Earlier this summer, Crown Prince Haakon was accused of being “irresponsible” when he fell off his own speedboat. Over the weekend, the crown prince found himself plucking other unfortunate boaters out of the water.
The royals have been vacationing at their new holiday home on an island off Kristiansand, on Norway’s southern coast. On Sunday, the crown prince was out in his boat with his small children when he reportedly saw some young boaters waving in distress from their own sinking boat.
Crown Prince Haakon and his security guards in a nearby royal escort boat headed for the scene along with a police boat and two emergency vessels. Police told local newspaper Fedrelandsvennen that the royal escorts were along because Haakon and his wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, had been taking part in activities tied to the annual Tall Ships Race, which sailed into her hometown of Kristiansand late last week.
The crown prince was among those who helped pull some of the troubled boat’s occupants out of the water and on to the royal escort boat. It was unclear what caused their boat to take on water and ultimately sink.
The crown prince, trained as a naval officer, had been pulled out of the water by his own escorts when he fell overboard off Kristiansand in June. He was criticized at the time for failing to engage a safety device on the boat that would have shut down its motor in such a situation.
Views and News staff
