Muhler
Imperial Majesty
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2010
- Messages
- 17,549
- City
- Eastern Jutland
- Country
- Denmark
I suppose that means that Haakon and Mette-Marit are going to step up their workload even more?
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!’
King Harald, who reached the age of 81 on February 21, has been admitted to hospital, the Norwegian court informs.
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).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.
"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.
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.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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.Why was a family council required to handle King Harald's health care decision, I wonder?
I can agree with that, but there is a BIG but: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!
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.
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 ?
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.
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.Queen Sonja is immensely popular in her native country and still an active lady with many official duties in the royal program.
Queen Sonja looks more like 61 than like 81. Although her hair is obviously dyed, she's extremely well preserved!! I envy that.
Text and video of the speech here: National Memorial Ceremony: The King's Speech - The Royal House of Norway
Here's an English article about it: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.
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.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.
Well, as always in Oscar's articles, there are some factual errors here.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.
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.
Thank you for clarifying the facts about the arrest, Royal Norway.
When you mentioned British royal security, it struck me that in all likelihood Princess Astrid and Princess Märtha Louise would not enjoy everyday police protection if they were British princesses, and yet the danger to Norwegian royals is probably lower than with British royals.
Well, I've actually thought about that myself, and I think it would be a pretty good idea to send all four (or three) of them.Interesting. Why not send all four, or three (Haakon)?
The Regent Couple are, as you say, old and frail, so they could need all the support they can get.
Other than that some politicians in the Storting/government have told TV2's royal expert Kjell Arne Totland & royal author Tor Bomann-Larsen that they are worried about the direction Haakon seems to take the monarchy, I really don't know.Does the government not trust Haakon and Mette-Marit to do a good job?!?
That would be most... remarkable... especially as Haakon could be king tomorrow.
No, except if something Marius-related pops up in their meetings with the media (which will create a lot of noise here at home, but not diplomatically in China), I don't see what might go wrong during a visit like this, either.I mean as long as they don't mention Winnie the Poo, surely not much can go wrong. ?
Other than that some politicians in the Storting/government have told TV2's royal expert Kjell Arne Totland & royal author Tor Bomann-Larsen that they are worried about the direction Haakon seems to take the monarchy, I really don't know.
Be aware (as Oskar Aanmoen writes a bit down in the article) that this incident was associated with the Norwegian police (who is called in to assist when the royals are out on engagements), and not The Royal Police Escort (which one can read about in post 84), who protect the NRF on a daily basis.Last week, the Oslo Police Department had a major security breach before King Harald’s visit to the University of Oslo. Only a few hours before King Harald visited the University of Oslo last week, the police’s confidential and detailed plan of action was openly available to everybody to see in the front window of a city police car.
One who passed the civil police car in the afternoon of 6 September was a former criminal who had been in prison for several years. He discovered the graduated document in the front window, which included the time of the King’s visit to the University, threat assessment and a series of measures for several operational police units.