Princess Ragnhild of Norway
| Princess Ragnhild | |
|---|---|
| Spouse | Erling Sven Lorentzen |
| Issue | |
| Haakon Lorentzen Ingeborg Lorentzen Ragnhild Lorentzen |
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| Full name | |
| Ragnhild Alexandra | |
| House | House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg |
| Father | Olav V of Norway |
| Mother | Princess Märtha of Sweden |
| Born | 9 June 1930 Oslo, Norway |
Princess Ragnhild of Norway, Mrs. Lorentzen, (Ragnhild Alexandra, born 9 June 1930) is the eldest daughter of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. She is the older sister of His Majesty King Harald V of Norway and of Princess Astrid of Norway.
As she is the great-granddaughter of Edward VII of the United Kingdom, she is also in the line of succession to the British throne. She is a second cousin to Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret. Princess Ragnhild's aunt (her mother's sister) became Queen Astrid of Belgium, making Princess Ragnhild a maternal first cousin to Baudouin of Belgium and his successor Albert II of Belgium.[1]
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[edit] Early life
Princess Ragnhild was the first Norwegian princess born on Norwegian soil for 629 years. [2] She grew up at the royal residence of Skaugum near Asker, west of Oslo. During World War II, the Princess fled the Nazi invasion with her family, spending the wartime years in exile with her mother and siblings in Washington, DC.
[edit] Marriage and family
Princess Ragnhild married Erling S. Lorentzen, a commoner of the High Bourgeoisie, in Asker on 15 May 1953, after which the princess is titled Her Highness Princess Ragnhild, Mrs. Lorentzen. There was great controversy when the princess married Lorentzen, a business man and army officer who had served as her bodyguard during the War, as she was the first Norwegian Royal to marry a commoner. Soon after the couple's wedding, it was announced that the flag of Norway would no longer be flown on the princess's birthday (9 June).
The couple moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where her husband has substantial business holdings. They still live there, but also spend some time in Oslo.
The princess has three children:
- Haakon Lorentzen,
- Ingeborg Lorentzen (Mrs. Paulo Ribeiro), and
- Ragnhild Lorentzen (married to the American Aaron Matthew Long and living in San Francisco, California).
Her grandchildren are Olav (born 1985), Christian (born 1988), Victoria (born 1988), Sophia (born 1994), Alexandra (born 2007) and Elizabeth (born 2011).
| Styles of Princess Raghnild of Norway |
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| Reference style | Her Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Highness |
| Alternative style | Ma'am |
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Extended royal family
* Member of the Norwegian Royal House
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[edit] Activities
As a member of the extended Norwegian royal family, Princess Ragnhild carries out no official state duties, but does attend family events such as royal weddings.
A staunch conservative, Princess Ragnhild publicly criticized her niece and nephew, Princess Märtha Louise and Crown Prince Haakon Magnus, for their choice of spouses, on TV 2, a Norwegian television network, in 2004.[3] Among her comments was her belief that the younger generation's controversial marriages could bring down the Norwegian monarchy and her hope that she would be dead before her nephew's wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit became queen.[citation needed] In a fruitless effort at damage control, the princess's husband reportedly approached TV 2, asking that his wife's scathing comments be edited.[3]
Princess Ragnhild is Patron of the Norwegian Organisation for the Hearing Impaired.
[edit] Honours
A 540 000 km² area in Antarctica is named Princess Ragnhild Coast in her honour. The Jahre Line (later Color Line) cruiseferry MS Prinsesse Ragnhild was named in her honour.
Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav- The Royal House Centenary Medal
- Olav Vs Commemorative Medal of 30. January 1991
- Olav Vs Jubilee Medal 1957-1982
- Olav Vs Centenary Medal
- Royal Family Order of King Haakon VII of Norway
- Royal Family Order of King Olav V of Norway
- Royal Family Order of King Harald V of Norway
Grand Cross of the Order of the Southern Cross
Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown
Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (Portugal)
Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star
[edit] Ancestry
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.thepeerage.com/p10125.htm#i101244
- ^ http://trondni.blogspot.com/2010/06/on-this-date-princess-ragnhild-is-80.html
- ^ a b Here's what Princess Ragnhild said
[edit] External links
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Princess Ragnhild of Norway
Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg
Born: 9 June 1930 |
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| Norwegian royalty | ||
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| Preceded by Leah Isadora Behn |
Line of succession to the British throne | Succeeded by Olav Lorentzen |
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- Norwegian princesses
- House of Glücksburg (Norway)
- 1930 births
- Living people
- Norwegian expatriates in Brazil
- Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav
- Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star
- Grand Crosses of the Order of the Southern Cross
- Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit (Portugal)
- Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Netherlands)
