NordenBladet – Crown Prince Haakon is currently on a special journey in southern Norway. The goal is to learn more about how the coronavirus pandemic has affected various Norwegian industries and the Norwegian people. Last week the journey started in Østfold on Tuesday, when the Crown Prince visited a virus test station. On Wednesday and Thursday the journey continued to Vestfold and Telemark.
Now a new week is starting and the journey continues to Western Norway and the city of Kristiansund. Crown Prince Haakon was on Tuesday accompanied by Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette Marit. The royals used the royal yacht “KS Norge” during the visit.
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess were greeted by children waving flags when they started the day by visiting the Allanengen Primary School. The rector of the kindergarten accompanied Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit to the “Breathing Room” where they met five children and three teachers. The conversation was about integration and the children’s everyday school life during the pandemic.
From the kindergarten, the royals continued to a school in downtown Kristiansund. Here they got to learn about the children’s experiences in the last six months with home schooling. Then followed a visit to the campus of Norway’s western university. Crown Prince Haakon visited the university alone to learn more about the new plans for new buildings at the university. His Royal Highness also oversaw the opening of a brand new house for students at the campus.
Cultural life in Norway has also been hit hard in the last six months by the pandemic. Outside the city`s Opera House. Crown Prince Haakon was greeted by the local opera director and young people who danced in the west-Norwegian Opera House. Inside the opera, Crown Prince Haakon received briefings about the Opera and about the cultural school.
Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit also visited the municipality’s test station for Covid-19 together with Mayor Kjell Neergaard. On Wednesday, the journey continues to the city of Florø. The journey ends on Thursday in Stavanger.
NordenBladet – In the past few years, it has been known that Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s eldest son, Marius Borg Høiby, has tried his hand at several different jobs. He was once editor of Tempus Magazine, a position he lost as a result of the magazine closing down.
In December 2018, it was announced that he had been appointed to a new job in a property company, a role he was to hold for only a couple of months. In March of the following year, he worked for the dating app Moodie, and now the 23-year-old has once again taken on a new role.
Norwegian magazine Se og Hør reports that the elder son of Norway’s next Queen Consort is working as a motorcycle mechanic. According to the magazine, Mr. Høiby is working in a medium size motorcycle shop in the small town of Lier, not very far from the Skaugum Estate in Asker, where his mother and family lives.
The Royal Courts communications manager, Guri Varpe, told the press that they do not want to comment on the matter. Neither Marius Borg Høiby, nor the workshop he is working, for has made any comment.
It is well known Mr. Høiby has held a keen interest in motorcycles for several years. His interest in motorcycles became public knowledge last year, when he put his bike up for sale. According to the advertisement, it was a Harley Davidson of the type “Sportster Custom” from 2001. The price tag was set at 75,000 Norwegian crowns. At that moment the reason why Mr. Høiby chose to sell the motorcycle was that he did not have a valid certificate to ride it. He then stated: “I bought it last autumn, with the intention of getting it registered as a medium bike, but it turned out not to be possible. Since I only have valid licence to ride medium-heavy bikes, I cannot use it”.
It is not very often that Marius Borg Høiby participates in events with the royal family. He was present in Asker church last Saturday when his half-brother, Prince Sverre Magnus, was confirmed. The Crown Princess’ eldest son currently lives with his girlfriend, the model Juliane Snekkestad, in the city of Tønsberg.
Norway – Crown Prince Haakon has celebrated Rygge Church’s 900 years anniversary. During the visit to the church, the Crown Prince saw the portal that dates the church to the year 1120. Rygge church is thus the Norway`s oldest church that is still in use.
The current altarpiece in Rygge church came into place in 1740. Between 1786 and 1867 the church was privately owned by local wealthy farmers. The baptismal font is estimated to be from the year 1225 and the pulpit is from 1675. The oldest church bell that is still in use dates from the beginning of the 15th century.
On the church hill, on September 8th, the Crown Prince met Bishop Atle Sommerfeldt, Priest Tor Bjørn Osberg and parish priest Ingvild Osberg. On the way to the church, the local trumpeter, Stian Omenås, played the anniversary fanfare in honour of the Crown Prince`s arrival.
Rygge church is a single-ship church from the Middle Ages, and in 1967 the church went through a major restoration. Mayor Hanne Tollerud opened the exhibition with pictures from the anniversary book and the bishop welcomed the Crown Prince for a tour inside the stone church.
The church is an important institution for many people. A 900th anniversary tells a lot about the church’s place in Norway’s history. The church anniversary is also part of Moss city’s 300th anniversary and the celebration of the amalgamation of municipalities in south-east Norway.
Rygge church in Kirkegrenda* village. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Recent research indicates that it may have been King Sigurd Jorsalfare who started construction of the church in 1120. Sigurd Jorsalfare ruled the Norwegian kingdom from 1103 together with his brothers, Olav Magnusson and Øystein. From 1123, he was sole king of Norway. He is otherwise famous for leading the Norwegian Crusade to Jerusalem, and was the first European king to personally participate in a crusade.
Crown Prince Haakon of Norway visited the old curch just before he started on a tour on Tuesday this week which will see him travel around large parts of Norway to see how the coronavirus pandemic has affected the country. The journey will eb partly done on board the royal yacht “KS Norge”. The first stop on the journey was Østfold, Norway’s southeastern region.
Featured image: Crown Prince Haakon celebrated Rygge Church’s 900th anniversary (Simen Sund, Det kongelige hoff)
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*Kirkegrenda is a village in the municipality of Rygge in Østfold, Norway. Its population (SSB 2005) is 294.
The village was built up around Rygge Church (Rygge kirke), hence the name Kirkegrenda which means church hamlet. Rygge church is a medieval era church. The church belongs to Vestre Borgesyssel deanery in Diocese of Borg. Rygge church is one of the county’s better preserved medieval stone churches. The Romanesque church was built around the year 1170. Rygge church was originally a chapter church, which had income from a larger area than a parish and contained several villages. The building material is stone and brick. The building is characterized by the use of large stones, partly of granite, with parts of the facade carved, including large parts of the north portal. It has long nave and lower and narrower choir. The church was restored in 1967.
NordenBladet – Princess Märtha Louise of Norway has revealed that she’s gone through some difficult days as of late in a post on her Instagram account.
The Princess shared a photo on Monday, 24 August from her summer holiday in Lofoten, Norway, with her parents, children, brother and his family.
“Some days are better than others – and I have to admit I have had some really bad days lately. Some times it all just feels too much and overwhelming, and I tend to go into a pit of despair, self pity and feeling like a victim in all areas of life. No energy – literally – depression creeping in,” she revealed.
In the photo on her post, she is standing and smiling on a cliff. She continued in her post: “But then suddenly, after climbing this loooong [sic] hill, there is a shift. A friend comes over and turns everything around, and you suddenly see the beauty around you again and recognise that you are actually standing on a mountain top in front of this spectacular view. The grit and grind has been the trip up to the top, and suddenly you acknowledge the transformation.”
Princess Märtha Louise then offered advice to others who may be going through similar struggles: “We can all make this shift like the butterfly coming out of its cocoon. The great thing is to have friends with the spiritual powers to really see you and move the energy so you may make the shift… Let’s create some magic together. Earth magic.”
She concluded her post with hashtags about women supporting other women.
Featured image: Princess Märtha Louise of Norway (Instagram/@iam_marthalouise)
NordenBladet – On Wednesday evening, Queen Sonja of Norway participated in her first official engagement after her summer holiday when she was present at the opening concert of the Norwegian Philharmonic Orchestra.
It was a great event when Klaus Mäkelä, for the first time, led the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra in the Oslo Concert Hall as chief conductor. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway, there was only an opportunity for 200 guests to attend the performance, and tickets for the concert were sold out in record time. Under normal conditions, Oslo Concert Hall has the ability to seat 1,400 people.
Her Majesty also met the new conductor, Klaus Mäkelä. Klaus Mäkelä is a Finnish conductor who has been a guest conductor at the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra since 2018 and was appointed as the new chief conductor beginning in 2020. He was born in 1996 and is, therefore, the youngest chief conductor of a European philharmonic orchestra.
Finnish Sauli Zinoviev has distinguished himself over the last decade as an orchestral composer of international format. The concert opened with his new orchestral work, commissioned by the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra.
During the concert, Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 was also played. The symphony is a celebration of playing together and the perfect work to begin a musical collaboration. Mahler did something completely new with the symphony format. He drew inspiration from poetry and folk poetry and embraced popular cultural sources of inspiration such as military music, yodelling and children’s songs.
Queen Sonja loves classical music. Her Majesty is usually present several times a year at various concerts that the orchestra holds. It has also been customary every August for the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra to hold a large free concert outside of the Royal Palace. However, this cannot be done this year due to the pandemic.
Last year, the Queen was a guest of honour when the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra celebrated its 100th anniversary. Then, Queen Sonja gave a speech in which she said: “An anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on the past but also to look ahead. Classical music is about tradition but also about innovation. It is about renewing to preserve.”
NordenBladet – As Crown Princess Mette-Marit celebrates her 47th birthday, let’s look at the life of Norway’s future queen.
Early Life
Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby was born on 19 August 1973 in Kristiansand, an area in the southern part of Norway. Her parents are Sven Høiby and Marit Tjessem, and she has three siblings: sister Kristin Høiby Bjørnøy and brothers Per Høiby and Espen Høiby. Her father once worked as a journalist though he went through a period of unemployment, and her mother was a former bank teller.
Her parents divorced, and her mother later remarried in 1994. Mette-Marit gained a stepbrother from this marriage, Trond Bernsten, a police officer and security guard who died in the domestic terrorist attack on 22 July 2011. Mette-Marit grew up in Kristiansand but spent most weekends in Setesdal on the lake, where she learned to sail and became an avid outdoorswoman.
Education
Mette-Marit began her schooling at the Oddernes upper secondary school. In 1994, Mette-Marit attended the Kristiansand Katedralskole where she had spent a year abroad in Australia during her time there, studying at the Wangaratta High School, through the Youth for Understanding Programme.
Mette-Marit also attended the Bjørknes Private School, and in 1997 took preliminary university examinations and the examinations for chemistry and information technology at Agder University College. At the University of Oslo, she studied ethics from 2000-2002 at the Faculty of Social Science and Faculty of Humanities.
Her education continued in 2003 when the now-Crown Princess took courses at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London (sitting for examinations in HIV/AIDS and Development, The Global Refugee Crisis, Theories of Development and Development Experience). In 2008, she started taking classes at the BI Norwegian School of Management and graduated with a Masters of Management in 2012.
Mette-Marit has since revealed in interviews that she was rebellious in her early years, and it took her six years as a part-time student to complete her secondary education. During that time, she worked at the Cafè Engebret in Oslo as a waitress.
Controversy and Romance with a Prince
Mette-Marit first met Crown Prince Haakon of Norway at the Quart Festival, a large music festival held in her hometown, in the late ‘90s, though they did not begin dating until a few years later when they met again in 1999 at a party for a later edition of the Quart Festival.
By this time, Mette-Marit was a single mother to Marius Borg Høiby, who was born on 13 January 1997, from a relationship with a man named Morten Borg.
After her engagement to Crown Prince Haakon was announced in December 2000, she became a very controversial public figure in Norway, with a reputation for partying, attending raves and drug abuse, though she did not admit to personal drug use. Support for the monarchy at the time reached a serious low, although a majority of Norwegians still considered themselves in support of the institution.
The couple were also criticised for living together in an apartment before marriage, along with Marius, by the Church of Norway.
Their wedding was set for 25 August 2011, and a week prior, Mette-Marit participated in a tearful press conference to discuss her controversial past. “My youth rebellion was much stronger than many others. That resulted in me living quite a wild life.”
Mette-Marit also said, “I would like to take this opportunity to say that I condemn drugs… I hope that I can now avoid talking more about my past and that the press will respect this wish.” Following the press conference, 40% of those polled said they had a better opinion of her, and 84% believed that she was truthful about her past. She is now a much-beloved member of the Norwegian Royal Family.
A Royal Wedding
On 25 August 2001, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit were married at the Oslo Cathedral. Her engagement ring was the same ring used by King Harald and King Olav to propose to their respective wives.
Her wedding dress evoked similar design elements to Queen Maud’s style and was designed by Ove Harder Finseth. The dress was made of white silk crepe and the skirt transitioned into a two-foot train. She carried a cascading bouquet and wore the Daisy Tiara in her hair, anchoring the 20-foot veil.
In a break from tradition, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit walked up the aisle together, with Marius acting as a page boy and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark acting as Haakon’s best man. Mette-Marit’s bridesmaids included Betina Swanstrøm, Emilie Swanstrøm, Kamilla Bjørnøy, Anniken Bjørnøy, and Tuva Høiby.
The presiding bishop, Gunnar Stålsett, said about the couple, “You have not chosen the easiest path, but love has triumphed.”
Crown Princess Mette-Marit
As the Crown Princess of Norway, Mette-Marit has focused her platform on literacy, health, HIV/AIDS awareness, youth, climate change, oceans and the environment.
On 21 January 2004, Mette-Marit gave birth to a daughter, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, who will one day be the first queen regnant of Norway. On 3 December 2005, she gave birth to son Prince Sverre Magnus. Her older son, Marius, lived with the Crown Prince Couple throughout his youth but made the decision to live as a private individual in 2017 and does not undertake any public role outside of joining the family at special occasions.
In 2018, Mette-Marit was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a condition that affects the lungs over time. After the Royal House announced her diagnosis, it was revealed that Mette-Marit’s official engagements would be dependent on her health and medical treatment and that she would be treated at the Oslo University Hospital.
Mette-Marit’s patronages include the Norwegian Red Cross, the Agder Academy of Sciences and Letters, The Oslo International Church Music Festival, the Full-rigged Ship Sørlandet, the Amandus Film Festival, the Førde International Folk Music Festival, FOKUS – Forum for Women and Development, The Norwegian Council for Mental Health, The Norwegian Library Association, The Shameless Award, the Kristiansand International Children’s Film Festival, the Risør Festival of Chamber Music, The Norwegian Guide and Scout Association, The Hamsun Days and The Norwegian Girl’s Choir.
Mette-Marit is also a patron of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess’s Foundation, and her projects under the umbrella of their foundation support youth at risk. The foundation’s aim, as outlined by the Royal House website, is as follows: “We want a Norway consisting of people who are confident that they are good enough as they are – people with the courage to lift up others because they once experienced to be seen themselves. Youth is the most important resource we have. We need their courage, creativity and hope for the future, in order to solve the large and complex challenges the world is facing. Our task is to facilitate so that each young individual can learn and build on their potential.”
Mette-Marit has also represented Norway on visits throughout the country and around the world on behalf of King Harald. She has been the Special Representative for UNAIDS since 2006 and has visited Ukraine, Mali and Nicaragua in this capacity, and has attended the International AIDS Conference as head of the Norwegian delegation.
Mette-Marit is a Young Global Leader with the World Economic Forum and is a member of the International Foundation Board of the Global Shapers Community. She is also a co-founder of the Maverick Collective that “aims to engage other women to use their voice, intellectual and financial resources, to improve women’s health worldwide and help end extreme poverty.”
To promote literacy, Mette-Marit also undertakes engagements aboard a train throughout Norway called the literary train tour, which is supported by Norwegian State Railways and the Oslo Public Library. She arranges meetings and events with local authors as the train stops throughout the country and invites people aboard to read and enjoy beverages. The books are provided by the Oslo Public Library and from Mette-Marit’s personal collection.
Featured image: Crown Princess Mette-Marit (Instagram/@crownprincessmm)
NordenBladet – Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Royal Palace in Oslo will not be open for guided tours this summer. In a statement, representatives from the palace apologised and said that they hoped to welcome people back in the summer of 2021.
The Royal Palace in Oslo is ordinarily open to the public in the summer. Ticket sales always start on March 1st for tours of the same year. Everyone who visits the Royal Palace must follow a guided tour, and during the season, tours are held every 15-20 minutes during operating hours each day.
In addition to an exhibition that is new every year, visitors receive a guided tour of the Royal Palace’s most beautiful representation rooms, such as the Minister’s Lounge and the White Lounge, as well as the famous Bird Room and many of the palace’s grand halls. The small and large banquet halls are in use at major events, and when there is a gala dinner at the Royal Palace, more than 200 people can be seated in the Great Dining Hall. Visitors are also able to visit the palace’s most beautiful guest room, the King Haakon Suite.
Although the Royal Palace itself is closed, you can visit the Palace Park all day. The Palace Oscarshall, located close to the Royal Palace, is open from 27 June to 30 August, and Queen Sonja’s Art Stable opens 4 July with the exhibition “The Palace + Munch”.
The Royal Palace in Oslo was built in the first half of the 19th century as the Norwegian residence of the French-born King Charles III John of Norway, who reigned as King of Norway and Sweden. The palace is the official residence of the current Norwegian monarch while the Crown Prince resides at the Skaugum Estate.
The palace is located at the end of Karl Johan’s Gate in central Oslo and is surrounded by the Palace Park with the Palace Square in the front.
Featured image: Oslo’s Royal Palace. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
NordenBladet – The Norwegian Royal Family has revealed its plans for the summer. A spokesperson for the Royal Court told the state run Norwegian TV channel, NRK, that the family will spend their holidays in Norway because of the coronavirus pandemic. King Harald and Queen Sonja will be at their country house on Mågerø, while Crown Prince Haakon and his family will be vacationing in the southern part of the country. The Royal Family will also spend time aboard the Royal Yacht.
The Crown Prince and his family will probably stay at the villa “Vogt”. It became known in April that the municipality of Kristiansand, where Crown Princess Mette-Marit grew up, has unanimously agreed to rent out the villa and the surrounding area to the Crown Prince couple for another five new years.
The family has already rented the villa for the past ten years and used the property sporadically, mainly in the summer. As a tenant, the Crown Prince couple has paid each year just over NOK 200,000, about USD 20,000, to rent the property, which includes both a villa, two boat-places and a 22-acre site.
King Harald and Queen Sonja will have the opportunity to visit their son, daughter in law and grandchildren there this summer. However, they will also be on their property at Mågerø. The Villa Mågerø is King Harald’s private summer resort, south of the city of Tønsberg. The modern villa was completed in 1993. The property is close to a Norwegian military base guarding the property as an honorary assignment. The property ensures the royal family’s privacy as it is completely inaccessible to ordinary people and the press. Several royal birthdays have been celebrated here.
Queen Sonja has already used the royal yacht this summer, but the yacht will be used more this summer. The Norwegian monarch has had a royal yacht since the Viking ages. The current yacht is “KS Norge”.
The Norwegian Royal Yacht is one of the world’s two remaining royal yachts. The other is the Danish Royal Yacht Dannebrog. The Royal Yacht was a gift from the people of Norway to King Haakon VII in 1947, purchased in the wake of a nationwide collection effort. The ship is owned by His Majesty The King but is manned and maintained by the Royal Norwegian Navy.
Featured image: The Norwegian Royal Yacht “KS Norge”. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
NordenBladet – His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon of Norway opened Oslo’s newest and largest public library on Thursday. The day of the opening was not random as Crown Prince Haakon opened the library exactly 87 years after his great-grandfather King Haakon VII opened the old main library in Oslo.
His Royal Highness was welcomed to the library by Oslo’s Mayor and a number of Norway’s best authors. Authors Lars Saabye Christensen and Camara Joof opened the ceremony. Musicians Lars Lillo Stenberg and Maria Lotus performed some of their songs before library manager Knut Skansen spoke and welcomed guests to Oslo’s oldest and newest library.
Crown Prince Haakon held the opening speech in which he said: “A library can both shape and change lives. The library can strengthen communities. The library can make the world a better place. Through the books, we have the opportunity to discover the world, to open ourselves to it and find our place in it. We have the opportunity to seek both knowledge and recognition. The library offers all this and is open and free to everyone.”
After the Crown Prince’s speech, the Opera’s children’s choir performed and His Royal Highness was given a tour of the brand new building.
After the opening ceremony, the doors were opened to the public. Because of Covid-19, there can only be 1000 people inside the library at a time until further notice.
The library has a collection of about 450,000 books, films, music and games. The new building has six floors, each with its own distinctive features. The library also has a restaurant and café, cinema, and study rooms, sound studios, a room with 3D printers and a collection of old manuscripts. The most famous book in the collection is Aslak Bolt’s handwritten Bible from 1250.
NordenBladet – Success for Norwegian UN campaign backed by Crown Prince Haakon! The country’s politicians are delighted and have shown their gratitude to Crown Prince Haakon who has been a high profile supporter of the country’s campaign for a place on this prestigious body.
Norway won 130 votes in the polls which took place on June 17th 2020. Along with the Republic of Ireland, with 128 votes, it was elected from the western bloc of nations with Canada failing to secure a seat. India and Mexico were also elected.
Crown Prince Haakon has taken a high profile role in the Norwegian fight for a seat on the United Nations Security Council.
In 2018 the Crown Prince launched the campaign for a seat in the council in New York. Following the official announcement for the candidacy, Crown Prince Haakon visited the Hall where the Security Council has its meetings, together with representatives from a number of other countries. The hall was donated by Norway to the UN in 1952.
Due to the coronavirus crisis, Norway had to change its election campaign strategy in the last minute. The Foreign Minister and the Norwegian diplomacy have run election campaigns from their home office and over video conferencing.
On June 11, the Norwegian delegation to the United Nations was to have a big election campaign event which Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette Marit were set to attend. The event was to be held in New York to a big cost. Instead of the grand dinner and reception His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon last week attended a digital reception for UN ambassadors on the occasion of the campaign for Norway’s candidate for UN Security Council 2021-2022.
“It is important to have an international system of rules, negotiations and constructive dialogue. Therefore, the UN is important. I have been an ambassador for the UN Development Fund (UNDP) for 14 years. Through those years I have seen how the UN works at the country level, and what good efforts the UN is doing for health, education and fighting poverty”, said the Crown Prince to the press in 2018.
Norway will sit on the UN Security Council for the period 2021 – 2022.
