Silver Jubilee of the King of Norway

Today is the twenty fifth anniversary of the accession to the throne of the King of Norway.

H.M. The King of Norway

There is an online biography of the King at Harald V of Norway

The King flanked by Queen Sonja and Crown Prince Haakon at the state opening of the Norwegian Parliament

Image:royalista.com

I sent an e-mail to two Norwegian friends to send my greetings, good wishes and the assurance of my prayers on the occasion of H M King Harald V's Silver Jubilee. May God bless him and his family and realm, and in particular my own Norwegian friends.

 

The Royal Arms of Norway

Image:Wikipedia

Bicentenary of the Norwegian Constitution

Today is the bicentenary of the Norwegian Constitution, agreed at Eidsvoll in 1814 under the short-lived rule of King Christian Frederick - later King Christian VIII of Denmark.

The Consititution, amended over the years but still the same basic text is the second oldest written constitution still in force - that of the United States being the oldest. In Europe only those of Poland composed in 1792, of revolutionary France and the Cadiz Constitution of 1812 for Spain are older, but no longer in force. Unlike the other Scandinavian monarchies whose constitution are agreements on how the country is governed under the Crown rather than complete codes of governance Norway followed a more radical route which has seemingly served it well, both before the 1905 proclamation of independence from the rule of the Swedish dynasty under King Oscar II and then under King Haakon VII and his descendents since 1906.

There is an online article about the constitution at Constitution of Norway and the full text can be read at The Constitution - Complete text - Stortinget.

There is a Norwegian government website article about it at  Why we celebrate 200 years of the Norwegian Constitution and there is information about the annual celebrations at Norwegian Constitution Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is then an opportunity to express greetings and good wishes to my Norwegian friends both in Norway and in the UK and to wish them a very happy Constition Day.

Arms of the King of Norway

Image: Wikipedia

King Harald V of Norway

Today being the twenty-first anniversary of the accession of the King of Norway I am republishing my post about him and the Norwegian regalia which I wrote on this day last year. It can be read at The King of Norway.

In doing so may I renew my prayers and good wishes for the King and people of Norway, and especially for my Norwegian friends.

Norwegian Coronation 1906

Today is also the 105th anniversary of the coronation in Trondheim cathedral of King Haakon VII and Queen Maud as King and Queen of Norway in 1906. This followed from the dissolution of the union with Sweden in 1905 and the selection of Prince Carl of Denmark and his wife Princess Maud, daughter of King Edward VII as King and Queen. The new King assumed the name Haakon, the same name as the last independent King of Norway six centuries earlier.

King Haakon VII and Queen Maud following their Coronation in 1906.

There are some fine photographs of the Coronation - the first anywhere at which the ceremonies inside the cathedral were to be photographed - and of the ceremonies around it here, as well as articles about the history of the Norwegian coronation. There is a link to archive film here.

Here are two other photographs I found of the ceremonial inside the cathedral:

In this photograph the King is at the bottom left, and the Queen to the right. Her brother the Prince of Wales, the future King George V, can be clearly seen in the centre in front of the group of foreign representitives

Regrettably, very regrettably in my opinion, in 1908 the Norwegian parliament removed the clause from the Constitution making coronation at Trondheim mandatory.

The argument was that in a democratic age the rite of coronation marked the King out as having a superior authority. True - he does. In consequence the Coronation was no longer required, although not abolished. It perhaps an early example of Scandinavian secularism, rather like the decision in Sweden in 1907 not to have a coronation for King Gustav V on the grounds of expense. In Norway at the accession of King Olav V in 1957 he was able to arrange a service of Benediction at Trondheim, and I understand that that in 1991 was a more elaborate occasion. There is a good article about the history of the Norwegian coronation and the modern benediction rite here.

There is an article about the Norwegian regalia - which is kept at Trondheim, expressing the concept that the King holds the Kingdom from St Olav - here, and one about the King's crown, made for King Carl Johan, here.

The Crown of the King of Norway



The Crown of the Queen of Norway

The Crown of the Crown Prince of Norway

The King of Norway

Today is the twentieth anniversary of the accession of King Harald V to the throne of Norway.

H.M.The King of Norway, H.M. the Queen of Norway, H.R.H. The Crown Prince and H.R.H The Crown Princess

There is a biography of the King here and an article about the Norwegian monarchy here.
In recent years the marriages of the King's children have attracted rather more international media coverage than might have hitherto been expected, and have helped to keep the Norwegian monarchy in the public gaze. The official website on the monarchy can be viewed at Norwegian Monarchy.

Today I join my Norwegian friends in expressing good wishes to their King on this anniversary.

On June 23 1991 the King and Queen attended the service for their benediction at Trondheim Cathedral, which replaces the traditional Coronation rite.

Regrettably, very regrettably in my opinion, in 1908 the Norwegian parliament removed the clause from the Constitution making coronation at Trondheim mandatory. The argument was that in a democratic age the rite of coronation marked the King out as having a superior authority. True. In consequence the Coronation was no longer required, although not abolished. It perhaps an early example of Scandinavian secularism, rather like the decision in Sweden in 1907 not to have a coronation for King Gustav V. At the accession of King Olav V in 1957 he was able to arrange a service of Benediction at Trondheim, and I understand that that in 1991 was a more elaborate occasion. There is a good article about the history of the Norwegian coronation and the modern benediction rite here.

There is an article about the Norwegian regalia - which is kept at Trondheim, expressing the concept that the King holds the Kingdom from St Olav - here, and one about the King's crown here.

The Crown of the King of Norway



The Crown of the Queen of Norway

The Crown of the Crown Prince of Norway

King Haakon VII and Queen Maud after their Coronation in 1906.

The Royal Arms of Norway