About Me
Harald V (born February 21, 1937) is the King of Norway. He succeeded to the throne of Norway upon the death of his father Olav V on January 17, 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 the 62nd 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.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. 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.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. 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.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.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.he 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.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. Crown Prince Haakon served as the country's regent on both occasions.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.
