Royals forced to flee SAS flight

Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit were among 135 passengers ordered to evacuate an Oslo-bound Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) flight when it suddenly ran into trouble on take-off Sunday morning. The drama at Copenhagen’s Kastrup Airport left all of them shaken but SAS denied there was any real danger. Passengers told Norwegian media that [...]

Royal representation in Davos

Norway will be royally represented, both literally and figuratively, at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that started this week and lasts through Sunday. Crown Princess Mette-Marit will be joining her husband this year at the high-power gathering of international movers and shakers. Crown Prince Haakon has been attending the World Economic Forum [...]

Royal heir turns eight as mom ‘tweets’

Flags were flying on Norway’s public buildings on Saturday, as Princess Ingrid Alexandra celebrated her eighth birthday on January 21. Meanwhile, her mother, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, could “tweet” about it for the first time. Ingrid Alexandra is the next heir to the throne after her father, Crown Prince Haakon, who will succeed his father, King [...]

Video threatens Crown Prince, Stoltenberg with ‘painful revenge’

A video published on the social media site Facebook threatens Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre with both “painful revenge” and death, in retaliation for Norway’s military involvement in Afghanistan. The video promotes a demonstration organized by an Islamic group and planned for Friday in front of [...]

Royal treasures to go on display

King Harald and Queen Sonja will be celebrating their 75th birthdays this year, and the government’s gift is NOK 30 million (USD 5 million) to finance some traveling exhibits of royal treasures collected over the years. Some date back to the arrival of King Harald’s grandfather and his British princess, Maud, in Norway. They became [...]

Jens, stay home!

COMMENTARY – VIEWS ON THE NEWS: Has anyone else noticed the irony of how people worried about the climate – including Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg – spend vast amounts of time, energy and taxpayers’ money flying all over the globe, burning up jet fuel and generating untold tons of carbon emissions? On another topic: [...]

NRK’s royal TV ‘miniseries’ drew flak

Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) wrapped up what newspaper VG called its two-part “miniseries” on Crown Princess Mette-Marit Sunday night, but not before it caught criticism for allegedly “glorifying” the royal family and spurning  journalistic principles. Gunnar Bodahl-Johansen of Norway’s Institute for Journalism (IJ) told VG that the program “didn’t come close to offering a portrayal of [...]

Royal guards march to a tougher role

They’re often referred to as “pyntsoldater” (decorative or ceremonial soldiers) who stand guard outside royal properties, march in parades and perform in international competitions. Norway’s royal guards, however, now may be called upon to respond to national emergencies in anything but dress uniform. Officially called Hans Majestet Kongens Garde (His Majesty the King’s Guards) or, [...]

NRK boosts Mette-Marit’s image

As Crown Princess Mette-Marit formally opened a church in her name in Miami over the weekend, Norwegians back home were being shown a glowing documentary on her life, produced by Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK). It seemed like NRK was intent on boosting the crown princess’ image, although some might argue that’s no longer necessary. Controversy erupted [...]

Media blamed for ‘Teflon monarchy’

It’s time for Norwegian media to more critically question the power that members of Norway’s royal family actually have, suggests a social anthropologist at the University of Oslo (UiO). He blames the media for furthering the existence of what he calls Norway’s “Teflon monarchy:” Nothing sticks to it. The Norwegian royals enjoy widespread support and [...]

Norwegian center opens at Cal

Six Norwegian universities, Norway’s research council and two Norwegian business schools are pooling resources to open the new Norwegian Peder Sather Center for Advanced Studies at the University of California at Berkeley (Cal). The center is meant to provide Norwegian researchers a base for development and cooperation at what they consider one of the world’s [...]

Royals feared Labour government

Norway’s newly established royal family feared for their future when the Labour Party won government power in the early 1930s. Labour opposed the monarchy and even managed to prevent Crown Prince Olav from turning Oslo’s Oscarshall castle into a royal residence. Political intrigue surrounding King Haakon, Queen Maud, their son Olav and his new wife [...]

Beloved king ‘naive’ about the Nazis

Norwegian historians, authors and commentators were scrambling on Friday to try to explain why Norway’s late and much-loved King Olav, long a symbol of Nazi resistance while crown prince in exile during World War II, actually wanted to negotiate with Hitler’s government and didn’t want to leave Norway when the Germans invaded. The revelations in [...]

Kings rode to the rescue

King Harald V and his Swedish counterpart gallantly came to the aid of one of the Norwegian Royal Palace’s top officials after she stumbled on an escalator in full gala dress over the weekend. The unexpected incident occurred as they were heading into one of the final events on the royal couple’s recent US tour. [...]

A royal tour to America

King Harald  and Queen Sonja have embarked on what’s widely thought to be their last major official tour to the US. They arrived in the Midwest on Wednesday, for a swing through “Norwegian America,” with a few days off in between events. It appeared the locals would be welcoming the royals with open arms, however [...]

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