Norway’s King Harald and Queen Sonja were back on the balcony of the Royal Palace in Oslo on Sunday, to wave for many hours to the thousands of school children in the Norwegian capital on the 17th of May. Both are now 89 and 88 years old respectively, and have recently been in poor health.
This year, Queen Sonja joined her husband in sitting down through the long parade (external link) that celebrates Norway’s constitution along with its freedom and democracy. King Harald, who suffers from mobility problems, did manage to walk from one end of the balcony to the other and tip his top hat at his royal guards and others after the four-hour parade ended.
Joining them on the balcony were Crown Prince Haakon, his son Prince Sverre Magnus and his wife Crown Princess Mette-Marit. She’s been much in the news lately following revelations of her lengthy relationship to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and her chronic lung disease. Her special oxygen apparatus was visible during her public appearance and she took breaks away from the balcony during the parade.
Princess Ingrid Alexandra, meanwhile, made a public appearance in Sydney, Australia, where she’s studying. She’s heir to the throne after her father, the crown prince, and her brother Sverre Magnus has been filling in for her more frequently.
Their half-brother, Marius Borg Høiby (Mette-Marit’s son from an earlier relationship) remains in police custody following his lengthy trial on multiple counts of vandalism, rape, violence and drugs. Their aunt and Haakon’s sister, Princess Martha Louise, was also absent from the annual festivities following controversy over her use of her royal title for commercial purposes. Also missing was the king’s older sister Princess Astrid, who’s in the hospital following heart problems and surgery for insertion of a pacemaker.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
