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

[johann]

According to this aftenposten article (in English) Harald and Sonja were about to divorce in the eighties.
Maybe a poster who is familiar with the Norwegian court and press (Larzen, norwegianne?!) can assess this: Is this just gossip or is there perhaps some truth in it?

 

[HRH Mims]

Well you shocked me Johann!
I alway thought that king and queen has almost perfect relationship! Well nothing is perfect and if it is true, Im happy, that they stayed together.

 

[johann]

Well you shocked me Johann!

Oh, I’m sorry. But I didn’t write the article – I just stumbled across it.

I alway thought that king and queen has almost perfect relationship! Well nothing is perfect and if it is true, Im happy, that they stayed together.

BTW I had the same impression. Maybe it’s just gossip. I don’t know how reliable that Per Egil Hegge is. And Se og Hør articles always have to be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[Her_Majesty]

i heard about something like that before, too.
Well, I didn't hear they were about to divorce, but it was said that the King and the Queen were living in different parts of the palace because they had some marriage problems... but I don't know.. Cannot say anything about this.
Anyway it's nice to see them so close again (during the StateVisit to Switzerland for example). Love won, right?

 

[Larzen]

The King and Queen has admitted they have had their ups and downs in the marriage like most couple but that they work trough it, in the 80/90s they were not living in different parts of the palace as they were living at Skaugum . Se og Hør today in VG retracts the statement that it was Crown Prince Harald who sent his Head Aide de campe to the president of Stortinget to hear about a divorce. Friends of Harald and Sonja says to VG today that divorce never was an issue, but that the public lifestyle put strains on their marriage. There are noithing written about anyone else involved, just the public preassure on them and how they did their work and the rather old fashioned way the Crown Prince was raised. Sonja once said something like he discussed it with himself and then it woul be that way, and that it took some getting used to.

Per Egil Hegge who is very credible and is writing the auhtorised book on the King which will come out in two weeks or so, to mark his 70th birthday has no comment, the president of Stortinget back then Jo Benkow has no comment, The then Prime Minister Kåre Willoch says he has never heared about any divorce rumours, and the palace spokesperson says the King and Queen does not know if someone talked to the President of Stortinget about a divorce. Accoding to VG the King and Queen was more than suprised when they saw the cover of Se og Hør yesterday.

 

[johann]

... According to VG the King and Queen was more than suprised when they saw the cover of Se og Hør yesterday.

Thanks for the elaborated answer Larzen!
Guess it’s not the first time that they have to read the papers to figure out what’s going on in their lives.

 

[Anita]

According to this aftenposten article (in English) Harald and Sonja were about to divorce in the eighties.
Maybe a poster who is familiar with the Norwegian court and press (Larzen, norwegianne?!) can assess this: Is this just gossip or is there perhaps some truth in it?

Oh my God ! I hope it is untrue !
I'd always thought it was a perfect and so in love couple ...

 

[principessa]

What birthdaygifts would get a Queen?

What do you think? Which kind of presents would Queen Sonja get on her 70th birthday? Will she get flowers, self-painted pictures of her grandchildren, a common-birthdaypresent from the other European Queens, a ring or a chain of her husband and some things for their house? Or will she get anything else?

 

[Princess Luna]

Queen Sonja love art, so I think she will get lot of art.

 

[Her_Majesty]

Queen Sonja love art, so I think she will get lot of art.

Maybe she'll get a picture painted by Queen Margrethe II...

I guess it's much easier to find a good present for a Queen than for a King.
I hope King Harald will give her some new jewels.
Of course I am hoping for a new Tiara (but I don't think so.. since she got a new one for her 60th)... or maybe some new ear rings or necklaces...

 

[Princess Luna]

Maybe she'll get a picture painted by Queen Margrethe II...

I guess it's much easier to find a good present for a Queen than for a King.
I hope King Harald will give her some new jewels.
Of course I am hoping for a new Tiara (but I don't think so.. since she got a new one for her 60th)... or maybe some new ear rings or necklaces...

Yes, I`m sure that QS will get a picture painted by QM

 

[queenofcelts]

She will recieve news that she will become grandmother again.
Both from Mette and Martha.

 

[principessa]

Let's hope, Queenofcelts. And I hope, she will get 2 grandsons.

Is there something announced yet?

 

[Princess Luna]

Let's hope, Queenofcelts. And I hope, she will get 2 grandsons.

Is there something announced yet?

Nothing is announced.

 

[The Crown Prince]

According to this aftenposten article (in English) Harald and Sonja were about to divorce in the eighties.
Maybe a poster who is familiar with the Norwegian court and press (Larzen, norwegianne?!) can assess this: Is this just gossip or is there perhaps some truth in it?

Thank God the two of them stuck it out. I mean it now gives the younger set (i.e. The Crown Couple) a shining example to look upon. I know it had to be difficult for Queen Sonja - not being allowed to marry her true love for many years, the public pressures of being the only female royal in Norway for years and the miscarriages - but it just speaks to her character and her deep, abiding love for her husband, her family and the Norwegian people that she would endure all this and stand beside him.

 

[magnik]

I read about that in yellow press. But it was in mid or early 90. around Sonja's renovation's time.

 

[Maura724]

I know it had to be difficult for Queen Sonja - not being allowed to marry her true love for many years, the public pressures of being the only female royal in Norway for years and the miscarriages - but it just speaks to her character and her deep, abiding love for her husband, her family and the Norwegian people that she would endure all this and stand beside him.

Well said, I couldn't put it any better. I think Sonja's an incredibly strong woman. And welcome to the forums!

I read about that in yellow press. But it was in mid or early 90. around Sonja's renovation's time.

I love the press's implication there: "Sonja! If you order any more new china or spend any more money on wallpaper, I'm leaving you!" I'm sure that's EXACTLY how conversations at the palace were going. You gotta love the press.

 

[captainmooreway]

It seems strange i always think of sonja and harald as the most in love of reigning monarchs yet from an awful lot of pictures i see other reigning royals seem to have way more close moments, holding hands, linking, gazing. For example Queen Paola and King Albert and often Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik.

 

[Maura724]

I think they're just not as demonstrative - I've always heard that Harald's very shy, so he's probably not the sort of person who's comfortable with much affection in public. There wasn't even a whole lot of hand-holding and such in pictures at the time of their engagement (except for the posed ones). I think he's just way too shy to kiss Sonja in the middle of a press conference on national TV, like Henrik did a few days ago with Margrethe. Some of Harald and Sonja's sweeter pictures are when they're not directly in front of cameras - for example, there was a photo from her 70th birthday where they were standing on a porch and hugging, and it had been shot from some distance away. He also seems - and this is something that doesn't come across as much in still photos as it does in some of the videos I've seen - to be really gentle with her when they do touch, for example when they come out onto the dance floor in the video of his 70th birthday. As for Margrethe and Henrik...Henrik's a Frenchman, what do you expect?

 

[auntie]

It seems strange i always think of sonja and harald as the most in love of reigning monarchs yet from an awful lot of pictures i see other reigning royals seem to have way more close moments, holding hands, linking, gazing. For example Queen Paola and King Albert and often Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik.

Yet Margerethe & Henrik, Albert & paola have had official marriage problems, so being affectionate in public doesn't mean a/thing

 

[Sereta]

What married couple doesn't have problems at some point, royal or not?

 

[IloveCP]

Im glad they did'nt give up!

 

[drama.babe]

how and where do they live??

I was wondering if anybody knows where they live and how.
do they live in a castle? or do they have much staff?
if you know anything please tell.
I need the information for a school project.
Thanks

 

[Maura724]

When they are in Oslo (which is most of the time), they live in the Royal Palace. I assume the staff is fairly extensive.

 

[drama.babe]

Thanks. I assumed that they are most if the time in Oslo, but they have so many different
Palaces and Castles and that mad me unsure.

 

[Maura724]

The other residences in other cities are mostly just used when they are visiting one of those cities. Those places are empty the majority of the time.

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

General News & Information for King Harald V and Queen Sonja

I look forward to the program Mountain Queen on Sunday.

Queen Sonja have walked in the Norwegian mountains with the popular NRK journalist Oddgeir Bruaset the past three years.

Fjelldronninga - Programomtaler

 

[Muhler]

Queen Sonja gets a good coverage today, in Norway as well as Denmark:
Nødstedte piger fik uventet hjælp: Dronning Sonja trådte til med førstehjælp til skadet sejler - Royale | www.bt.dk

Tønsbergs Blad - Fikk førstehjelp av Dronning Sonja

Off the island of Mågerø a boat with three girls ended up in troube when one of the girls cut herself badly on the boats propeller.
Fortunately a boat passed nearby. That boat assisted the girls into a cove on the island, located next to the royal residence there.
Here bodyguards provided first aid for the injured girl who was then taken to a hospital. As I read the article Queen Sonja offered comfort, also for the two other girls by wrapping them in blankets.

The story is confirmed by the court: "I can confirm that the Queen and staff from the escort-service took part in helping an injured girl at the shore near the Royal cottage".

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

King Harald has back pain - must stay home
Kongen har vondt i ryggen må holde seg hjemme - TV2.no

King Harald has for some time had back pain, the palace informs on Saturday afternoon.

He will therefore have to remain at home during the Armed Forces Memorial Day, which is marked at Akershus on Sunday. Crown Prince Haakon will take over the king's duties at the remembrance day. There are no other changes in the King's program, according to the Royal Palace.

''King Harald has for some time been suffering from back pain, but he has to now completed his scheduled program. The event at Akershus on Sunday, however, is of such a nature that His Majesty has chosen to let the Crown Prince take over over. The celebration takes place outdoors - and entails sitting still for a long time, something anyone with back problems know can be painful.'' says TV2 royal expert Kjell Arne Totland.

Armed Forces Memorial Day marks the first Sunday in November at Akershus Fortress in honor of those who lost their lives in the Armed Forces service in and outside Norway.

According to Totland, King Harald has had very good health in recent years, after he was both operated for cancer and heart problems in 2003 and 2005.

"I feel fit as a fiddle," has been his permanent answers to journalists' questions in recent years, says Totland.

I don't agree with Totland in this. The King has become a bit frail now, he has back and knee problems, and he has trouble walking. I've seen him several times and both I and others have noticed that he is breathing very heavily, especially after going up stairs.

 

[sm1939]

I think it's time for the crown prince and princess to step up now and share some of the work load like Frederick and Mary do ......the king has been working hard