80th Birthday Celebrations of King Harald V and Queen Sonja

[Hovikirjeenvaihtaj]

It has now been officially confirmed that President Niinistö and Mrs Haukio will represent Finland. Although unfortunately they will only attend the dinner on Tuesday.

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Thanks! And here it is:
President Niinistö and Mrs Haukio attend 80th birthdays of Norway's royal couple - The President of the Republic of Finland

President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö and Mrs Jenni Haukio will participate in the celebration of the Norwegian royal couple’s 80th birthdays in Oslo on Tuesday 9 May 2017.

The presidential couple's programme will include a banquet held by King Harald V and Queen Sonja in the Royal Palace. Guests at the banquet will include members of the Nordic royal families.

In addition, President Niinistö will meet with Erna Solberg, the Prime Minister of Norway, on Wednesday 10 May.

The Norwegian royal couple last visited Finland in September 2016. For their part, President Niinistö and Mrs Haukio paid a state visit to Norway in 2012.

[Hovikirjeenvaihtaj]

Also King Philippe and Queen Mathilde confirmed to attend on both days!

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by Hovikirjeenvaihtaj

Also King Philippe and Queen Mathilde confirmed to attend on both days!

Great news ! Did the confirmation come from the Belgian royal calendar ?

[eya]

Yes!! (Thanks Hovikijeenvaihtaj)

https://www.monarchie.be/fr/agenda/8...ins-de-norvege

"King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway are very busy indeed right now. As you would be when royals from around Europe are joining you for a two day extravaganza to mark the fact you're both turning 80 this year. We're used to major celebrations for major royal birthdays but in a 21st century change of script, this regal bash is being prepared on social media."

Queens of England: How royals get ready to party

[principessa]

Here is the confirmation:

https://www.monarchie.be/nl/agenda/8...-van-noorwegen

[ROYAL NORWAY]

New article from VG (translated by me) with a lot of information:
http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/k...lo/a/23988186/

King and Queen's 80th birthdays

Here you can see Europe's Royals in Oslo

Royal guests from all over Europe will celebrate King Harald and Queen Sonja's 80th birthday next week. Here you will see where you can see them.

King Harald turned 80 on February 21, and Queen Sonja's great day is 4th of July.

In the midst of the two 80th birthdays, the royal birthdays will be celebrated jointly on the 9th and 10th of May, .

Those in the right place at the right time can see royal guests from all over Europe close up next week.

These will come

Between 30 and 40 guests from Europe's royal house are expected to Oslo these days. In addition, the Icelandic and Finnish presidents will come.

The Swedish royal family is represented by King Carl Gustaf (70), Queen Silvia (73), Crown Princess Victoria (39), Prince Daniel (43), Prince Carl Philip (37) and Princess Sofia (32). The Swedish court informs that in the calendar on its website.

From Denmark, Queen Margrethe (77), Crown Prince Frederik (48), Crown Princess Mary (45), Prince Joachim (47) and Princess Marie (41). The Danish court informs that on their website.

The only one who does not join the Danish royal family is the Queen's husband, Prince Henrik (82).

From our own royal family, Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette Marit and Princess Astrid will attend the events.

The children are not part of the official celebration these days.

European guests

The press contact at the British court confirms to VG that the Windsor family will be represented in Oslo, but since the visit is private, they will not inform who is coming.

After what VG knows, the British court will be represented by the younger generation of the family. Queen Elisabeth does not come.

From Belgium, the King and Queen will probably come.

"With 99% of security, I can say that King Philippe and Queen Mathilde will travel to Oslo," said the press contact at the Belgian court to VG.

The royal families from Spain, Monaco, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are also expected to visit Oslo to celebrate King Harald and Queen Sonja.

For security reasons, the respective courts are nevertheless reluctant to tell who is coming.

The press office at the Spanish royal house announces that they will publish this on Friday.

High security

According to Assistant Communications Manager Sven Gj. Gjeruldsen at the Palace, the security of the celebration is very high, which may cause the audience to not get as close to the royals as on previous occasions.

"But it should still be good opportunities for the public to take their own pictures of the royals''.

Here you can see them

Tuesday the 9th of May, the official celebration takes place at thepalace Square at 17.30.

The Gard will have a drill show, the Soul Children will sing and dance, and actor Bjarte Hjelmeland will speak to the King and Queen.

Those who wants to take royal pictures must get ready with the camera at 18.30. Then the jubilants and royal guests from Europe appear on the palace balcony.

Then the Birthday song will be sung.

At 18.45, the royals retreat to prepare for the gala dinner at the palace.

Wednesday, May 10th, the royal guests will attend a minicruise in Oslofjorden with the royal yacht at 11.00. Most will arrive from from Honnørbryggen.

Then it will also be possible to take pictures.

The Danish guests will live on the royal yacht "Dannebrog" which is located at the dock at Akershus fortress. At the moment, it is uncertain whether they will also come via Honnørbryggen or if they will come in straight from Dannebrog.

The same evening, at 7 pm there is a dinner in the Opera. This is the government's gift for the King and Queen on the occasion of the 80th birthdays.

The royals will drive in a cortège, led by the gard, down Karl Johan from the Palace to the Opera. The cortège starts from the palace at 18.15.

For safety reasons, there are no open cars, but cars without black windows. This makes it possible to get eye contact with the royals along the entire stretch.

The best view this day, nevertheless, is from the opera roof. 1,000 people will be aloved stand there when the guests arrives from their cars into the opera.

"Those who want to be on the opera roof must be there early. They will get in from 16.00 and all must be in place no later than 17.30, one and a half hours before the King and Queen arrives. This is due to security reasons, says Deputy Communications Manager Sven Gj. Gjeruldsen.

He promises that the reward for meeting up early is a good opportunity to see the royals as they leave the cars and goes into the opera.

1. Everyone (except VG) knows that Queen Elizabeth II does not participate in foreign celebrations.

2. Vg spoke to the Belgian court before it was confirmed that the King and Queen will attend the celebrations.

3. A bit disappointing that there will be no open cars (something the court wanted) but after the bomb threat in Oslo some days ago, it's completely understandable.

[fortimo]

...I would like to know, what do the royals think before such big events... Joy about a new party-time, meet eachothers? Or are they chagrined at obligatory meeting and spending theese days by others? Or fear about the possible terrorattacks? ...

[ROYAL NORWAY]

The king said before his 70th birthday that he was looking forward to spending time with colleagues from other countries who are in the same position as he is. But as he said last year (for the Jubilee), the most important thing is to celebrate with the people.

More information:

Kjell Arne Totland‏ @TV2KjellArne
#BIRTHDAY #GUESTS It is confirmed that the #President of #Iceland & his wife will attend #celebrations in #Oslo.

(And thanks to all those who have and still use the thanks button)

[Marengo]

Originally Posted by fortimo

...I would like to know, what do the royals think before such big events... Joy about a new party-time, meet eachothers? Or are they chagrined at obligatory meeting and spending theese days by others? Or fear about the possible terrorattacks? ...

According to Princess Margriet of the Netherlands these kind of events tend to be rather boring and she hated them when she was younger.

[ANNIE_S]

The Spanish Royal House publishes its schdule on Fridays so we shall see tomorrow, but we can rule King Felipe out, since he has an event on 9th in Extremadura and another one in Valencia on 10th.

I'm guessing they will send King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia as they did last year for King CG's Birthday, and I hope this time they'll stay for the gala dinner

[Koningin]

Luxembourg will be represent by: GD Henri, GD Maria Teresa, HGD Guillaume, HGD Stephanie.

[lula]

King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía attend the government dinner on the 10th

Casa de Su Majestad el Rey de España - Actividades y Agenda - Cena ofrecida por la Excma. Sra. Primera Ministra de Noruega en honor de SS.MM. los Reyes de Noruega con motivo de su 80 cumpleaños

[Yashal]

As expected, it will be King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia to represent the SRF.
Accoding to the calender, TM will attend only the dinner on the 10th at the Opera House.

Casa de Su Majestad el Rey de España - Actividades y Agenda - Cena ofrecida por la Excma. Sra. Primera Ministra de Noruega en honor de SS.MM. los Reyes de Noruega con motivo de su 80 cumpleaños


Edit: Beat me to it, lula

[ANNIE_S]

Meh, the usual mess by the SRF

I really think JC and Sofia avoid the big gala events with tiaras and such in order to avoid them taking away the limelight from F&L. Somehow I'm under the impression that kind of events will be considered by the RH only for the current King and Queen's attendance, and if they are not avaiable, JC&S attend the less grand celebrations. It can also be King Juan Carlos legendary dislike for royal gatherings, but in that case Queen Sofia could go alone as she has done for years before

Of course, Queen Letizia has no events on 9th and 10th, but God forbids the press stop consider her unable to behave on royal meetings if her husband is not there to guide her

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by ANNIE_S

Meh, the usual mess by the SRF

I really think JC and Sofia avoid the big gala events with tiaras and such in order to avoid them taking away the limelight from F&L. Somehow I'm under the impression that kind of events will be considered by the RH only for the current King and Queen's attendance, and if they are not avaiable, JC&S attend the less grand celebrations. It can also be King Juan Carlos legendary dislike for royal gatherings, but in that case Queen Sofia could go alone as she has done for years before

Of course, Queen Letizia has no events on 9th and 10th, but God forbids the press stop consider her unable to behave on royal meetings if her husband is not there to guide her

I suspect Letizia is not very fond of the big tiara gala dinners either. She's had a lot of those lately, but they were all state dinners which she had to attend as part of her job. Birthday galas are different though and she is most definitely not required to attend an unofficial, social gathering.

Having said that, Felipe and Letizia did attend Queen Margrethe II's birthday celebrations, probably because they are closer to the Danes via their common relation to the Greeks.

Quite frankly, I am impressed with the number of royals in attendance in Norway, including crown princes and junior princes in addition to monarchs.

[Duke of Marmalade]

I do think there is a personal motivation for JC to attend this celebration, otherwise Sofia would go alone, and she has no problem outshining other royals.

F&L never seemed fond of royal gatherings, has Felipe ever attended one of the christenings of his foreign godchildren? Would have been a good opportunity to see his goddaughter IA

[ROYAL NORWAY]

I've been so busy with work both yesterday and today, and all my spare time has gone to family time and Prince Philip. So, therefore, I have not followed Norwegian news, but the Queen and Crown Prince have given interviews to NRK, which will be sent on a later date. And the King has given an interview to Aftenposten.

[AnaC]

Originally Posted by Duke of Marmalade

F&L never seemed fond of royal gatherings, has Felipe ever attended one of the christenings of his foreign godchildren? Would have been a good opportunity to see his goddaughter IA

Of course, he's attended the christenings of Sofia of Bulgaria, Isabelle d’Orléans, Constantine-Alexios of Greece and Ernst August of Hanover. He was unable to attend Vincent of Denmark's christening because he was on an official trip to Israel, Palestine and Jordan, obviously a very delicate visit that was arranged months before and couldn't be rescheduled just like that.

Originally Posted by ANNIE_S

It can also be King Juan Carlos legendary dislike for royal gatherings, but in that case Queen Sofia could go alone as she has done for years before

Queen Sofia doesn't attend events for a Head of State without King Juan Carlos. I can only remember the Jubilee of the late King of Thailand, but King Juan Carlos had already travelled to Thailand that year, they are not European royals and she brought a very special present from her husband, the Golden Fleece Collar, which very few people received from King Juan Carlos.

Any other time she's attended a royal gathering without her husband it has been for deposed royals or in honor of a consort, a Crown Prince or a minor royal. The SRF considers that the Head of State should attend the events of a fellow Head of State, and in case the King is unavailable they now have a former Head of State as second best case scenario. That's why only King Juan Carlos (and Queen Sofia, but she's optional) could attend King Harald's birthday celebrations once it became clear that the King had events on the 9th and the 10th.

King Juan Carlos doesn't seem to particularly enjoy these events and I think that's why they are only attending the second dinner (sadly without tiaras), but it can also be that they don't think it's appropriate to spend two days celebrating when next day they're attending the funeral of King Juan Carlos last aunt. Infanta Alicia's funeral is next Thursday, and while they are not in mourning like in the old times and they've all traveled and attended private birthday parties in the case of the King and Queen, it may be a factor in the decision.

[Yashal]

Wasn't Sofia also supposed to attend Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012?
The trip was then cancelled after the umpteenth dispute over Gibraltar, but IIRC she was supposed to go there alone.