that small anymore. The youngest is worst: Looking straight into TV cameras, making mocking faces (she did so now, she did so at the 25th jubilee church service at the Nidaros Cathedral). When the royal family entered the Palace garden they immediately sat down on the bench before the King and Queen did! And Märtha Louise never talks them off... She always just looks on and smiles...!:bang::whistling: I´m sure, many on this board will not agree with me. But I find this embarresing to look at. I know it´s not the children´s fault, but the parents have failed here massively! Could you imagine when it comes to the danish, spanish or belgian royal kids? All right, they´re royal which the Behn children are not. But still, their grandparents are a King and a Queen and I think they should have been better taught.
Don´t get me wrong! I LOVE the norwegian royal family. It´s one of my favourites. But these Behn girls (perhaps with the exception of the middle one - Emma ?) I always found quite odd.

Ingrid Alexandras manners seem to be quite perfect in public; but why could NOBODY just tell Sverre Magnus to just put out his hands of his pockets at an official function which was a very special day for his grandmother...?! People these days seem to be almost scared to "traumatize" children by teaching them the simplest of social skills!

I respectfully disagree with you; if you are referring to Maud, Emma and Leah's behaviour in the video clip you quoted. They seemed to be acting in a normal way to me, and when they were looking at what seemed to be the cameras; I think they were actually looking at Sonja and smiling at her because of Haakon's speech.

I have noticed that about Sverre Magnus though; and I do think that someone should remind him not to pull any faces at the cameras during official occasions as he's old enough to know that at such occasions, his funny facial expressions should be left in the playground. He doesn't do it excessively, but still. (I think I'm sounding unintentionally harsh here, but I couldn't think of any other words to express my opinion on this.)
 
I respectfully disagree with you; if you are referring to Maud, Emma and Leah's behaviour in the video clip you quoted. They seemed to be acting in a normal way to me, and when they were looking at what seemed to be the cameras; I think they were actually looking at Sonja and smiling at her because of Haakon's speech.

I have noticed that about Sverre Magnus though; and I do think that someone should remind him not to pull any faces at the cameras during official occasions as he's old enough to know that at such occasions, his funny facial expressions should be left in the playground. He doesn't do it excessively, but still. (I think I'm sounding unintentionally harsh here, but I couldn't think of any other words to express my opinion on this.)


The smallest Behn girl always pulls faces into cameras! She did so at the Silver Jubilee, she did so at the reseption in the Art Stable when a cameraman filmed the scene. I was not referring to them looking smilingly to their granmother.
SM less pulls faces, but constantly yawns in public, constantly having his hands in his pockets. I do not expect of him behaving properly because he´s a Royal, I would teach any child to cover ones mouth when yawning because it´s not a pretty thing to look at and this is simply an act of politeness towards others.
 
:previous: I think we're going to have to agree to disagree on this matter; because, unless we watched completely different videos, I didn't see any major faults with the girls' behaviour at both the events you listed. And I rewatched all of the Jubilee celebrations earlier this afternoon, carefully focusing on Maud, Emma and Leah. The only remote thing I'd point out is that Martha Louise was talking a lot to one of her daughters during the Jubilee service which was quite distracting at times, but Sverre Magnus was yawning more than they were talking. To be fair to him though, even Ingrid Alexandra, who usually has beautiful manners, was acting a bit tired towards the end (I thought she was about to nod off to sleep at one point!) so it was probably just a long service. Even adults become physically bored during such services sometimes - I know I have!
 
:previous: I think we're going to have to agree to disagree on this matter; because, unless we watched completely different videos, I didn't see any major faults with the girls' behaviour at both the events you listed. And I rewatched all of the Jubilee celebrations earlier this afternoon, carefully focusing on Maud, Emma and Leah. The only remote thing I'd point out is that Martha Louise was talking a lot to one of her daughters during the Jubilee service which was quite distracting at times, but Sverre Magnus was yawning more than they were talking. To be fair to him though, even Ingrid Alexandra, who usually has beautiful manners, was acting a bit tired towards the end (I thought she was about to nod off to sleep at one point!) so it was probably just a long service. Even adults become physically bored during such services sometimes - I know I have!


1. If you have really have watched closely then you would have observed what I have seen.
2. I wouldn´t have come up with this matter if it was the 1st time I noticed it.
Yesterday I once again watched the royal couple´s 25th anniversary of the Kings accession. When the royal family went out of the Palace to inspect the winter games, Maud Angelica raised up her arms and jumped up and down like crazy so that Ingrid Alexandra again has to give her a hint to stop that. Sometimes I think IA is older and more reasonable than her cousin... She also did so at the royal couple´s 80th birthday on the Palace balcony when Maud Angelica was mocking a "royal wave" by waving to the people in a very ironic, artificial way like people sometimes - falsely - do when they pretend to act like Royalty... Ingrid puts an arm gently on Maud´s and surprisingly she stops immediately as if she by that have come to senses. IA seems to have a big influence on the young lady...!
3. It is allright as a kid or adult to be tired or to be bored! But you don´t have to show your boredom to everyone around, and children, especially those born into a public role, should be taught by parents to learn that.
 
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1. If you have really have watched closely then you would have observed what I have seen.
2. I wouldn´t have come up with this matter if it was the 1st time I noticed it.
Yesterday I once again watched the royal couple´s 25th anniversary of the Kings accession. When the royal family went out of the Palace to inspect the winter games, Maud Angelica raised up her arms and jumped up and down like crazy so that Ingrid Alexandra again has to give her a hint to stop that. Sometimes I think IA is older and more reasonable than her cousin... She also did so at the royal couple´s 80th birthday on the Palace balcony when Maud Angelica was mocking a "royal wave" by waving to the people in a very ironic, artificial way like people sometimes - falsely - do when they pretend to act like Royalty... Ingrid puts an arm gently on Maud´s and surprisingly she stops immediately as if she by that have come to senses. IA seems to have a big influence on the young lady...!
3. It is allright as a kid or adult to be tired or to be bored! But you don´t have to show your boredom to everyone around, and children, especially those born into a public role, should be taught by parents to learn that.



1. I'm not lying when I said I watched it closely. I did, and that's the truth.

2. People can see what they want to see but I honestly didn't spot that. She did seem excitable but wasn't behaving inappropriately. I digress, we'll just have to agree to disagree.

3. Of course. It's polite to show an interest in the event.

I think we should move on though since we're not going to come to the same terms with this.
 
:previous: You're very welcome! And thanks for the photos :flowers:

Here's an article with a video from Royal Central's Oskar Aanmoen - read more:
The Norwegian Royal Family received a birthday present from the Norwegian Parliament – Royal Central
His Majesty King Harald, Her Majesty Queen Sonja, and Their Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway participated in a ceremony in Norway’s capital, Oslo, on Monday afternoon celebrating the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the King and Queen.

The King and Queen’s birthday present from the Norwegian Parliament was a painting of the oath-ceremony of King Harald’s father, His Majesty King Olav V of Norway. The painting was unveiled during a ceremony in what is called “Vandrehallen” in the Parliament, where the paintings of the oath-ceremony of King Haakon VII and King Harald are also exhibited. Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit were also present during the ceremony.
 
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Today, December 7, King Harald and Queen Sonja received a gift from Asker municipality on the occasion of their 80th birthdays. The gift is a statue of Crown Princess Märtha with Prince Harald in her arms, a smaller version of the statue that stands in front of Asker church:


** Pic **
 
As we've had few of these royal gatherings over the last year, this one is great to look back on; especially with Haakon, ML and MM with their children doing a play; including interviewing some guests.

Here a shorter version with subtitles:
 
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I have watched it a million times, but whenever it pops up again on my Youtube recommendation I just can't stop myself to click and rewatch it. It is joyful and lovely.
 
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