Today was a historic day as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth joined forces with the King of Norway in London – the day after they all celebrated the 70th birthday of the Prince of Wales. The King and Queen were gathered to mark the centenary of the Anglo-Norse Society. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and King Harald V of Norway are joint patrons, and the Norwegian ambassador is the honorary…
King Harald V joined Queen Elizabeth II at the Anglo-Norse Society reception as joint patrons. Queen Sonja was supposed to joined the the pair but was unwell this morning. Nov. 15, 2018
November 15, 2018 | Queen Elizabeth II and King Harald V attended the Anglo-Norse Society centenary reception at the Naval and Military Club in London. The Centenary Reception offers an opportunity to recognise members of the Anglo-Norse Society who have made a positive contribution to its community and culture over the past 100 years. Queen Elizabeth II and King Harald V are joint Patrons of the Anglo-Norse Society. The Society is a registered charity for the purpose of advancing the education of the citizens of Britain and Norway about each other’s country and way of life.
Queen Sonja had been due to join the pair but had been too unwell according to her husband.
November 14, 2018 | King Harald V, Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit arrive for dinner hosted on the occasion of the 70th birthday anniversary of The Prince of Wales.
Same. It’s one of the reasons I started to love Harald and Sonja so much. I’m a step child myself. My step father is the best man in the world. I am so lucky to have him in my life. So I really appreciate people who make the effort with step family. It’s personally a big thing for me.
“In other words: Norway is you. Norway is us (…) My greatest hope for Norway is that we will be able to take care of one another. That we will continue to build this country – on a foundation of trust, solidarity and generosity of spirit. That we will feel that we are, despite all out differences, one people. That Norway is one.” – 79-year-old King Harald V of Norway celebrating the diversity of his people and stressing the importance of support for refugees, religious tolerance and LGBT rights in a speech on 1 September 2016
““Never before have we had women to cover the positions of the President of Parliament, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the Prime Minister. Times are changing. For the better, many will rightly claim. I feel at least in the right place. In addition, when I am surrounded by both the Queen and the Crown Princess, I find myself in the middle of a sea of gold.””
80 facts about Queen Sonja and King Harald publised in a book Sonja & Harald. En kjærlighetshistorie, which was released on the occasion of Their Majesties’ 80th birthdays.
1. King Harald has stated that when he became King he was terrified.
2. When Harald was born, his father, King Olav, was present at the birth.
3. Both Stortinget and Hans Majestet Kongens Garde gave beer mugs in silver for his christening.
4. He loves to go fishing, and his interest for it came at an early age.
5. King Harald was only 3 years old when he learned how to swim.
6. At the age of 3 he tasted coffee for the first time, while he and his family fleed from Sweden via Finland to the US. He spit it out and said “and you guys like this stuff?”
7. As a kid Harald sowed some buttons on a piece of clothing, wrapped them up and gave them as a Christmas gift for president Roosevelt.
8. Crown Prince Harald represented Norway in the 1964, -68 and -72 Olympics.
9. He became the world champion in sailing with his men in 1987.
10. The King loves to watch TV, preferably Sports, but comidians are also one of his favourites.
11. He prefers traditional jazz, but loves all kinds of music.
12. The enviroment at Oxford, where he studied, was pretty radical.
13. He chose language over science when he was in the Army, which his father was not happy about.
14. While spending his Easter Breaks at Prinsehytta, the outhouse is the real deal.
15. Hot dogs will always be a favourite for the King.
16. Out of all the Norwegian cities, Bergen is the city the King and Queen have visited most times.
17. Sonja is 163 cm (5,4 feet) tall.
18. King Harald stopped smoking in 2003, which later stated was “disappointingly easy.”
19. The King doesn’t mind being in charge of the bbq.
20. According to Sonja, Harald is good with colours.
21. The Queen’s favourite flower is fresia, which was a part of her wedding bouqet.
22. She got her interest in art from her father and big brother.
23. As a child Sonja walked in the children’s parade and wondered how it looked like inside of the Palace.
24. At home, in her favourite chair, Queen Sonja has a pillow with the quote “it ain’t easy being a queen”.
25. Sonja has weekly walks on Bygdøy.
26. She’s the one behind the paintings at the roof on Kongsseteren.
27. Bygdøy kongsgård is the Queen’s favourite of all of their estates.
28. The Queen takes her camera with her everywhere.
29. Sonja graduated as a ski trainer, but failed the first time at plow turn, so she had to retake the exam.
30. Queen Sonja has 6 different bunads.
31. Sonja loves listening to music and her iPod is filled with folk music.
32. The Queen attended Rosenvilde in Bærum in 1962.
33. The King sends hundreds of Christmas cards a year, and writes them himself. [can I get one myself also please thank you]
34. Sonja was the first who had an iPod out of everyone at the Palace.
35. King Harald is always nervous before holding a speech.
36. Harald has stated that he easily gets touched.
37. King Harald makes sure to be updated on the people that he meets.
38. He thinks details are important, and always makes plans ahead of official engagements, such as which car he’s going to use, how long the breaks should be and who he should meet.
39. Harald prefers meeting general people while out at work.
40. King Harald’s rolemodel is his grandfather, King Haakon.
41. The Queen uses gloves with electricity to keep herself warm.
42. The King and Queen often take their grandkids to the theatre.
43. For dinner at the Palace, King Harald often serves his guests moose that he has hunted down himself.
44. Both Sonja and Harald were born on a Sunday.
45. The King and Queen has a graveyard for their dogs at Bygdøy kongsgård.
46. When they were on their honemoon, they used the names Tom and Eva Manstad.
47. Some years after she married Harald, Sonja cut her hair short for the first time, in London.
48. The Queen has always had a permanent seamstress, who makes both new outfits and remakes old outfits for her.
49. Before Christmas in 2016 Queen Sonja invited her grandkids for a workshop at the Palace.
50. King Harald has two dogs named Huldra and Gila.
51. Every year in November the King and Queen spend a week in London, where they buy Christmas gifts.
52. On Christmas Eve the Royal Family eats rice porridge with almond at noon, and for dinner they have lutefisk, cod, roasted pork and plum pudding.
53. The King would rather skip the lutefisk, while the Queen likes it if it’s not too fat and she can have aquavit on the side.
54. Queen Sonja packs dry clothes, a map, compass, seat pads camera and binoculars when she goes on hiking trips and in the mountains.
55. In 2005 Norsk Fjellfestival and Den Norske Turistforeningen ranked the Queen as “Årets fjellgeit.”
56. The Clothing section at Molstad in Oslo made most of Queen Sonja’s clothes in her first years as Norway’s Crown Princess.
57. Sonja has a red boxing bag, but she has never used it.
58. The Queen bought her first painting when she was 14.
59. When her grandchildren are visiting, Queen Sonja asks them to put away their phones.
60. In their apartment at the Palace the King and Queen have a toilet seat that is decorated by Queen Margrethe of Denmark.
61. The Queen made her debut as a painter at the age of 74.
62. One of Queen Sonja’s all time favourite designers is the late Erik Mortensen.
63. When they met Mette-Marit for the first time, they served pasta with tuna and olive.
64. Sonja loves Chanel purses.
65. Just like King Olav, Queen Sonja loves to vist Fortnum & Mason in London.
66. For many years now, the Queen has been a customer at Beth’s Beauty in Oslo.
67. The Queen has her own makeup room and hair saloon at the Palace.
68. One of the King’s and Queen’s favourite Norwegian artists is Wenche Myhre.
69. On her birthday, 4th of July, the Queen invites friends and family on a boat trip and smoakingparty to her cabin on Mågerø.
70. King Harald prefers to be the one who’s driving.
71. When it comes to cars, King Harald has a love for BMW’s 7-serie.
72. When the King is alone on official engagements, or with the Queen, they’re driving with the registration number A2. When the Queen is representing alone, the car has the registration number A7.
73. Marius calls King Harald and Queen Sonja beste-Harald and beste-Sonja.
74. The Queen is known for making small gestures when it comes to the choice of outfits, for example wearing gifts from the hosts.
75. King Harald’s New Years speeches are recorded beforehand. He held his first speech in December 1990, due to King Olav’s sickness.
76. Harald and Sonja have their private apartment on the third floor at the Palace, where they have an amazing view over Oslo.
77. Updated on fashion as she is, Queen Sonja is often seen in clothes from Holzweiler and Fleischer Couture, which ate both Norwegian brands.
78. The Queen has a huge jewellery box and she loves promoting modern, Norwegian jewellery art.
79. The King loves soccer, and his favourite team in English soccer is supposedly Tottenham Hotspur.
80. It still bothers the King that he and his team ended up on 10th place in the 1972 Olympics, where they supposedly were favourites.
House of Brat 