American Reacts to Norway’s Royal Family
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ต.ค. 2024
- Most Americans (including myself are actually completely unaware that Norway has a royal family. That is why I am very interested in reacting and learning about Norwegian royalty from my American point of view. People born and raised in the United States have a very limited understanding of royalty since the US has never had a monarchy of any kind.
As a Norwegian i really respect the King. And it's more because of how He is as a person.
Først og fremt. Ikke noe poeng å tekste engelsk her. Er kun nordmenn som ser disse filmene. Monarki er like lite gjennomtenkt som relgion, kun saueflokk mentalitet som holder det gående.
Jeg liker også kongen, og han er så snill = i also like the king, and he is so kind ❤😊
@Philosophy = the love of wisdom enlighten me on what you mean.
@Philosophy = the love of wisdom You seriously need to study, go to a university, for example, and try to learn what a "representative monarchy" actually is.
Harald is the cutest
As a Norwegian I sometimes wonder if I should start the channel "Norwegian reacting to americans reacting to Norway".
Very funny 😄
No, that would start a trend and someone would start one called "Americans Reacting to Norwegians Reacting to Americans Reacting to Norway" and it will become a never ending chain. 😀
Gjør det ✌
Well, we had the program "Alt for Norge", wich was basically based on that concept 😅
Yes please do that lol
My grandfather was doing paint renovation work in the Castle back in the early 90s. I was just 2-3 years old at the time and there was one day when he had to look after me. So he said to Queen Sonja that he couldn't come to work that day, but she said, why don't you bring him along to the castle and we will make sure he is fine while you work. I don't remember much from those young years but that day I remember very clearly and is one of my most fondest memories. I got to meet the Queen and was allowed to ride on my tricycle around the castle. That proved to me how down to earth they are and I am a big fan of the Royal Family.
That sounds awesome! 😁 What a cool childhood memory!
This story completely tracks.
Thanks amazing, thanks Henrik
Do you live in Norway? cuze i do❤ and Queen Sonja is soo pretty with her crown on i just love it❤
@@frideverden2310 Diadem, I take it? The crowns have not been worn in this century, the current king chose a blessing of his duty ceremony instead of a traditional coronation ceremony. The crown jewels are not even kept in the capitol city!
Fun fact, yes we did elect our first king (after we where in union with Sweden and under the swedish throne, before that under the danish throne). So when Prince Carl was asked if he wanted to become our new king, he wanted to take that role only if the people wanted him, so there was a referendum and an overwhelming amount of people said yes we want him as king. So he was infact a democratic elected king.
He became King Haakon, father of King Olav V, who is the father of current King Harald, who is father of coming King Crownprince Haakon.
Yes. Haakon VII never forgot that he was the people’s king.
You should watch the king's speech on diversity in our society. It's called "Norway is us" and further shows how much the king is for norwegians, regardless of colour, sexuality and origin, and definitely worth a watch! Love your videos like always, keep em' coming!
🙈
That is such a good idea for him to react to
The video that Visit Norway made of the speech might be a good choice: th-cam.com/video/GTWvGreBj5c/w-d-xo.html
was about to say this
was just about to suggest that but yes definetly should
King Olav V of Norway often went skiing in Oslo alone, without bodyguards. When an American tourist saw the king skiing, he asked the nearest Norwegian if the King had no bodyguards? The Norwegian answered: "Yes he has. King Olav has 4 million bodyguards, every single Norwegian."
This is copy pasted. I thought it was a reporter who asked the king and the king aswered the same. Dont know if this version or the other is the truth
It was the king that said he had 4 million bodyguards. It was in in 1973 when King Olav took the tram without any bodyguards. When someone asked him why he didn't travel with guards, he answered that he has four million bodyguards.
@@Oro-Laeji best answer ever given :)
That's a true statement. Love hearing others knows it too
Which means u guys have real public servants ,thats why your country is rich and safe...opposit 2 the rest of the world
Anyway it comes from ur past vikings...pagans,commom sense people...natural,human and strong
All scandinavia its civilized...but not the rest of the christian and musmlim world
King Harald is a very funny guy, he loves to make jokes and is laughing alot. Once on TV he was interviewed and they talked about the research station at antarctica and the name of it, he mentioned that it was named after his wife the Queen... the stations name is Troll... it was a good joke 🙂 he later said he did regret saying that but I think she took it good .. it was a good joke I think.
ohh please. I also love my grandfather
He seems like a very funny guy!
@@TylerWalkerTH-cam He has a little sass in him, which burst out when you least expect it lol.
This is a true story: I once met Queen Sonja while hiking in the mountains. We had camped overnight, and she came strolling through our campsite with her hiking buddies. At the time, my friend was very much into snorkeling, and had dragged his snorkel, diving mask and flippers all the way up to this little lake in the mountains. When the Queen came by, he was done snorkeling, and was walking in a shallow river leading out of the lake. The Queen asked if she could take a picture of him, and she now have a picture of him standing in ankle deep freezing mountain water, wearing flippers, snorkel and diving mask. I still giggle when I think about it!
That is epic 😂 I wonder if they will or already have some kind of public memorial from their own journeys, open to public, or if it remains private (which I can respect).
Shame they didn’t mention that princess Ingrid had a summer job as a food runner and bussing tables at a restaurant.
Yep. She just turned 18 and is being raised to be just a regular kid.
Kronprins Håkon has an older sister who didn't get the crown based on her gender. This has changed, and Håkons daughter will now be able to inherit the crown
The funny thing is that if the law had not made a special case the law would have Princess Märtha Louise crown-princess, but at the request of the Royal family it was made so that it would first take effect with the next generation. There for Ingrid Alexandra the next crown-princess.
@@denklokegud
The reason why the law did not change that Håkon and not Mertha should take over the throne was a wish from the castle, when this happened in 1990, and when Håkon was 17 and Mertha was 19, and they had lived with the idea all their lives that it was Håkon who would take over.
You need to watch this video again. It never occurred to me how confusing our royal family is when you "meet" them for the first time. I'm sad that they didn't include the story about King Harald's father, King Olav. We had an energy crisis here in the 70ies, and were urged not to drive our cars if we didn't absolutely have to. King Olav wanted to go to Holmenkollen to do some cross country skiing, and without saying a word to anyone, he took the tram (similar to those they have in San Francisco) up there. Imagine being the passenger on that tram who recognized him, and took the still nationally famous photo of him sitting there, in the same kind of skiing clothes that everyone else wore at the time. All of the three Kings we have had that have been ours and nobody else's have been beloved. King Haakon (albeit being Danish by birth) was a true Norwegian patriot, and a bright light in the darkness through the occupation we suffered in WW2. King Olav was dubbed "The People's King" for doing the kind of things described above. He was jovial and funny, and I still remember his priceless and distinctive laughter. King Harald was not ashamed to cry during speeches and services after the bombing of the government buildings and the mass shooting on Utoya that Anders Behring Breivik perpetrated. (That story became big news across the western world, because that never happens here.) King Harald and Queen Sonja and the Crown Prince and Crown Princess openly grieved with the rest of the country, and there is a certain comfort in having a steady, royal family that actually cares. (BTW: Jens Stoltenberg was our prime minister when that horrible, horrible thing happened. He hadn't become the leader of NATO yet then.)
It’s good for society or a nation to have a unifying symbol, such as a royal family, that transcends politics and regional differences. I hope our royal family survives the anti-traditional tendencies of today.
It must.
Alt for Norge.
Not all tendencies are anti traditional. I'm sure there's more, but the music scene is very much alive and even evolving, with traditional and even proto Viking (period) music.
As a Norwegian myself I really love the Royal Family. They are great people, great role models for the people as well and will always have a lot of respect to them. Having monarchs is a great tradition to have, and I hope that we never leave this tradition.
Anti-royalism is on a slight rise in Norway, and I'm pretty sure it will explode when Harald dies
Out of the 173 rooms, a LOT of them are admin. Like the President doesn't use the entire whitehouse for just his family. There are tons of offices for whitehouse staff etc. Same for these palaces.
13:20 Before Ingrid Alexandra, royal succession was passed to the firstborn son. It was changed to just the firstborn child. To get with the times.
it was changed before she was born if im not wrong, i think they change it in 1990 so Ingrid Alexandra wasent even born
Yes it was changed before she was born since she’s only 18. it was changed after the current crown Prince and his older sister was born though, so the rule still applied to them i think (not sure though)
I would like to think most of us Norwegians like our Royal Family
I would also think that we dont really have to do texting in english , as nearly all reading the comments are norwegians seeking recognition
@@knutdrum430 Not necessarily, and even if true, the one running the channel is still an American, lol.
When Norway chose Prince Carl of Denmark, he was not a random guy from the street.
When the Norwegian Parliament, Stortinget, decided to dissolve the union with Sweden, the Swedish king had to step down as Norwegian king. He refused the reconciliation offer to let a Swedish prince take over the Norwegian throne.
Stortinget therefore turned to the Danish Prince Carl. In addition to positive personal characteristics, it was emphasized that he was Scandinavian and therefore would understand Norwegian language and culture. Through his wife, Princess Maud, he had close ties to Great Britain and the British royal house and an heir to the throne already existed through his son, the two-year-old Alexander. Norway has always had close ties to Great Britain.
In Norway, people debated whether the new state should be a monarchy or a republic. Prince Carl demanded that the question be submitted to a referendum. He wanted certainty that a majority of the population wanted Norway to remain a kingdom.
A clear majority voted for monarchy, and on 18 November 1905 the Storting elected Prince Carl as king.
The new king took the name Haakon, and gave his son the name Olav, a name that linked the new royal house to the Norwegian kings from the Middle Ages. It was a gesture that Norwegians greatly appreciated.
Haakon was mostly chosen for being married to Maude. The connection to the British royal family was too good to pass up for a little country that had just gotten back it’s indipendance after all. It was incredibly lucky that Haakon turned out to be such a badass in his own right.
I'm from Norway and I love our royal family. ❤️🇧🇻 They all seem like wonderful people, super down to earth, caring, loving and they are actually quite funny as well. King Harald always makes me laugh. He makes small jokes about queen Sonja in interviews etc. 😂
I'm Norwegian myself, and I love the king and queen! They're so down to earth, and I went to a school with one girl from the royal family and she's so nice, and you couldn't even tell that she was royal
You need to see The Kings speech "Norway is one" you can find it on youtube. It is in english. It's beautiful.
This!!
As a Norwigan citizen I must say that I ADORE our king and queen. ❤😊
I like your curiosity Tyler, you're not a very average american I think. Yes, the Royal Family is in general very well liked. The video did not mention that the Queen besides music is very engaged in the visual arts, painting and such, making exhibitions and engage in promoting norwegian art/painters to a wider audience. She is also quite good at making art herself, having taken courses with some of our most known contemporary painters. And the Crown Princess is very engaged in litterature, promoting reading books to enrich our lives, focus be in the younger generations.
King Harald is like a man for the people, i really like him since he is a good humble person 🙂 You should react to the kings speech, there he describes his thoughts on quite of lot of important things, i can strongly recommend that if you want to see why we love and respect our king so much🙂
I work at a gas station on the countryside, and a couple of weeks ago, on a quiet evening a guy came in the store, he bought a lot of licorice candy and then I saw it was our crownprince Haakon! He had been on a surfing competition with his daughter princess Ingrid Alexandra, in my area, and was now on the way to the airport. He was super friendly and we even took a selfie. 😊😊😊😄😄😄
Best way of thinking of the royals in Norway especially Harald is "Norways grand pa"
the Norwegian king's private fortune is actually inherited from England. His grandmother was an English princess and she inherited a bit. The reason they chose the king's grandfather as king was actually mostly because he was married to the English king's daughter. They therefore reckoned that it would not be as easy for the Swedish king to attack us. We were part of Sweden from 1814 to 1905 and they did not give us our freedom voluntarily.
we love our king. If you watch👇🤯
React to: norwegian king's speech - norway is one 🙏🙏👍😁👍🇳🇴
there are many royals that have competed in the olympics: Princess Anne and her daughter Zara in the UK,, princess Charlene & prince Albert II of Monaco, king Felipe VI of Spain, Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum of the UAE, princess Haya bint Hussein of Jordan, Inaki Urdangarin & princess Cristina of Spain, Prince Bira of Siam.
Don't mention the middle eastern royals, we don't care what they do
Yes but not a king? :) (or queen)
Like most monarchies, Norway's succession law used to be Agnatic-Cognatic Primogeniture (eldest son is first in line, then you go down to the youngest son, and if there are no sons, only THEN can the oldest female heir be chosen) but this was changed to absolute cognatic primogeniture which simply chooses the oldest child. Thus, Norway will have a queen after Haakon.
I usually hate monarchy, but I like our king and queen. 🇸🇯 they are both royal and humble at the same time.
All Scandinavian monarchies are down to earth. The Dutch monarchy as well.
But for some reason the UK monarchies are the most famous
I love and respect king Harald tremendously ❤️🇳🇴❤️ He is just an awesome guy and full of humor! And I am proud of Our Royal Family ❤️ Princess Märtha Louise is the only one that make the fat headlines and are dealing with personal interest’s that can be controversial for some people!
As a Norwegian i love the Royal family. I am proud of the task they do, and he meens a lot for many people. The King and Queen represent Norway in many different area
As a Norwegian I really love my Royal family
you should check out King Harald's speech "Norway is one"
One tip from me is if you are in Oslo, the royal house is open for a guided tour, so you can visit the royal house and see what it's like inside the palace.
Should be noted it's only open for the public during summer, and tickets have to be bought online in advance, from ticketmaster (sale starts in March each year, cannot be bought earlier).
As a Norwegian I 100% respect the King, he's a real charismatic guy and he's quite funny.
Jokingly referring to his wife Queen Sonja as "The Troll" during a banquet dinner, would probably never happend in Sweden.
Or The Netherlands...
The UK ?
Oh well...
@@ninaelsbethgustavsen2131 Because they both have humor.
@ninaelsbethgustavsen2131 And the queen had a good laugh at his joke. Very cute.
I was about to say, I am surprised you havent seen the kings speech yet. But then I see other people have commented on it. It is a GREAT speech and should be seen. it hits the feels.
And btw, the commentator in this movie is saying ALL the names wrong. yay x)
what they meant by "choosing their king" is that Norway up until 1905 was under someone else monarchy (or a union as you may call it). So when they decided that they wanted their own monarchy (even tho they've been their own country with their own laws since 1814) they chose their previous king's (Denmarks king) cousin .I'm pretty sure, may be wrong tho
I always love the new years eve speech of the king. Always very inspiring to me.
The king is a symbol of unity and togetherness. During WW2, the government surrendered but the king did not. resistance lived on in the name of the king. He went into exile and gave a speech that basically said that if the Norwegian people wanted to surrender and be part of the Reich, they could do so but that would be the end of his reign. That spurred on resistance. For king and country, they say. The Norwegian king is a constant figure for people to unite around, he works for all of us to bind us together.
I love the king, also the queen. But the king is the sweetest old man. So for me its more on a personal level, that I like the roalty because of their personality. Our king is like Norways grandpa💜 Not everyone feels the same but I think most people here do. Some are just very against roality no matter what.
Yes they are very likeable, down to earth people. I also like Mette Marit and Håkon, but Martha Louise, well not really sure. Just been so much strange stuff. And off course their children. :)
I liked Marta Louise when I was a kid. She had this thing where she read fairy tales for children and so on. Then she went a bit strange. I’m honestly not sure what exactly happened there.
His father, King Olav was also one of the people. He took the tram and bus when he went skiing. No other king I've ever heard about has sone similar.
How it worked was that the next king was always the first born boy, so when Crownprince Haakon is going to be our next king, he was not the first born, he have an older sister but because of the laws back then was that only the male side could rise to become the king, they changed that so when he dies (or abdisent) his daughter who is his firstborn will become the first Queen at power, like in UK, so then we don't have a king but a Queen and her partner will become what we call Prins gemal (not king).
Thankfully the change didn't happen sooner! Could you imagine Queen Martha?
Yes, it was the right change, but we dodged a bullet there 😅
@@faust82 Good lord, yes ... I do belive that our crown prince will be a good and popular king, as his father and I see alot of King Olav in him too
i love our royalty! when i was a child they visited my small village and me and 2 of my friends got to sing for them. now in most recent times, queen sonja was on a girls trip with her friends and visited a small cafe run by an immigrant who lives here in my small "village". she has visited sevral times and its really fun to see this mini business be noticed by the royal family!
Sverre is the third in line behind his father and his older sister. It's unlikely he will ever be king unless, his older sister dies or never have a kid. Haakon, the first in line of succession, is also the younger brother of his sister. When they was still children they changed the succession laws to make girls having the equal rights to the throne as buys, but they also decided that this would only count for comming generation, since Haakon had had a lot of training preparing him to be the future king already.
About the future queen.
As I recall, the rules used to be that the first born son would inherent the crown. But this was changed a long time a go. Even before the current crown-prince were born. (He just happened to be a boy)
I can add that the corwn-prince studied in USA incognito. You might be able to find the speech he made at their graduation.
There is an interesting (and fairly famous) story about the former King. King Olav.
During an oil crisis in the early 70s, there was an oil ration. And motor vehicles were not to be used during weekends.
As part of a publicity stunt, and to show that the king was down there with everyone else (I guess), he left his bodyguards behind, and took the tram. (so he could go skiing... they were re-opening an area)
(Apparently he tried to pay fare himself, but they rejected it.)
If you look up "King Olav Tram", you can find a picture of it... he seems a bit intense in it. But the girl next to him seem excited.
And I'm seeing now that the current king has recreated the "stunt"... (Stunt makes it sound like there was risk involved)
The change happened long after the current crown prince was born. The constitution was changed in 1990. If it was before then princess Märtha Louise would have been the next in line as shes around two years older.
@@Gazer75 Exactamundo. King Harald himself refused (argued strongly against it and may have indicated he would not sign the bill) to let the change have retroactive effect. The reasoning was that the difference in upbringing was already in effect. Haakon was raised with the knowledge that he would at some point become king and Märtha Louise had for an even longer time settled into the fact that she would not be queen. Whether the children where consulted before the king's opinion was made is not known, at least not by me
BTW: Queen Elizabeth's daughter, Princess Anne, is an Olympic gold medalist in equestrian. Also, Prince Harry did two tours of Afghanistan
Norway's royal family seems more relaxed..
We (I, at least) LOVE my king!! ❤️❤️
He is very loving and down to earth. He cares about his people. I wish he was our prime minister...
I recommend "the Norwegian Kings speech". That will tell you a lot about his personality 😊
Yeah we like them. I have hung out with the prince a few times at concerts (he was a big fan of my friends band), and also worked with and for him on projects. Great down to earth people!
King Harald never talks politics either, but what is political in USA or UK, isn't necessarily so in Norway. When we all agree, it is no longer political. We agree that the gay community should be treated fairly and have laws to protect them, we have laws to protect all races and sexes also, and we all agree that nature needs to be protected, so why shouldn't the King be allowed to remind us about it? The latest cute story I heard about him, was that his son in law to be (African American who is a shaman by profession) was selling medallions that allegedly cured covid on the net and the King was asked about it. Mind you his daughter has not been on the national budget since she was 18 (and is now 50). He answered: "I think I need to explain this monarchy thing to him better, I am not sure he has got it yet"...and laughed...lol
I think most of our people like the Royal family, but I know some people don't see the point of the expenses around them.
Well, it's basically tradition at this point, so it makes sense to keep it that way, also Norway has always been a kingdom, it would be strange to make it something else.
Princess Anne and her daughter Zara from Great Britain were both in the Olympics for equestrian events.
I think you need to do an updated version of this now. You’ll be in for a chock
You should totally react to the kings speech! Even though you have covered this topic slightly I think you and viewers will find it extra interesting to see a reaction on that one.
So, Tyler, I guess you didn't know that Elizabeth II wasn't the only queen celebrating a major jubilee in 2022? The other one is Margarethe II of Denmark - whose monarchy is even older than England's! She actually appears on this movie with her cousin Harald and Sonja at 14:00, in red. She's now the oldest surviving monarch - and the sole surviving Queen Regnant, in the world; and she's celebrating her Golden Jubilee - 50 years on her throne, this year! She is a first cousin of King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden as her mother and his father were brother-and-sister; she is a second cousin of King Harald of Norway; a second cousin once removed of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg; a third cousin of both King Willem Alexander of The Netherlands and King Phillipe of Belgium; a third cousin once removed of King Charles III of the UK and also King Felipe VI of Spain; a fourth cousin once removed of Prince Hans-Adam of Liechtenstein and a sixth cousin of Prince Albert II of Monaco. She is also the sister-in-law of Ex-King Constantine II of The Hellenes (Greece), Queen Anne-Marie being her younger sister. There are also family links to the former monarchies of Serbia, Romania, Russia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the German Empire, Italy, France, Portugal, Albania and more! Indeed, all of the European Monarchies are related to one another - mainly because, until the First World War, Royal Family Members were usually expected to marry others of equal rank - and marriages that had been arranged by their parents or for political reasons were commonplace.
There are also surviving monarchies in Morocco, Leshoto, Eswatini, Bhutan, Tonga, Thailand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan; and the Empire of Japan; while King Charles III is also King of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Belize, Trinidad & Tobago, St Kitts & Nevis, Tuvalu, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Falkland & South Sandwich Isles, Grenada, Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda.
I feel like they googled "Norwegian royalty" and read the first line of text on ther hits and made a video. like so many like big things are just wrong. the princess never gave up her princess titel but she gave up the "Your royal highness" and also they reformed who gets crown Prince/Princess titel in 1990 long before Ingird was born.
You have to realise that up until very recent in many European countries or rather European Royal Houses not only was it looked bad upon but if you were a royal or prince it was actually illegal to marry a non-princess or at least a person of non-royal background.
Thank You.
I am loving this...❤️❤️❤️
The King and Queens are ambassadours of Norway and travelt a lot. The King has been an active sailor in the priversy, and even a good,one, too.With the boat FRAM ( FORWARD)
5:42 - Princess Anne from the UK was in the Olympics back in the 1970s! I don't think she won anything but she competed in the horse riding events. Her daughter Zara Phillips/Tindall also competed and I think actually got a medal.
I worked in admin at Oslo College when Märtha Louise (King Haralds daughter) was a student of physiotherapy, she would came and go like all other students, no special treatment and no security.. years later I worked in retail and was introduced to Crown Prince Haakon Magnus through a friend, he again would just stroll around town with a friend, going to bars and clubs, and once called a lesbian venue to ask if he would be allowed entry if he brought a female (lesbian) friend so he could hear the DJ playing that particular weekend! Such a great guy! But then, his grandfather King Olav was known as "Folkets Konge" or The People's King, he would leave the palace after dark in a hat and coat, take the tram downtown and go to "old men's pubs" to chat with and get the general feelings of the people.. Truly a unique monarchy, and still a democracy! ;)
You did an ok job with pronouncing Slesvig-Holstein-Sønderborg-Glücksburg. As my user name may suggest, I live in Sønderborg, a lovely place in Denmark. The other three places are all in the north of Germany. (I live about 30 minutes away from the border). If there’s anything like this on them, you should watch something on the Danish (and perhaps also the Swedish) royal family. Our history goes back even further and just about all of the current royal families in Europe are related to the Danish Queen.
so, royalty in general has had to adapt from being the sole "chosen by god" rulers into being more like celebrities.
they were once rulers of state and got pretty rich off of that, so these days, that money goes to keeping their celebrity status and making public appearances.
in fact, as you're mentioning, being royalty means your romantic partners are scrutinized harshly.
to the point where our former princess Martha Louise renounced her princess qualification to date "durek the shaman" (which is a nickname he set for himself, we did not call him that against his will). an african american who released a book on spirit hacking (where he among other things tries to state that cancer is caused by the mind, hence a lot of backlash against the relationship)
she renounced her titles when she married Ari Ben in 2002, I'm also pretty sure her past history with drugs is also part of the reason why she isn't the Crown-princess
@@torba23 The reason she is not crown princess is that the law was that the oldes boy would inheret the crown. It was changed in 1990 to oldest child. The princesses/prince born after 1990 will be crown prins/prinsess.
@@torba23 yeah, no i only know the shaman durek thing because media was shoving it down our throat at the time and i was in media class.
We love our royal family! King Harald has the best humor - and has actually called the queen "a troll" in the media!
As an Norwegian, let me give you a list of funfacts:
- King Olav took the tram/train with the general public when he was going skiing.
- King Olav lost his wife early, she was his only and great love, he was a widower for the rest of his life. She was his cousin, the Swedish Princess Märtha, she never became queen.
- King Olav actively participated in the Second World War.
- King Harald threatened to abdicate if he was not allowed to marry Sonja, King Olav had to give in.
- King Harald is a skilled sailor, he has competed all his life.
- King Harald has a good sense of humor, he called Sonja a troll in an interview. She later responded humorously to the joke in a speech at their 80th anniversary.
- The royal family has a good sense of humor and likes to play tricks on each other.
- Queen Sonja picks up rubbish along the beach every year.
- Queen Sonja is very fond of art, she has several charities.
- Before, only male descendants were allowed to inherit the throne, therefore Princess Märta will not become queen, the rules were changed not long ago, so Princess Ingrid will become Queen after Håkon dies.
- Princess Märta has always been involved in equestrian sports, and has competed and won at elite level in several disciplines.
- Princess Märta is a trained physiotherapist, and has had several of her own companies. She has, among other things, run the "Angel School", she is concerned with spiritual things.
- Princess Märta is divorced, Ari committed suicide at Christmas 2019, he could not live without Märta.
- Princess Märta is now engaged to Shaman Durek, and they have received massive negative media coverage due to his statements and actions. They hold alternative seminars.
- Princess Märta is also a writer.
- Crown Princess Mette Marit was a single mother when she met Håkon.
- Mette Marit lived a debauched life before she met him. Wild and outrageous partying. She was on a couple of reality shows, including a dating show.
- It took a long time before the Norwegian people accepted Mette Marit. She received criticism for wearing fur.
- Mette Marit has a serious lung disease, and cannot be as active a working royal as the others.
- They are all great sports enthusiasts, are very fond of nature and are active even in the woods and fields.
- The children go to public schools, not private schools.
- They are all concerned with the environment, and work actively for it.
- They are all educated.
- They are all moderate in their lifestyle, and live as normally as possible. They are not arrogant and bigoted. They are genuinely nice people.
- They are much loved by the people
Great video, you should check out the video on " the Norwegian King's speech"
Iam norwegian and i love king Harald i actualy meet him at a sailing compatition in Risør
You should react to the "king's speech", its life changing!
Actually choosing the king was the standard in Europe for far longer than not. Democracy and monarchy also aren't exclusive in any way, Norway is the most democratic country in the world, and that's in part because of the monarchy. Norway was in a personal union with first Denmark from 1376 (officially 1387), until 1814, then with Sweden from 1814 until 1905, When Noray again became fully independent, the proposal was that a danish prince ascend to the throne of Norway, since the danish royal family was the most senior legitimate heirs to not just the union time kings, but also the last king of independent Norway, pre-1376. The danish prince was also married to a british princess, and he already had a son, so line of succession was secured, and connections to the most important friendly major power in the region, so he just insisted they hold a referendum on if they wanted him or not, and the norwegians voted for him.
It's probably worth mentioning that, had the UK's Queen Elizabeth II's husband, Prince Philip, not adopted his mother's (anglicised) surname, "Mountbatten", in place of his father's, and had the late Queen not decided to keep the name "Windsor" for her children, the dynastic name of the British royal family would, by rights, presently be the same as the Norwegian and Danish royal families. Prince Philip had been born a prince of Denmark and Greece.
King Harald's grandmother, Queen Maud, was the daughter of King Edward VII of the UK, making another family connection.
The only other monarchy I remember being told about in the early years at school in the '60s in the UK was the Norwegian one and that King Olav was in the line of succession for the UK (though I think Norwegian law, unlike the UK, says that the monarch cannot succeed to a foreign throne?). We were told about Norwegian resistance during WWII, the government in exile in London and the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square gifted by the Norwegian people every year since. It was the invasion of Norway which brought Winston Churchill to power as prime minister.
Technically the King is above the law and he has to sign every law to make it legalized.
In practicality he is just another safety net for the nation. Example, invaded by Nazi Germany they were unable to capture him and in turn their occupation was never legalized in the eyes of Norwegian law. Another thing I like about the King is that even the prime minster has to bow to someone... Just makes em a bit more humble and the King is a none political leaning figurehead. He is not, by law, allowed to have a political leaning outside of what is best for Norwegians. So he can be pro middle class, speak proactive for the poor and so on.
Ingrid is the oldest child of the Crown Prince, Sverre is younger but would have been the next King 40 years ago. The Crown Prince is the youngest child of the King. His (the Crown prince's) sister could not be queen, but when Ingrid was born it had changed so the Crown goes to the oldest child, not oldest male.
I heard a speech once made by the norwegian king and I shed a tear
I have played ice hockey with prince Sverre Magnus when i were a bit younger and i go to a constuction school… and its not rare that Mette Marit comes there so i meet her every now and then… nothing special but a nice little fact 😂
Princess Catherine was wearing an Alpaca fur hat. There was no controversy. It’s like wearing a sheep wool hat.
I was recently at a guided tour around the castle and we were told that when king Haakon was selected to be king, he was selected because he was set to marry Princess Maud of England. So in the photo that was painted of their coronation it is very difficult to see the new King, but Queen Maud very present and in the middle of the painting, basically showing that the king only became the king because of who he was marrying.
But in all things considered I think king Haakon did a really good job, and it is as they say in "The King's Choice". He was there in Norway caring for his children and the country, while she went back to England whenever she could.
You schould check out the Ylvis brothers. Their history, their proffession, their hit, their documetary - comedy. Especially the one about the Diving Tower in Hamar.
It’s hilareous!
Before Ingrid Alexandra it was normal that the first born boy would take the throne. But when Ingrid was born Norway descided that the first born child would take the throne,therefore she will be our first queen to take the throne in many years
While actually more aloof than the current king, it was the late King Olav that kind of established the reputation of the royal family being very down to Earth, when he during the oil crisis in the 70's took the tram when going skiing. Otherwise, if you haven't read those already, US author Garrison Keillor has written a number of books about the Norwegian/Scandinavian parts of the US, starting with Lake Wobegon Days. In one of those books, there's a story about how a small midwestern town is turned upside down due to rumours of the Norwegian king and queen being scheduled to come to an official visit to the town (if I recall the plot correctly). A story well worth reading, and the other stories in that series of book are good reads as well if realistic fiction is your thing.
Btw if you didn't know already, the King of Norway and his children are in line to the British throne (because King Harald's grandmother was sister to George V - who was of course Queen Elizabeth II's grandfather)
Thanks for "making" me learn more about or royal family ;) Feel you missed the latest drama, with x-crown princess Martha Louise's new man - he's a hanfull and a half. But yes! I love our royal family - they are just swell
a small fun fact is that there is a tradition where each year the royal family will be given the first havested basket of strawberries from the farms before they are sold in stores
News Flash... Zara Tindell won Olympic Silver in Equestrian at the London Games in 2012. She is Queen Elizabeth II's granddaughter (Princess Anne's Daughter)
In regards to Ingrid Alexandra’s succession: before her borth, the law stated that only the firstborn male could take the throne. King Harald’s firstborn child is Princess Märtha Louise, so our King made a personal decision to change the laws to strike the "male" part so his at the time not yet conceived firstborn grandchild would become our sovereign, no matter his or her gender. I believe the laws were officially changed sometime after King Harald was crowned in 1991.
For the inheritance of the crown - It used to be that the firstborn SON would get it, but it was changed to firstborn CHILD. Crown prince Haakon has an older sister who was passed over for him, and if they hadn't changed it Prince Sverre Magnus would have hypothetically become crown prince instead of of Ingrid Alexandra.
Traveled with the King and the Queen to USA in 1995 as a member of His Majesty The King’s Guard. Fantastic people, you would love them.
1:50 I think she meant the British royal family is involved in drama
2:10 The first "sole king of Norway" was Harald "Hårfagre" (Harald "Fairhair"). He is considered the first sole king even tho he didnt rule all of Norway. This was still in the viking age, andduring most parts of the viking age there was multiple kings/chieftains around in Norway, each ruling over their own district/county. Harald "Hårfagre" is called so because its said that he claimed he wouldnt cut his hair until he had united Norway into one kingdom. So he fought against the other kings in Norway and around 872-900 there was a big battle in Hafrsfjord, where Harald "Hårfagre" won.
In 1905 the dissolution of the Union with Sweden happened. The union had been going on since 1814 after Denmark had to give Norway as a war reward to Sweden after Denmark-Norway had come out on the losing side of the Napoleonic wars. But, Norway didnt like this and there was a short (3 week) war between Norway and Sweden, ending with Norway getting in a personal union with Sweden, but as a separate kingdom with its own constitution and a national assembly. Then in 1905 many in Norway demanded we take full freedom and introduce a republic in Norway. When these rumours got to Denmark, the Danish Prince Carl (Christian Frederik Carl Georg Valdemar Axel) said he would accept the offer to become king IF that was the people of Norways will. This was also a smart move, because this king would have close connections in the royal houses of Denmark, Sweden and Great Britain.
5:37 When it comes to what the king does its not really much for the politics of the country per se. But when the parliament introduces a new law, it have to be signed by the king for it to be legally implemented. This sort of shows how the royal family in Norway is more commonfolk than you would think. Sure they live in a castle etc. But they actually do many normal things and are very involved with the people. There is actually a picture of the last king on public transport handing money overfor a ticket on his way to go skiing. The Norwegian royal family is not tied behind as many strict rules as the British royal faily, but they dont have many privileges either.
I think most Norwegians think good and well of the royal family. When it comes to what the king does its not really much for the politics of the country per se. But when the parliament introduces a new law, it have to be signed by the king for it to be legally implemented. But you will often see the royal family on many political and especially cultural events all around the country
She also said Kate and Charles, when she meant William.
We look at him like a grandfather. At least me and many more i talked with about him. He is AWESOME
Our king is like the entirety of Norway's grandpa. Really nice guy.
back in the early 2010's our king joined social media and posted quality memes and was named the meme king. and the castle officially ended the toilet roll debate of over VS under. the king's toilets all have their toilet roll: Over.
There are a few things that must be a bit misleading by omission. Yes, we elected our king in 1905, but that was because we had been under Swedish jurisdiction until then. We were under Denmark for 400 years until 1814, when Denmark had made the mistake of allying with Napoleon. As part of the peace agreement, Norway was ceded to Sweden. We wouldn't have that, and tried to proclaim our independence. Even then, a Danish Prince, Christian Fredrik, was chosen to be our king, and our constitution was signed on May 17th, 1814, which is why that is our constitution day.
Well, Sweden wouldn't have that. We were invaded, and Christian Fredrik was forced to abdicate. The constitution was rewritten to allow for a Swedish king.
The seeds of independence had been sown, though, and finally won in 1905. The reason for the referendum was simply that Haakon VII, or Prince Carl as he still was called, insisted. He wanted to be absolutely sure that the Norwegian people wanted him. The referendum, however, gave him 75% of the votes.
Now for the other thing that wasn't clear. The constitution used to make the first successor to the throne, the oldest *male* heir. That made the heir Haakon, even though his sister Märtha Louise is older. The rule was changed in 1990, to be gender neutral. It's now the oldest child, regardless of gender. However, it was not made retroactive, so Haakon, born in 1973, is *still* the first in line. Ingrid Alexandra, however, was born in 2004, and as such she follows her father Haakon in line, even though she has a male younger brother, Sverre Magnus.
And thank God for that. Märtha Louise's antics were only barely touched upon in the video. If she had become the queen, I think the monarchy would soon be abolished.
I am a Norwegian, and I really respect the royal family. King Harald has really kind words when we need them the most, and he can make us laugh when we need it too. Queen Sonja is also higly respected and loved I also like the people next in line
I would say Most like the King. For me he is like a national grandparent
Most Norwegians likes the Royal family very much and what they do for our country. They are Icebreakers that can facilitate trade between us and other nations, when they go to a state visit somewhere, and often they bring some trade professionals along to discuss these matters with the people they meet in other countries. You can actually meet the royals sometimes and they are friendly and open. The police escorts normally stay back and just observe, unless they have been ordered to shield the family members for some reason. Norway was really brought together by our King during the war, where King Haakon was the voice on radio that kept the moral high. He and his family came back after the war and after he died, King Olav reigned. He was really a peoples man and took the train or bus on his travels. Harald, our current King was Olav's son and he will also be sorely missed when it is time for him to leave us.
When Norway split from Sweden, in 1905, Norway no longer had a hereditary king so they asked one of the Danish princes to come to Norway and become the King. He became King Håkon VII, and led Norway through World War II; his older brother was King Christian X of Denmark). His son, Olav V, was king when I was there in the late 80s; Olav was also born in Denmark. Harald V (the current king) was born in Norway.
Normally, the oldest SON inherits the throne. Norway changed the law such that the oldest CHILD inherits the throne. Since the oldest child is a girl, she is the crown princess and next in line for the throne.
The head of Monaco has also sailed in the Olympics, representing his country. That seems to be a thing for European kings and princes.
The ex-king of Greece won gold at the 1960 olympics, when he was crownprince. Danish princess Nathalie has an olympic bronze, as well as several other medals.
Current King Felipe VI of Spain is also former olympian. I believe also with the sailing team of I'm not mistaken.
Here's a fun little fact: Any law that passes needs to be signed by the King first. However, our current royal family(since our split from Sweden in 1905), has never once turned down one. They recognize that they shouldn't control what goes and what doesn't. So if a future one ever does turn one down, no one knows what to do because it has never happened before. Also: There's a picture of the past king where he's just casually sitting on the tram on the way to the skiing spot. At the time, the public was banned from driving privately during the weekends. The King could have driven there himself, with tons of guards, yet he chose to take the tram along with his citizens.
The reform they were talking about was a constitutional change long before Ingrids birth - rather than male preference primogeniture it was changed to primogeniture except for people already born, so the crown prince has an older sister that's after him in order of succession. In Sweden OTOH they made it so the change affected people already born, so one of the Swedish princes used to be crown-prince.
May I recommend the comic Scandinavia and The World? It’s an hilarious way to learn about Scandinavians and other countries. I believe the creator is Danish and their view point is pretty spot on at times. The site is in English, so easy to understand, and descibes traditions and cultural differences in a fun way. America is also represented, all though not always favorably, but to be fair, the rest of the countries, including the Scandinavians are exposed for their weirdness as well, so it’s fair.
Before, the oldest son would inherit the throne. Then, the law was changed, so the oldest child would inherit the throne. Ingrid was the first born, so she became the next in line. The current crown-prince was not the oldest child, he has an older sister.
Fun fact: Back in medieval Europe, choosing the heir was actually the norm, where the nobility of a country approved of a follower. This would usually be the oldest son of the late ruler, but on some occasions, they would rally around 2-3 candidates. Their "election campaigns" would resemble a civil war more than modern politics, though...