King Harald and Queen Sonja took the royal yacht to the county of Sør-Trøndelag this week, taking four days to visit six municipalities: Hitra, Frøya, Osen, Roan, Åfjord and Bjugn. Winding down the trip on Thursday, King Harald called the trip “one long delightful journey.”
[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWgvYnAO9as[/tube]
The royal couple visiting Roan in Sør-Trøndelag. Video by
Christian Lagaard, Det kongelige hoff, via YouTube.
Predictably, the royal couple received a warm welcome everywhere during the trip, described in local media as “the happening of the year” on the Trøndelag coast. Everywhere they where greeted by nervous mayors, proud children presenting flowers, and cheering crowds waving flags.
“Trønder” is a term for natives of any of the two counties in middle Norway, Sør-Trøndelag and Nord-Trøndelag. During the trip, King Harald referred to himself as a “closet trønder.”
“I confessed to that years ago. From what I’ve seen this far, I have great reason to stand by that remark,” he said on Wednesday, speaking in the village of Bessaker.
It’s an annual tradition for the royal couple to make a fylkestur, a special visit to selected places in a particular county, and it’s in the districts far from Oslo that they arguably have their most support. Last year they went to Vestfold. This year in Sør-Trøndelag, they had seen some of the places before while visiting as crown couple 24 years ago. Speaking on the island of Hitra, Queen Sonja recalled a previous visit.
“When we visited Hitra as crown couple in 1989, indicators were pointing down here. But since then, hitterværingene’s (term for the locals) own efforts have borne fruit. Now there’s growth in the fish farming industry and in the population,” she declared.
Program stops included everything from institutions for the elderly to museums and wind power plants.
The program ended on Thursday night with a reception on board Norge, the royal yacht, for 10 guests from each of the six districts visited.
“We have experienced very well-planned and nicely executed programs in all the municipalities, and we’ve met individuals and groups who have made a deep impression on us. These impressions we will be carried with us going forward,” King Harald said.
[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdZGsQrN01U[/tube]
The royal couple visiting Hitra municipality in Sør-Trøndelag.
Video by Christian Lagaard, Det kongelige hoff, via YouTube.
newsinenglish.no staff
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