General News & Information for King Harald V and Queen Sonja: 2006 -

[Muhler]

I suppose that means that Haakon and Mette-Marit are going to step up their workload even more?

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Well, most of the King's engagements are now taking place inside the palace, and Haakon is quite busy already.

And the King is not that keen on the idea of leaving more work to Haakon and Mette-Marit:
No pause for breath for the royal couple who’ve reached the grand age of 80 - Norway Today

The king said that cooperation with the crown prince and princess is of great help to him and the queen.

‘We have four people working as a team. We work closely together, have many meetings, and talk a lot together. This is a scheme that I introduced myself, and that I missed when I was crown prince’.

The king said the crown prince occasionally offers to take over some assignments.

King Harald said, ’But I seldom accept the offer, I should emphasise!’

And I don't think the courtiers is that keen on a divisive/political and controversial Crown Prince (who is constantly under criticism) taking on more engagements while an extremely popular monarch in relatively good health (despite his fragility) is on the throne. - But if he gets even more frail (which is likely), then the king has no other choice then to let Haakon take some of his duties.

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Billed-Bladet writes that the King has been admitted to hospital:
81-årige kong Harald indlagt på hospitalet - Billed-Bladet

King Harald, who reached the age of 81 on February 21, has been admitted to hospital, the Norwegian court informs.

Well, as one can read in post 38, this is completely wrong.
HM is (according to sources in the Norwegian media) at the Royal Palace, where he is cared for by several lakeis (royal word for footmen), maids, and officers from The Royal Police Escort.

Here is an article from Royal Central (basically an english version of the Norwegian articles from yesterday):
Crown Prince Haakon to take on regency as King Harald is on medical leave – Royal Central

When His Majesty was still heir to the throne, and in the military, it was discovered that he had a congenital defect on one foot. It made it difficult to stretch the foot entirely during regular marching. The military doctors suggested surgery. However, after a family council at the Palace, it was decided that he would not be operated. For a while, however, he went for treatment at Sophie’s Minde Hospital.

“I usually say that I have feet that are not so good to go on. So, therefore, I’m not so fond of walking”, was King Harald`s comment in a biography of the King published in 2005.

Well, as one also can read in post 38, the King was in fact operated for it after 2005 (we don't know exactly when).

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CP Haakon had this to say about it:

Kronprins Haakon tror kongen vil komme til hektene raskt

"I think he will be well again soon. The King is very good at thinking that he's healthy. Now, I think his foot needs some rest, and then it will be good again, and then he will be back. It will be fine'' says CP Haakon to NTB.

He said almost the same to NRK - see video:
Flink til å tenke at han er frisk - NRK

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Well, as one can see from my post yesterday evening, Billed-Bladet has still not changed the mistake in which they wrote that the King had been admitted to hospital.

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Here is another article from Royal Centra:
Crown Prince Haakon comments his father’s medical leave – Royal Central

His Majesty the King should have held an audience for recipients of the King’s Medal of Honour at the Royal Palace in Oslo yesterday; this audience was taken over by Her Majesty the Queen. When the Norwegian Council of State is held today, the Crown Prince will meet with the government alone.

King Harald was also supposed to attend the celebrations for the Norwegian Society’s 150th Anniversary at the Norwegian Theatre in Oslo. Crown Prince Haakon will attend on behalf of his father on Saturday evening. Although King Harald resumes his work on Monday, he has no official tasks before Thursday next week. On Thursday, His Majesty has granted an audience to Norway’s Foreign Minister as well as the United Kingdoms Chief of Defence, Sir Stuart Peach.

Well, that's wrong. It is CP MM who will attend that event, not CP Haakon. - So it's not just Billed-Bladet who makes mistakes.
And the writer of this article Oskar Aanmoen is Norwegian, so he should know (especially since it was announced on the Royal House website and in several Norwegian articles yesterday).

BTW, The King will be back on May 3th, when he grants the Minister of Foreign Affairs an audience.

[Muhler]

Presumably they got it from the same news-source, who got it wrong in the first place.

Alas, that sort of mistakes are very frequent and not only in weekly magazines. Newspapers and TV-networks are very good at such mistakes as well.

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Yes, but it seems to be only Billed-Bladet who makes this (pretty big) mistake - and they repeated it today:

God melding fra kronprins Haakon: Far skal nok blive rask - Billed-Bladet

The 81-year-old Norwegian king Harald is hospitalized. But now there is good news from his son.

On April 25, the Norwegian court announced that the 81-year-old King Harald had been admitted to hospital with pain in one foot because of congestion.

[Tatiana Maria]

Originally Posted by ROYAL NORWAY

Well, most of the King's engagements are now taking place inside the palace, and Haakon is quite busy already.

And the King is not that keen on the idea of leaving more work to Haakon and Mette-Marit:
No pause for breath for the royal couple who’ve reached the grand age of 80 - Norway Today

And I don't think the courtiers is that keen on a divisive/political and controversial Crown Prince (who is constantly under criticism) taking on more engagements while an extremely popular monarch in relatively good health (despite his fragility) is on the throne. - But if he gets even more frail (which is likely), then the king has no other choice then to let Haakon take some of his duties.

That seems like an excellent reason to make Haakon's "close work" with his father public and to allow him to take over some of his father's engagements - he would hopefully acquire some popularity by association with King Harald.

When His Majesty was still heir to the throne, and in the military, it was discovered that he had a congenital defect on one foot. It made it difficult to stretch the foot entirely during regular marching. The military doctors suggested surgery. However, after a family council at the Palace, it was decided that he would not be operated. For a while, however, he went for treatment at Sophie’s Minde Hospital.

Why was a family council required to handle King Harald's health care decision, I wonder?

[wartenberg7]

It is very hard for me to understand why CP Haakon is so often criticized! For me he is one of the most promising and capable future monarchs in europe!
OK, he might have done some mistakes, but who is without fault may cast the first stone.
I remember very vividly what people said when old King Olav died, that Harald will never be able to catch up with his popular father. Well, we see today how very different things have turned out to be!

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by wartenberg7

It is very hard for me to understand why CP Haakon is so often criticized! For me he is one of the most promising and capable future monarchs in Europe!

Based on what ?

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Originally Posted by Tatiana Maria

Why was a family council required to handle King Harald's health care decision, I wonder?

Well, that's when he was in the military (before he married Sonja and got children), so he probably just wanted to consult with King Olav and Princess Astrid on whether he was going to have the operation, which would have meant a break from the military, something that wouldn't have gone down very well with his tough and proud military-man father.

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Originally Posted by wartenberg7

It is very hard for me to understand why CP Haakon is so often criticized! For me he is one of the most promising and capable future monarchs in europe!
OK, he might have done some mistakes, but who is without fault may cast the first stone.
I remember very vividly what people said when old King Olav died, that Harald will never be able to catch up with his popular father. Well, we see today how very different things have turned out to be!

I can agree with that, but there is a BIG but:

CP Olav was allways in the backround until King Haakon VII died in 1957 (60 years ago last year), and many didn't understand how he would be able to take over from his father.

It was (as you wrote) the same with CP Harald, he was always in the backround until King Olav V died in 1991, and many (himself included) didn't understand how he would be able to take over from his father.
But as I have written in other threads, Harald was a shy but popular crown prince who never interfered in political affairs, so he cannot be compared with his son.

And unfortunately for Haakon, King Harald is now more popular than both King Olav and King Haakon - and the media environment is quite different today than in 1991, so he is probably going to have an even bigger task taking over from his father than what Harald and Olav had when they succeeded to the throne.

[Tatiana Maria]

Originally Posted by ROYAL NORWAY

Well, that's when he was in the military (before he married Sonja and got children), so he probably just wanted to consult with King Olav and Princess Astrid on whether he was going to have the operation, which would have meant a break from the military, something that wouldn't have gone down very well with his tough and proud military-man father.

I imagine King Harald would not have acted so sternly if Crown Prince Haakon had been injured when he was in the military, would he?

Originally Posted by Mbruno

Based on what ?

I cannot speak for wartenberg7, but as for "capable", Haakon has lately faced criticism chiefly when his work was considered excessively political, wasteful, or out of touch with the Norwegian public. Compare him to certain royals who are criticized primarily for being workshy, and it seems that his problems are not a deficit of capability but the initiatives to which he chooses to bring his abilities.

[ROYAL NORWAY]

The Queen is 81 today:

Poorly translated NTB article from Norway Today:
Queen Sonja turns 81 - Norway Today

Queen Sonja celebrates her 81st birthday in private this year, whilst King Harald participates in the World Championships in sailing in Germany.

Unlike the extensive two-day, very public 80th birthdays of the royal couple last year, it will only be a private celebration when the Queen is turns 81 , the castle informs NTB.

King Harald will not be present during the celebration because he is busy with the World Sailing Championships in the German Langenargen.

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Oskar Aanmoen @OAanmoen
Happy Birthdayto my own #Queen!

Her #Majesty Queen Sonja of #Norway is today 81 years old. Here are some pictures I have taken from the year that now are behind us.

Long live the Queen!: twitter photos

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Billed-Bladet article with google translation and a quote translated by me:
TILLYKKE: Dronning Sonja fylder 81 år! - Billed-Bladet - translation

Queen Sonja is immensely popular in her native country and still an active lady with many official duties in the royal program.

Well, IMO she always used to be much more respected than she is popular, and ''Immensely'' (or umåtelig/umådelig in Norwegian/Danish) is a very strong word. But yes, she has become what I will describe as ''highly popular'' in her own right here now, especially after her 80th Birthday last year - and she really deserves it.

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According to Royal expert Kjell Arne Totland (who was at TV2 News Channel and talked about her today), she will celebrate at Mågerø (the regent couple's private holiday retreat in Tjøme in southern Norway) with a private black tie dinner with family and friends.

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Well, the King is home in Norway again:

Kjell Arne Totland @TV2KjellArne
THE KING IS BACK... The King’s #Standard on top of the #RoyalPalace in #Oslo shows that #KingHarald (81) now is back in #Norway again - after taking part in the #WorldCup in #sailing in #Langenargen in #Germany: tweet with photo

Read about flag rules at the royal residences here: http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...ml#post2127585

[ROYAL NORWAY]

The King has been out fishing in Altaelva (Alta River) in Finnmark county, as he usually does at this time of the year:

Oskar Aanmoen @OAanmoen
Wednesday afternoon, King Harald went back to Oslo after two days fishing in Altaelva.
The king could report that they caught three salmons and that he himself caught a salmon of 13 kilos:
tweet with an old photo

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Just to clarify, it was Tor-Erland Nilsen (leader of the Alta Salmon Fishing Association) who reported it to the press, not the King.

HM was accompanied by three fishing-friends during his stay in Finnmark.

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There are several local articles about it, but you must have a subscription to read them.

[Susan D]

Queen Sonja looks more like 61 than like 81. Although her hair is obviously dyed, she's extremely well preserved!! I envy that.

[wartenberg7]

Originally Posted by Susan D

Queen Sonja looks more like 61 than like 81. Although her hair is obviously dyed, she's extremely well preserved!! I envy that.

Me too. And that, other than the Qu. of Sweden, without plastic surgery!

I always loved Queen Sonja, she´s one of my favourites!

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Today is the 7th anniversary for the attacks at the Government quarter in Oslo and at the Labour Party's youth camp at Utøya.

As I've written in other threads, The King was widely praised for the role he played in the grieving process in the days who folloved:

July 22nd, 2011:
In the evening, The King spoke to NRK from Mågerø (The Regent couple's private holiday retreat in Tjøme in southern Norway), where he sent his condolences to the victims and their families, and urged unity.

Video of it here, for those who understands Norwegian:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4Tj4GYtnB0

July 23rd, 2011:
The King, Queen and The Crown Prince visited the crisis centre established at Sundvolden hotel in response to the tragedy at Utøya.
In the evening, His Majesty gave a live-televised address, where he said that freedom is stronger than fear - and that he firmly believed in an open Norwegian democracy and society.

Text and video of the speech here: The Tragedies in Oslo and on Utøya island - The Royal House of Norway

July 24th, 2011:
The King, Queen, Princess Märtha and Ari attended the memorial service in Oslo Cathedral at 11:00. The Regent couple was in tears.

Watch from 04:40 in this NRK video

The King and Queen visited wounded at Ullevål Hospital at 15:00, and the Government quarter at 16:30.

July 25th, 2011:
The King and Queen and The CP couple signed the condolance protocol in the University Hall after one minute's silence at 12:00.

August 1st, 2011:
The King and The Crown Prince attended the memorial ceremony held in the Storting to mark the acts of terror in Oslo and on Utøya at 12:00.

August 21st, 2011:
The Regent couple, The CP couple, Princess Märtha, Ari Behn and Princess Astrid attended the national memorial ceremony after the acts of terror in Oslo and on Utøya in Oslo Spektrum at 15:00.
The King (again in tears) gave what has been described as the best speech held in Norway (along with that famous Silver Jubilee speech he gave in 2016).
And as the commentators said, he touched a whole nation.
Here is some of what he said: ''As a father, grandfather and husband, I have some feeling of what you are going through, but I can only imagine the depth of your pain. As the King of this nation, I feel for each and every one of you.''

Text and video of the speech here: National Memorial Ceremony: The King's Speech - The Royal House of Norway

The Queen, The CP couple and Princesses Märtha/Astrid also attended some 22 July related events without the King.

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Well, it's no wonder why this amazing, warm and charismatic man is as popular as he is.

Really proud of having him as my head of state.

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Since this post is most about the King and how he handled it, I chose to put it here, and not in the ''Oslo and Utøya'' thread.

[Tatiana Maria]

Originally Posted by ROYAL NORWAY

Text and video of the speech here: National Memorial Ceremony: The King's Speech - The Royal House of Norway

This is one of the most poignant speeches I ever read.

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Yes. And even more poignant I think, is the fact that he wrote it himself - with some help from his private secretary Knut Brakstad (educated theologian and priest).

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Originally Posted by ROYAL NORWAY

The King has been out fishing in Altaelva (Alta River) in Finnmark county, as he usually does at this time of the year:

Oskar Aanmoen @OAanmoen
Wednesday afternoon, King Harald went back to Oslo after two days fishing in Altaelva.
The king could report that they caught three salmons and that he himself caught a salmon of 13 kilos:
tweet with an old photo

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Just to clarify, it was Tor-Erland Nilsen (leader of the Alta Salmon Fishing Association) who reported it to the press, not the King.

HM was accompanied by three fishing-friends during his stay in Finnmark.

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There are several local articles about it, but you must have a subscription to read them.

Here's an English article about it:

King Harald caught 13 kilos of heavy salmon – Royal Central

According to tradition, King Harald ended this week with his annual salmon fishing holiday in northern Norway. For two days, King Harald was by the Altaelva River in Finnmark, Norway’s northernmost county. Together with a few good comrades, they fished for Norwegian salmon. On the two days of the holiday, the King and his friends managed to catch three big salmons. His Majesty struck all records and caught the biggest fish – a salmon of over 13 kilos.

When the journey had ended, and they returned home, the monarch gave a short comment to the local newspaper, where he told that it had been a lovely holiday and that they had caught three fish. Otherwise, the holiday was peaceful and enjoyable.

As I wrote above, it was Tor-Erland Nilsen who reported to the press that HM and his fishing-friends had caught three salmons, and that the King himself caught a salmon of 13 kilos.
However, now Oscar Aanmoen (the writer of this article) is right, the local newspaper wrote that the King had given them a short comment, but that was after Oscar wrote the above tweet.

However, the salmon holidays have not always have gone by peacefully for the King. When King Harald fished for salmon in 2013, a scary event occurred. A drunk and outgoing man ended up fighting with the King’s bodyguards when he saw the monarch fishing in the river. The man was quickly arrested by His Majesty’s bodyguards and sent to jail.

Well, as always in Oscar's articles, there are some factual errors here.

1. The drunk guy in his 50's was there to fish, but he did not have permission to be in that area, and then ended up fighting with the King's Royal Police Escort officers when they asked him to leave.
His anger was not aimed at the King, and he apologised in an interview with the local newspaper some days after the incident.

2. And he was not sent to jail. He was taken into arrest, so he could be sober.

Here is a photo of the King and his RPE officers out fishing, taken some years ago: photo

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Perhaps we should use this opportunity to talk a bit about royal security in Norway:

The NRF is guarded by The Royal Police Escort (Den Kongelige Politieskorte), translated to ''The Norwegian Royalty Protection Unit'' by the Royal Website.
The Escort is administered under the auspices of the Oslo Police District and the Oslo Chief of Police, which is the highest authority in matters relating to the safety of the Royal Family.

Read more here:
The Norwegian Royalty Protection Unit - The Royal House of Norway

Royal Police Escort - Wikipedia

Here are some additional information from me, which are not mentioned in the articles above:
The Royal Police Escort consists of about 70 officers and protects the Regent couple and the CP family 24hrs a day, but Princesses Märtha & Astrid are also heavily protected.

The prime minister, other ministers and the politicians who need it, is protected by PST (Politiets sikkerhetstjeneste, translated to the ''Norwegian Police Security Service'' in English).

This is already in the public record, and has been mentioned by the media on several occasions, so I see no problem in writing about it. - But I won't be more specific than this, and I won't go into detail, as some of the posters in the British ''Royal Security'' thread does.

[Muhler]

Thanks, Royal Norway, for your always well-informed posts.

Have there been calls for amalgamating the royal protection detail for the rest of the security apparatus?

I can imagine that some segments of the political spectrum would consider that a "private police force" under the King - as well as reducing costs.