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.
8 November 2018: Queen Sonja presents the 2018 Queen Sonja Print Award to Canadian graphic artist Emma Nishimura, and a Lifetime Achievement Award to David Hockney in recognition of his work in graphic art and printmaking. The Queen Sonja Print Award is the world’s leading graphic art award, and it is designed to inspire interest in and the development of graphic art.
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.
“The bravery and courage Mette-Marit showed us, made a strong impression. We never considered denying Haakon the love we ourselves fought for for nearly nine years. And now Marius came into our lives. I went to the attic and found old toys.”
— Queen Sonja on accepting Mettte-Marit (and with her Marius) into the family
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.
September 3, 2018 || Her Majesty Queen Sonja invited minority women to a tea party at the Royal Palace in Oslo, Norway. It is the third time that Queen Sonja brings together women of multicultural backgrounds to chat over a cup of tea and the talk went lively around the table in the daily dining room.
“Most of you have in common that you have come here to Norway from different places – different backgrounds, with different challenges and circumstances. I’m looking forward to hearing more about this,” said Queen when she welcomed her guests to the table.
The guests had backgrounds from Eritrea, Somalia, Liberia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Iran, India, Guatemala, Syria and Afghanistan. They actively participate in various projects that promote the integration of women.
There were five women from the Norwegian garden company project Grenseløse grønnsaker og herter (Limitless vegetables and herbs), five from the Mira Center and five members of the Norwegian Tourist Association’s department in Drammen with project for inclusive outdoor life. Each of the three projects were presented around the table.
The Queen’s commitment to minority women extends over a long period of time. She is interested in the women’s stories and how their everyday lives in Norway are. She has also emphasized the importance of minority women standing up and using her voice.
House of Brat 