Harald V of Norway
Harald V, (born
February 21,
1937), is the
King of Norway, a title he assumed upon his father's death 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 was the first
Norwegian-born prince since the birth of
Olav IV in
1370. As he is the great-grandson of King
Edward VII of the United Kingdom, he is also in the
line of succession to the British throne (currently placed 60th). As King of Norway, Harald is the head of the
Church of Norway.
King Harald has two sisters,
Princess Ragnhild, Mrs. Lorentzen (born 1930), living in
Brazil, and
Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner (born 1932), living in Oslo.
After the royal family fled the
German invasion of 1940, Harald and his mother and sisters lived in
Washington, DC during
World War II (his father Olav and grandfather King Haakon residing in London with the exiled government). Prince Harald returned to Norway along with his family at the war's end in
1945.
In the autumn of
1955, 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 and economics. The same year, he made his first official journey abroad, visiting the
United States in connection with the fiftieth anniversary of the
American Scandinavian Foundation.
Harald married a
commoner,
Sonja Haraldsen, in
1968, a marriage which sparked much public controversy. The couple has two children,
Princess Märtha Louise and His Royal Highness
Crown Prince Haakon, heir to the Norwegian throne.
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 Olympic Games 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.
Twice during recent years King Harald has been in absence as ruler owing to hospitalization and reconvalescence: 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.
As king of Norway
The King is the nominal head of the
Church of Norway.
He is a
Four-star General, an
Admiral and 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 lifeguards, 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.
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.
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.
Other honours
A 230 000 km² area in
Antarctica is named
Prince Harald Coast in his honour.
On
1 December 2003, King Harald was announced to be suffering from
cancer of the bladder. A successful operation took place on
December 8 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
April 13,
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. Upon returning to Norway, the King underwent heart surgery. |
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.
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Monogram of King Harald V |
*Det Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskab
*Det frivillige Skyttervesen
*FN-Veteranenes landsforbund
*Norske Reserveoffiserers Forbund
*Norges Militære Kameratforeningers Forbund
*Nordmanns-Forbundet
*Norge-Amerika Foreningen
*Det Nasjonale Aldershjem for Sjømenn
*Norsk Anchorite Klubb
*Norges Jeger- og Fiskerforbund
*Det Norske Bibelselskap
*Sjømannskirken - Norsk kirke i utlandet
*Stiftelsen Offshore Northern Seas
*Stiftelsen Harmonien
*Norges Tekniske Vitenskapsakademi
*Festspillene i Bergen
*Kreftforeningen
*Lions Clubs International - Norge
*Nasjonalforeningen for folkehelsen
*Norges Idrettsforbund og Olympiske Komité
*Norges Korforbund
*Det norske Skogselskap
*Norges Naturvernforbund
*Sons of Norway Foundation
*The American-Scandinavian Foundation
*The Anglo Norse Society
*Den Norske Lutherske Mindekirke i Minneapolis
*
Official Website of the Norwegian Royal Family*
Summary biography of the King*
The Royals – Regularly updated news coverage of the Norwegian royal family (
Aftenposten)
*
The Royal Norwegian Order of St Olav - H.M. King Harald V the Grand Master of the Order
