0
The Hamsun year
Posted by norwegianne on Jan 2, 2009 in Mette-Marit
In 2008, news came that Crown Princess Mette-Marit had taken on High Protector duties of the Hamsun year.
January Birthdays
Posted by norwegianne on Jan 1, 2009 in royal families
1 - Nicolas Mirzayantz (1963)
4 – Karina Medforth-Mills (1989)
5 – Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (1921)
5 – King Juan Carlos I of Spain (1938)
5 - Prince Tomohito of Mikasa [Japan] (1946)
6 - Doña Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela [Tsaritsa Margarita of Bulgaria] (1935)
7 – Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark (1939)
8 - Princess Siriwannawari Nariratana of Thailand (1987)
10 – Princess Chimi Yamgzam Wangchuck (1980)
11 - Count Hans Veit of of Toerring-Jettenbach (1935)
12 – Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1969)
13 – Princess Marie Louise of Bulgaria (1933)
13 – Marius Borg Høiby (1997)
15 – Princess Michael of Kent (1945)
15 – Prince Christoph of Liechtenstein (1958)
15 – Iñaki Urdangarín (1968)
15 – Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia (1982)
15 – Prince Philip of Yugoslavia (1982)
18 - Princess Claire of Belgium (1974)
19 – Princess Birgitta of Sweden, Princess of Hohenzollern (1937)
19 – Princess Margriet of the Netherlands (1943)
19 – Princess Kalina of Bulgaria (1972)
20 – Sophie, the Countess of Wessex (1965)
20 – Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant (1973)
20 – Prince Tassilo Preslavski of Bulgaria (2002)
21 – Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria (1937)
21 – Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway (2004)
22 – Princess Nicole of Hohenzollern (1968)
23 – Princess Caroline of Monaco, Princess of Hannover (1957)
23 – Princess Kesang Choden Wangchuck of Bhutan (1982)
27 – Princess Katharina of Liechtenstein (1964)
27 – Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Parma, Prince of Piacenza (1970)
28 – Erling S. Lorentzen (1923)
28 – Princess Ameerah Wardatul Bolkiah of Brunei (2008)
29 – Princess Marie Therese of Liechtenstein (1974)
30 – King Abdullah II bin al-Hussein of Jordan(1962)
30 – Felipe, Prince of Asturias (1968)
30 - Prince Hashem bin Al Abdullah of Jordan (2005)
31 – Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (1938)
Back in the day…
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 31, 2008 in Norwegian Royal Family
there used to be a published yearbook, detailing the work of the Norwegian royal family, in the year that went by. I’ve no idea what happened to it; I haven’t seen anything like that published for the past couple of years.
I have the 1991/1992 yearbook, and it is interesting to look back at what the family did during the first year as the King and Queen. There were state visits to Denmark and Sweden, attending CPss Victoria’s confirmation, CP Haakon joining the Navy…
Queen Sonja and Icelandic president Vigdis Finnbogadottir visited Washington DC, accompanied by three Viking ships.
I am also fascinated to see how Märtha Louise’s sense of fashion has changed from that year until what we see today. More daring, and more willing to experiment, rather than just going the safe route.
These past couple of years, we’ve got a programme on NRK, where the King and Queen are interviewed and look back on the year. Link to this year’s programme.
Names in Arizona
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 30, 2008 in Media about Royals
According to this, parents in Arizona chose royal names for their children.
Isabella tops the list of names for girls. They share the name with Queen Isabella I of Castille, Queen Isabella II of Spain and Princess Isabella of Denmark, the daughter of CP Frederik and CPss Mary.
There is also Sophia in second place. Queen Sofia of Spain, Infanta Sofia of Spain, and a Swedish queen.
Emma is in third, and also a popular name amongst the Dutch royals. (And if Carl-Philip manages to pop the question, also a Swedish royal name). Queen Emma, regent for Queen Wilhelmina.
Elizabeth… ’nuff said.
Camilla was the 18th on the list, and Victoria came in at 20th.
The couples - 2009?
We’re looking 2009 in the face, and there may be a sort of wonder if 2009 is going to be the year when we will have loads of anticipated weddings (or if they will prefer to wait until 2010…)
Christmas day
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 25, 2008 in Norwegian Royal Family
means church for the Norwegian royal family. Haakon, Mette-Marit with two children (Marius was celebrating the holidays with his father) joined King Harald and Queen Sonja in Holmenkollen chapel. Märtha Louise and Ari went to the service in their local church.
Mette-Marit came equipped with paper and colour pens, so Ingrid and Magnus could have something to do, if they got impatient during the service. Understandable - as it might be less than dignified for the Crown Princess, or the Queen, to run about to catch a rampant Prince or Princess during the service.
Merry Christmas
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 24, 2008 in Uncategorized
‘Tis the season to be jolly, be with family, and just in general have a good time. If you’re in the northern hemisphere, it’s also the season to be inside, and look out on the (probably) miserable weather.
I hope all of you have a good time over these next days. I know it can be difficult time of year for some, and sincerely hope that something will come along for you to make it easier to bear.
Merry Christmas!
Christmas tree
You know the relations between former husband and wife are good, when news came out that Prince Joachim had grown and cut Countess Alexandra’s christmas tree. Or, it could just be that he wanted his boys in the time they spend there, to have the best tree… You never know.
Board games.
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 22, 2008 in British Royal Family
In this time of holidays, many families get together and enjoy board games, card games or other activities that involve spending time together.
Märtha Louise on television.
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 22, 2008 in Märtha Louise
Princess Märtha Louise of Norway is being interviewed in a television documentary, Fairy Tale Princess, which airs on TV2 tonight. In an exerpt out from NTB we get the exciting preliminary report that if she took seriously all the things the press wrote about her… she would have to move out of the country. She says that sometimes she wakes up, like the Princess and the Pea, and gets battered by the press without really knowing why…
William’s beard.
Evidently, the big topic with Prince William of Wales these days, is that he’s growing a beard. Or can’t find a razor. Whichever you think is likely. The issue seems to be when he will shave it off, as the RAF doesn’t quite see the necessity of beards in their service.
Borders and royal books
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 18, 2008 in royal families
*giggle*
Originally uploaded by librarian_triumphant
Tina Brown’s Diana is a great gift for “Your Grandma” according to the Borders staff.
I’m not sure what this says about the general perception of royal watchers (that we’re all 80 year olds?).
I do own a copy of it. And I wouldn’t classify myself as an 80 year old or a granny. How about you?
County visit.
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 16, 2008 in Norwegian Royal Family
For the people who didn’t spend their education memorizing the Norwegian counties as yours truly did; Norway is divided into 19 counties - which in turn is divided into municipalities. (If you’re interested in random factoids; there are 430 municipalities. )
The royal family has made a habit of making special visits to the counties, so they can meet people who may not normally get a chance to meet the royals. These county visits roughly follow the pattern of a state visit; they’re three days long, usually, and the royals tend to do two of them a year. (Haakon and Mette-Marit does one, and Harald and Sonja one.)
The Christmas Photoshoot
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 15, 2008 in Norwegian Royal Family
The Norwegian royals gathered for the yearly holiday photoshoot in the yard at Skaugum, where they grilled hot dogs outside in the snow for breakfast (because of the timing of the session), and made snowmen. The youngest also got a ride on a sled.
Pictures: Aftenposten, VG (picture series) Side2 , NRK
2008 in review
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 15, 2008 in royal families
In 2008, I started this blog on the 20th of May (just as I was the busiest with writing a term paper I had to hand in seven days later, and in the beginning of a nasty bout of tonsillitis).
But what happened with the royals in 2008? Here are some tidbits.
Read more…
Summing up the Nobels
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 14, 2008 in Norwegian Royal Family, Swedish Royal Family
Here are some pictures from Norwegian and Swedish newspapers to sum up this year’s Nobel - for the royal watchers.
From Norway: VL
Mette-Marit had a minor accident, so she didn’t come to the Nobel Peace Prize concert until the second half. Her son Marius was there for the first half, so mother and son switched places, then. Probably so Marius could go home for his bedtime.
From Sweden: Aftonbladet & Svensk Damtidning
Interview with Victoria
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 14, 2008 in Victoria
Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten have had the chance to interview the Swedish heir to the throne. There were some interesting tidbits as a result.
Royal Norwegian Christmas
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 13, 2008 in Norwegian Royal Family
Since their children married, and settled down in their respective residences, King Harald and Queen Sonja have alternated between which of their children the spend Christmas with. The last time they all celebrated Christmas together was 2004.
Harry and Afghanistan
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 12, 2008 in Harry
The Telegraph reports that it looks like Prince Harry might be heading back to Afghanistan.
Albert and Charlene
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 12, 2008 in Albert
I’ve been going through a couple of sleepless nights recently (just ask my flatmates; one day, I was so tired I was almost falling asleep when I was leaning against a wall… but falling asleep while horizontal proved impossible, of course.) and what I tend to do then is think about all sorts of things that I don’t normally find interesting.
Case in point: Albert and Charlene.
Looking back…
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 11, 2008 in Charles & Camilla, Diana, Media about Royals, Royal History
When I was writing this post, about the New Adventures of Queen Victoria, I was reminded of the RPG (role-playing game) Diana the Warrior Princess, by Marcus Rowland.
Pictures from the Nobel Peace Prize 2008
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 10, 2008 in Norwegian Royal Family
A gallery from VG.Wherein it looks like Mette-Marit’s coat is hiding black clothes. It wouldn’t be a shock.
The Royal website also have pictures.
The Save the Children’s Nobel Party: With Mette-Marit on the sidelines.
Watch the ceremony at NRK’s website
The Swedish Royals and the 2008 Nobels
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 10, 2008 in Swedish Royal Family
As it’s not just in Norway there’s Nobel festivities, here’s the Nobel programme for the Swedish royals.
Nobel Peace Prize 2008
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 10, 2008 in Haakon & Mette-Marit, Harald & Sonja
Today, Wednesday December 10, former Finnish President, Martti Ahtisaari, will receive the Nobel Peace Prize of 2008. A less controversial choice than last year, Martti Ahtisaari receives the prize for his work over 3 decades, on trying to resolve international conflicts.
Oh, Mary…
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 9, 2008 in Frederik & Mary, Margrethe
Stories have come out that Crown Princess Mary of Denmark may be pregnant again, formed on the basis of only drinking water at public function, and touching her stomach in Thailand. The pregnancy rumours may or may not be true; she has certainly had her share of them before, including when she gave “birth” to a gall stone. If she is, it’s hopefully due after the referendum of the change of the Danish constitution on June 7. (A boy born prior to that may create a bit of a muddle with Princess Isabella…)
Mette-Marit’s Prizes
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 9, 2008 in Mette-Marit, Royal Fashion
Mette-Marit today received the Petter Dass Prize, in person, from the editor of Vårt Land.
She also received the management of Oslo Fashion Week in an audience; the Fashion Week named her Ambassador of the Year earlier this year.
It would be nice if she could get her act together, and present herself in outfits that looks like they have been bought for her, rather than someone either a) a size smaller or b) a size bigger, or c) a mix of the two. She has her hits and misses, but the hits seems to be mostly ball gowns, whereas the misses are mostly her every-day official outfits. I’m not advocating that it should be the other way around, but it would be nice to give the black panty-hoses a break, just for a while.
Updated: Norwegian Line of Succession
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 8, 2008 in Norwegian Royal Family
Back in July, I wrote a post on the Norwegian line of succession, including the legalese background. Since the birth of Emma Tallullah Behn, the line of succession has been updated.
Crown Princess Work Project: November
November was a month in which the number of events were spread between the wives to the heirs.
Comic books…
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 6, 2008 in Media about Royals
If you’re interested in Queen Victoria, and have a sense of humour, you might get a kick out of The New Adventures of Queen Victoria. It is basically a cartoon based on images of the late Queen and other cast, set to a modern day dialogue. Beware lack of historical accuracy.
I would think that it would be the other way around…
Posted by norwegianne on Dec 5, 2008 in Media about Royals
but seriously, I get even less royal news offline when I’m living in the UK than I did when I was living in Denmark.
In Denmark, you have Billedbladet, Her & Nu, Ekstrabladet, BT/Berlingske, etc. all of which are devoted followers of the Monarchy. (Granted, Ekstrabladet seems mostly to be because of whatever scandal they can get out of it)
In the UK… well, Hello does cover the royals, but they do sort of disappear between the Beckhams, the latest X-factor/Dancing with the stars/reality show stars, footballers and their WAGS, and other soap stars. And as for the rest; I’ve tried looking for magazines dedicated to the royals, but I can’t seem to find any on display at the W.H. Smith’s, or in my supermarket.
Granted, I don’t live in the most central parts of England. But the Princess Royal does seem to stop by the area from time to time.
There is a lot more duties going on with the royals over here, but in terms of actual coverage, the Danes seems to be pulling out ahead.