Harald V

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Harald V
King of Norway
Reign17 January 1991 – present
Coronation23 June 1991[1]
PredecessorOlav V
ConsortSonja
IssueMärtha Louise
Haakon
HouseHouse of Oldenburg (Glücksburg branch)
FatherOlav V
MotherMärtha
Norwegian royal family
* Member of the Norwegian Royal House

Harald V (born 21 February 1937) is the King of Norway. He succeeded to the throne of Norway upon the death of his father Olav V on 17 January 1991. The son of the then Crown Prince Olav and of Princess Märtha of Sweden, Harald was born at the Crown Prince Residence at Skaugum, Asker, near Oslo.

Harald became the first Norwegian-born prince since the birth of Olav IV in 1370. Harald V is the formal head of the Church of Norway and the Norwegian Armed Forces. As he is the great-grandson of King Edward VII, he is also in the line of succession to the British throne. He is a second cousin to Queen Elizabeth II.

King Harald has two sisters, Princess Ragnhild, Mrs. Lorentzen (born 1930), living in Brazil, and Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner (born 1932), living in Oslo.

Childhood and education

When Prince Harald was born in Skaugum he was the first heir to the throne of Norway to be born in Norway for several hundred years. The young prince was baptised in the Royal Chapel in the Royal Palace in Oslo on 31 March by bishop Johan Lunde.

In 1940 the entire royal family had to flee their homes because of the German invasion. The dramatic journey northbound was marked by the Germans' repeated attempts to kill the King through bombing. It was deemed safer for the family to split up. The King and Crown Prince Olav would remain in Norway and the Crown Princess was to make her way to Sweden with the three children. The latter party reached Sweden on the night of 10 April, but although Crown Princess Märtha was Swedish-born, they encountered problems at the border station. According to Princess Astrid and others who were present, they were admitted only after the driver threatened to ram the border gate. Another account does not describe the escape so dramatically.[2] However when the King and Crown Prince inquired of the Swedish foreign minister whether they could sleep one night in Sweden without being interned, they were denied.[2]

Prince Harald spent the following days in Sälen before relocating to Prince Carl Bernadotte's home in Frötuna on 16 April. On 26 April the group moved to Drottningholm in Stockholm. Accounts tell us that King Gustaf V had an amicable relationship with his Norwegian guests, but the topic of the war in Norway was not to be raised. However, influential Swedish politicians including Minster of Justice Westman wanted the Crown Princess and Prince Harald to be sent back to Norway so he could be proclaimed King by the Germans.[2] After the King and Crown Prince had to leave Norway on 7 June they felt Sweden might not be the best place for the rest of the family. They started planning for them to be relocated to the USA. On 17 August the Crown Princess and her children left for the USA from Petsamo, Finland aboard the ship American Legion.[2]

Harald and his mother and sisters lived in Washington, D.C. during the war (his father Olav and grandfather King Haakon residing in London with the exiled government). One of the notable events he remembers from that time is standing behind Franklin D. Roosevelt when he was sworn in for his fourth term on the South Portico of the White House in 1945. The young prince also visited Norwegian servicemen on training in the US and Canada. He attended The White Hall Country School from 1943. Prince Harald returned to Norway along with his family at the war's end in 1945.

In the autumn of 1945 he was enrolled in third grade of Smestad skole as the first royal to attend a public school. In 1955 he graduated from Oslo katedralskole and in the autumn of that year, Harald began studies at the University of Oslo. Later he attended the Cavalry Officers' Candidate School at Trandum, followed by enrollment at the Norwegian Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1959.

In 1960, Harald entered Balliol College, Oxford where he studied history, economics and politics until 1962. He was a keen rower during his student days at Oxford. In 1960 he also made his first official journey abroad, visiting the United States in connection with the fiftieth anniversary of the American Scandinavian Foundation.

Adult life

Styles of
King Harald V of Norway
Reference styleHis Majesty
(Norwegian: Hans Majestet)
Spoken styleYour Majesty
(Deres Majestet / Dykkar Majestet)
Alternative styleSir

The Crown Prince of Norway serves as deputy of the King from the day he is 18 years of age. Crown Prince Harald attended Council of State for the first time on 27 September 1957 and took the oath to the Constitution of Norway on 21 February 1958. In the same year he also served as regent in the King's absence for the first time.

Harald married a commoner, Sonja Haraldsen, in 1968, a marriage that sparked much public controversy. The couple have two children, Princess Märtha Louise and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon, heir to the Norwegian throne.

The King heads the government meetings at Oslo Palace every Friday (Council of State). He also has weekly meetings with the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister. He receives foreign envoys, and opens parliament every September. According to the Norwegian constitution, he appoints his government. Since 1884 parliamentarism has been in place in Norway, so the government has to have support from Parliament. The King appoints the leader of the parliamentary block with majority as prime minister. When the parliamentary situation is unclear the king relies on the advice of the president of Parliament and the sitting prime minister. He travels extensively throughout Norway and makes official state visits to other countries. He is the source of all honours in the kingdom, and is the Grand Master of the Order of St Olav.

An avid sailor, Harald represented Norway in the yachting events in the Olympic Games several times during his Crown Prince years, and carried the Norwegian flag at the opening parade of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. With his sailing crew he won World Championship bronze, silver and gold medals, in 1988, 1982, and 1987, respectively. In July 2005, the King and his crew aboard the royal sailboat Fram XV won the gold medal at the European Championships in Sweden. In the 2007 World Championship the King obtained a sixth place.[3]

Twice during recent years King Harald has been absent as ruler owing to hospitalization and convalescence: in December 2003 to mid-April 2004 due to urinary bladder cancer, and in April to early June of 2005 due to aortic stenosis (for details see "The King's health", below). Crown Prince Haakon served as the country's regent on both occasions.

Positions as King of Norway and honorary titles

As King of Norway

The King speaks to the General Synode of the Church of Norway in 2006.

The King is the nominal head of the Church of Norway.

He is a Four-star General, an Admiral and formally the Supreme Commander of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The infantry battalion His Majesty the King's Guard are considered the King's and the Royal Family's bodyguards, they guard the Royal residences, including the Royal Palace and the Crown Prince Residence at Skaugum, as well as the Royal Mausoleum at Akershus Castle.

Honorary titles

In the British Army, the King was the final Colonel-in-Chief of The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales' Own Yorkshire Regiment). It remains to be seen whether there will continue to be an active association between the 2nd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards) and the Norwegian Royal Family. He is also an honorary Colonel in the British Royal Marines.

The King is a Knight of the Garter, and is The Grand Master of the Order of St. Olav. He is also a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, and a recipient of the Royal Victorian Chain as well as numerous other orders of chivalry.

The King is patron of the Anglo-Norse Society in London, together with Queen Elizabeth II. He is also patron of the Norwegian-American Foundation (Norge-Amerika Foreningen) and the Norse Federation (Nordmannsforbundet) in the United States.

He received the honorary degree Doctor of Civil Law from Oxford University in 2006 (as did his father, King Olav, in 1937, and his grandfather, King Haakon, in 1943).[4] The King has earlier been appointed an honorary doctor of law by the University of Strathclyde (1985) in Scotland and by Waseda University (2001) in Japan (2001). He is also an honorary fellow at Balliol College.

Other honours

Harald V
Medal record
Sailing
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1987 World Championship Sailing
Silver medal – second place 1982 World Championship Sailing
Bronze medal – third place 1988 World Championship Sailing
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2005 European Championship Sailing

A 230 000 km² area in Antarctica is named Prince Harald Coast in his honour.

In 2007 he was awarded the Holmenkollen medal with Simon Ammann, Frode Estil, Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset, and his wife Queen Sonja.

The King's health

On 1 December 2003, King Harald was announced to be suffering from bladder cancer. A successful operation took place on 8 December at Norway's National Hospital, Rikshospitalet, in Oslo: his bladder was removed and a new one constructed. The King was then on sick leave from all official duties. Crown Prince Haakon was Norway's regent during King Harald's illness and convalescence. The King resumed his duties on 13 April 2004.

The King and Queen, greeted by Laura and George W. Bush at the White House during the March 2005 State Visit to the U.S.

The King was once known to be a chain-smoker, but quit that habit entirely when he was diagnosed with cancer.

On 1 April 2005 Harald underwent successful heart surgery, an aortic valve replacement, correcting his aortic stenosis. It had been known for some time that he had this condition; however, until early 2005 it had only been of a moderate degree. During the three-hour operation at Rikshospitalet the doctors also performed a coronary bypass procedure on the King. On 10 April it was announced that the King had also undergone a pericardiocentesis to treat a complication of surgery, a pericardial effusion (an accumulation of fluid around the heart).

After the two operations in the spring of 2005, King Harald remained on sick leave for almost two months, Crown Prince Haakon again substituting as the country's regent. The King returned to work on 7 June, a date which carried particular significance in 2005, with Norway celebrating the centennial of the dissolution of the 1814–1905 union with Sweden. The King recuperated well enough to win the European Championships in ocean sailing just three months after his latest operation.

Following advice from his personal physician, King Harald finally decided in late 2005 to scale down his official duties, primarily effected by taking Wednesdays off and trying to keep weekends free as much as possible. However, he planned to continue attending weekend sports events of interest, and to lead Friday Cabinet meetings and carry out other constitutional duties.

Patronages

[5]

Ancestors

Family of Harald V
16. Christian IX of Denmark
8. Frederick VIII of Denmark
17. Louise of Hesse-Kassel
4. Haakon VII of Norway
18. Charles XV of Sweden
9. Lovisa of Sweden
19. Louise of the Netherlands
2. Olav V of Norway
20. Albert, Prince Consort
10. Edward VII of the United Kingdom
21. Victoria of the United Kingdom
5. Maud of Wales
22. Christian IX of Denmark (= 16)
11. Alexandra of Denmark
23. Louise of Hesse-Kassel (= 17)
1. Harald V of Norway
24. Oscar I of Sweden
12. Oscar II of Sweden
25. Josephine of Leuchtenberg
6. Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland
26. William, Duke of Nassau
13. Sophie of Nassau
27. Princess Pauline of Württemberg
3. Märtha of Sweden
28. Christian IX of Denmark (= 16)
14. Frederick VIII of Denmark ( = 8 )
29. Louise of Hesse-Kassel (= 17)
7. Princess Ingeborg of Denmark
30. Charles XV of Sweden (= 18)
15. Lovisa of Sweden ( = 9 )
31. Louise of the Netherlands (= 19)

Patrilineal descent

Harald's patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son.

Patrilineal descent is the principle behind membership in royal houses, as it can be traced back through the generations - which means that if Harald V were to choose an historically accurate house name it would be Oldenburg, as all his male-line ancestors have been of that house.

House of Oldenburg

  1. Egilmar I of Lerigau, dates unknown
  2. Egilmar II of Lerigau, d. 1142
  3. Christian I of Oldenburg, d. 1167
  4. Moritz of Oldenburg, d. 1209
  5. Christian II of Oldenburg, d. 1233
  6. John I, Count of Oldenburg, d. 1275
  7. Christian III, Count of Oldenburg, d. 1285
  8. John II, Count of Oldenburg, d. 1314
  9. Conrad I, Count of Oldenburg, 1300 - 1347
  10. Christian V, Count of Oldenburg, 1340 - 1423
  11. Dietrich, Count of Oldenburg, 1398 - 1440
  12. Christian I of Denmark, 1426 - 1481
  13. Frederick I of Denmark, 1471 - 1533
  14. Christian III of Denmark, 1503 - 1559
  15. John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg, 1545 - 1622
  16. Alexander, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg, 1573 - 1627
  17. August Philipp, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, 1612 - 1675
  18. Frederick Louis, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, 1653 - 1728
  19. Peter August, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, 1696 - 1775
  20. Karl Anton August, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, 1727 - 1759
  21. Friedrich Karl Ludwig, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, 1757 - 1816
  22. Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, 1785 - 1831
  23. Christian IX of Denmark, 1818 - 1906
  24. Frederick VIII of Denmark, 1843 - 1912
  25. Haakon VII of Norway, 1872 - 1957
  26. Olav V of Norway, 1903 - 1991
  27. Harald V of Norway, 1937 -

References

  1. ^ Coronation discarded by constitutional amendment in 1908. Harald V swore the Royal Oath in the Storting on 21 January 1991 and received the benediction in the Nidaros Cathedral on 23 June 1991.
  2. ^ a b c d Hegge, Per Egil; Harald V, En biografi; N.W. Damm & Søn AS; 2006
  3. ^ Sandefjords Blad on the King's performance in the World Championship Template:No icon Retrieved 10. September 2007
  4. ^ Article in VG on the honorary doctorate Template:No icon
  5. ^ Royal House web page on the King's patronages Retrieved 7 November 2007

External links

Harald V
Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg
Born: 21 February 1937
Regnal titles
Preceded by King of Norway
1991 – present 		Incumbent
Heir:
Haakon
British royalty
Preceded by Line of succession to the British throne
63rd position 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Holmenkollen medal
with Queen Sonja, Simon Ammann, Frode Estil and Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset
2007 		Incumbent
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