Aftenposten
A daughter was born to Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit at 9:14 am on Wednesday. Both mother and child were well. The crown princess checked into the maternity ward at Norway's Rikshospitalet University Hospital at about 4 am. The child, their first together, will become second in line to the throne, after Crown Prince Haakon.
The name of the newborn princess will first be announced known at a cabinet meeting later this week. There were rumors that an extraordinary meeting could reveal the name as early as later today.
Crown prince Haakon, who is also acting regent during King Harald's convalescence, drove his wife to the hospital himself, in the middle of a three-car motorcade. The crown princess was lying on her side in the back seat.
Security at the national hospital has been beefed up for the royal presence, with extra guards, especially around the maternity ward.
"I can confirm that we have tightened security, both out of consideration to the crown couple and to the hospital's other patients," said hospital security chief Randmod Omarhaug.
Omarhaug said that the hospital had gained experience from the previous royal birth last April, when Princess Martha Louise and Ari Behn's daughter Maud Angelica arrived.
The media quickly besieged the hospital and by 6 am a separate room was designated as a press office. The announcement of the birth to the public took place here, but there was a strict procedure of notification that had to occur first.
Crown Prince Haakon, as acting regent, notified King Harald, Queen Sonja and other family members before passing on the news to Joergen Kosmo, president of Norway's parliament, the Storting.
Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik was the next to know, and he informed other government ministers. Then Supreme Court justice Tore Schei, the bishop of Oslo Gunnar Stalsett, the defense and other European royal houses were informed of the arrival of an heir to the throne.
For the first time in Norway the child will be an heir to the throne even if it is a girl. According to an opinion poll by Visendi for newspaper Dagsavisen, 20.7 percent of Norwegian men would have preferred the tradition of a male heir.
Women clearly disagree. Only four percent supported the idea that an heir apparent must be male.
