Princess Ingrid Alexandra's confirmation: August 31, 2019

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by Muhler

Is it expected of the NRF, and as such also Ingrid, that they are Christian?
Or at least adhere to the Christian rituals and attend church at Christian holy days?

The constitution says that the King must be a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church. I take that as meaning that the King and, by the extension, the Crown Prince are expected to be Christian.

Originally Posted by Muhler

Yes, that would be great.
Christian and Ingrid and I'm sure Amalia too know each other well.
Not so sure how well Haakon and Mette-Marit and as such their daughter, know the Belgian and Spanish royals though.

Isn't Queen Mathilde one of Princess Isabella's godmothers ? I am pretty sure they met privately when Philippe and Mathilde were in Denmark for the Belgian state visit.



On that very bad TV movie about Frederik and Mary's courtship, it was mentioned that Frederik was with Felipe and Märtha Louise (among other royals) on the night he first met Mary in Australia. I don't know if that is true, but, if it is, it suggests that they knew each other as young men.



I don't think Frederik's children or Haakon's children have ever met the Belgian or Spanish royal kids though.

Any details on the gala dinner and who might be invited ?

[Muhler]

Thanks.

I do seem to remember reading somewhere that Isabella was on a kind of royal sleep-over in Belgium a year or two ago.
I guess she went with her mother on a private visit.

[polyesco]

Originally Posted by Muhler

Thanks.

I do seem to remember reading somewhere that Isabella was on a kind of royal sleep-over in Belgium a year or two ago.
I guess she went with her mother on a private visit.

Yes, From the Belgium State Visit to Denmark a few years back

Originally Posted by Muhler

...
The Belgian RC confided that they see M&F privately regularly, and that Queen Mathilde had seen her goddaughter, Isabella, both at this visit but also on previous private visits to Belgium by M&F and children.
...

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Originally Posted by Muhler

Thanks, Royal Norway.

Which means we can expect to see Ingrid in a bunad.

You're welcome!

Yes, we will most likely see her in bunad (under her confirmation robe) during the service in The Palace Chapel. And in a gown for the gala dinner in the evening.

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Originally Posted by Muhler

Interesting the boys don't wear the regional/national costume, given the Norwegian fondness for traditional attire on festive occasions.

Adults: Although the number is rising, in 2013, there was still only one in five men who were in possession of a bunad, compared to two in three women.
Why? Probably because most men don't bother to spend between $2,000-10,000 on a costume.
Confirmands: Most parents won't even dream about using that amount of money on something their 15-year-old boy sees as ''uncool'' and which he will grow out of after a few months.

BTV, those who can't afford to buy one for their girls have started to opt for a so-called cheaper ''China bunad'' (made in China). - Which has caused concern among bunad-experts because they fear it may undermine the authenticity and the desirability of the bunads.

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Originally Posted by Muhler

And that is a seriously beautiful cathedral, inside and out!
Someone clearly went to England and France and had a look around there, or they got a French or English master-builder to oversee the whole thing.
That style is markedly different from Danish (and I believe Swedish as well) cathedrals.
But Norway was still a fully independent kingdom when Nidaros Cathedral was build.

The present cathedral is built over periods between 1140-1320 in Romanesque and Gothic style, and yes, most of the inspiration is taken from England. And with the exception of a few other surviving medieval ones, most large stone-cathedrals/churches in Norway today were built during the union with DK and Sweden and are therefore similar in style to those in these two countries.

Another thing to mention is that Nidarosdomen (in contrast to other Norwegian cathedrals/churches, which are taken care of by the municipalities), is maintained by the state through *The Nidaros Cathedral's restoration works* (NDR), which is under the auspices of The Ministry of Culture and consists of 70 employees. Yes, it costs around 70 million NOK a year, but we're talking about Norway’s national sanctuary and ''The Nordic countries' most impressive Church building'' here (some even say it gives the cathedrals in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy a run for their money). So, in most people's opinion, money well spent!

Read more about NDR (which this year celebrates their 150th anniversary) in English here: 1 - 2

Today the Restoration Workshop has about sixty employees divided between actual restoration and publicity, which promotes the facility’s historical value through guided tours and special events for about 400,000 visitors every year.

This English site isn't updated, so it's the number I wrote above that is the right one.


BTW: The building to the right of Nidarosdomen in this photo (link) is The Archbishop's Palace from the 13th century, where The Crown Regalia is displayed.

Read in English here: 1 - 2

Photos: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4

It was ravaged by fire in August 1983 and irreplaceable monuments and historical material were lost. And yes, it almost spread to the cathedral.

NRK-video (link).

The cause was never found.

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Originally Posted by Mbruno

The constitution says that the King must be a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church. I take that as meaning that the King and, by the extension, the Crown Prince are expected to be Christian.

Yes, Article 4 in the Constitution still says (after His Majesty's own wish) that ''The King shall at all times profess the Evangelical-Lutheran religion,'' which in reality means the heirs as well.
Explained it in detail in post 12.

[Muhler]

So 20 % of Norwegian men and 66 % of women own a Bunad? That's an impressive number!
At what age do Norwegians generally acquire a Bunad?
I imagine there are quite a few hanging around in closets that have... shrunk?
(Something to do with the air-density, I'm told.)

[wartenberg7]

Originally Posted by Mbruno

The constitution says that the King must be a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church. I take that as meaning that the King and, by the extension, the Crown Prince are expected to be Christian.

Of course, the Head of the norwegian lutheran church, as the King was until the church reform in 2012, had to be christian...!

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Originally Posted by Mbruno

Any details on the gala dinner and who might be invited?

Godparents and other foreign royals: No, not yet!
But we can expect news from the various Royal House-calendars to come a bit out in August - and a guest-list from the court in Oslo a few days prior to the day itself.


Media access to Princess Ingrid Alexandra's confirmation, published at The RH-website on July 5th (link).

Translated by me: ''There will be a pool covering the confirmation service. The pool consists of NRK (TV and web-TV) and NTB Scanpix (still-photo). Writing pool consists of NRK, TV2, NTB, Aftenposten, VG and Dagbladet.

Photo pool at the subsequent luncheon consists of NRK (TV and web-TV) and NTB Scanpix (still-photo).

At the Palace Square, a separate area for accredited press will be set up.

Further information on The Princess' confirmation will be given later.''

Well, it looks like the service and the subsequent luncheon will be televised (much like her christening).
What I still don't know is whether it will be the whole thing or just parts of it.

And will there be a white-tie gala-dinner at The Palace in the evening, such as we saw with Haakon in 1988? Hmm, after reading the above-stuff, I will say the chances for that are pretty slim! So my guess is on a private black-tie dinner at Skaugum.

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Originally Posted by Muhler

So 20 % of Norwegian men and 66 % of women own a Bunad? That's an impressive number!

Yes! But as I wrote, that was in 2013, so it's probably even higher now.

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Originally Posted by Muhler

At what age do Norwegians generally acquire a Bunad?

1. More and more girls are getting one for their confirmation, which causes those who don't (due to their parents' lack of money to buy one) to ''feel different and left out.'' Been several stories in the media about it.
2. A few adults still fit into their confirmation-bunads (with some adjustments) and continue to use it throughout their lives.
3. Those who don't, or never got one for their confirmation, but want one as adults? Well, as soon as you have enough money (after one turns 18) to buy one.
Some also inherit theirs from their grandparents, and get it fitted to their own size, which is also quite expensive.
You can also buy the fabrics with instructions (pretty expensive that too BTW) and sew it yourself. But it's a ''heck of a job (about 100-300 hours),'' so most people will need the help of their mother and other family members, and at least one in the group needs to be an experienced sewer to manage it. - A bunad-course is also very helpful.

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Originally Posted by Muhler

I imagine there are quite a few hanging around in closets that have... shrunk?
(Something to do with the air-density, I'm told.)

Yes, but according to the various bunad-shops, ''in some cases, it's just the owners who have gotten bigger.'' LOL.

BTW: The insurance company ''IF'' has calculated the total value of bunads around Norwegian homes to be worth about 40 billion NOK (yes, I wrote billion).

[Muhler]

Thanks Royal Norway.

So the confirmation will be well-covered. As can be expected when it's the heir.

Traditional outfits are indeed insanely expensive. We are also talking genuine silver-buttons here! And that in an attire from a period where many buttons were a status symbol.

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Originally Posted by Muhler

Thanks Royal Norway.

So the confirmation will be well-covered. As can be expected when it's the heir.

You're welcome!

Oh yes! And as I've written in other threads, we're at a stage here now where NRK and TV2 have even started to broadcast some of the ordinary day-to-day engagements. So I think we can safely say that the Norwegian media were always going to go ''gaga'' over the confirmation of the future monarch.
The question, however, was and is how much access they will be given by the court.

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Originally Posted by Muhler

Traditional outfits are indeed insanely expensive. We are also talking genuine silver-buttons here! And that in an attire from a period where many buttons were a status symbol.

A bunad also consists of a hand-made silver (or gold) jewellery known as ''sølje'' (photo-link).
You can get a new one to under 1000 NOK, but if you want something proper, well, at least 2000!

And while they today is used to show impressiveness; in ancient times, silver was worn on clothing as protection against bad weather and underground mythological creatures. Yes, even on unbaptized infants, to protect them from being taken by unchristian powers. LOL.

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Originally Posted by theroyalfly

Oh this makes me really excited!!!

With the exception of the white-tie gala-dinner thing, yes, me too! But I guess with The Crown Princess' illness and stuff, that it will be easier (after a busy day at The Palace in Oslo) to just take the evening privately at Skaugum.

[Muhler]

Thanks, Royal Norway.

We have something to look forward to then.

So we are talking in the order of between 200-300 $ for that silver adornment alone.

No wonder highwaymen were a genuine fear, certainly in Sweden, but presumably also in Norway. Preying on peasants in their finest attire on the way to or from market, riding their carriage through a landscape like this for kilometer after kilometer: https://naturguide.dk/wp-content/upl...r_ulveland.jpg
My brother-in-law who is into ancestral history found a journal from the early 1700's of a couple of male relatives who went to market in Göteborg (Gothenburg) IIRC. They were not feeling too secure, so they brought a pistol with them. Even today, many stretches in western Sweden look exactly like the picture.

In DK it was part-time pirates who were a problem. Well into the 1700's actually.

[kathia_sophia]

I hope they will release some info soon. Can't wait for August 31st to come! Let's cross fingers and hope all of her godparents attend the event!

[theroyalfly]

I am also waiting for the release of another update. Yes, 100% percent attendance of the godparents is a must and I hope they can bring their family with them too, especially the Spanish RF.

[Sarahbellar]

The Swedish Royal Court has confirmed Crown Princess Victoria's attendance.
https://www.kungahuset.se/kalender.4...2019%2F08%2F31

[Blog Real]

Will King Philip VI of Spain and Crown Prince Fredrik of Denmark also be present? Hope so.

[wartenberg7]

I´m pretty sure the danish CP couple will attend. Hope they will at least bring Christian and Isabella with them! Christian is right at Ingrid´s age, Isabella quite and they are old enough to attend family functions like these.

[Stefan]

I hope that Crown Princess Victoria will at last bring Prince Daniel with her and not attend alone.

[HereditaryPrincess]

Nice to hear this. It would've been nice for Estelle to attend too particularly if there may be other younger royals there (yes, I know she's slightly younger than the other heirs, but it would still be nice chance for a European heir "meet up") - but Victoria going is enough for me to be satisfied with!

[kathia_sophia]

Great news! Who knows if Estelle is going or not, I don't think the Swedish court announces the King's grandkids names on the agenda. It would be nice if Victoria took Estelle.


I'm still hoping Frederik and Felipe will attend. I think Frederik and Mary will for sure. Not sure about Felipe and Letizia, never is certain with them, especially now that they are the King and Queen of Spain.

[An Ard Ri]

Really nice to see Crown Princess Victoria's attendance thats one of her godparents,only 3 to go!

[Countessmeout]

Originally Posted by An Ard Ri

Really nice to see Crown Princess Victoria's attendance thats one of her godparents,only 3 to go!

3? I thought only Felipe and Fred are in question. The other 3 godparents are Harald, Martha Louise and her maternal grandmother. I would think they were a given.

I'd be surprised if the Danish royals didn't attend. The three Scandinavian royal families are so close to each other.

Felipe we will have to see. Since he missed the baptism, it would be nice for him to make it to her confirmation at least.

Nice to hear this. It would've been nice for Estelle to attend too particularly if there may be other younger royals there (yes, I know she's slightly younger than the other heirs, but it would still be nice chance for a European heir "meet up") - but Victoria going is enough for me to be satisfied with!

The Swedish and Norweigan royal families often holiday together and attend events. Estelle knows the Norweigan royal kids quite well.

Considering how close her parents are to Fred and Mary, she likely knows the Danish kids quite well too.

I doubt Felipe will bring his daughters if he comes, and there isn't likely to be any other heirs there.