A special day for the Norwegian royal family, because today it is officially 56 years ago that King Harald and Queen Sonja said yes to each other. We look back on their special love story.
Celebration in Norway: today King Harald and Queen Sonja celebrate their 56th wedding anniversary. Quite a milestone of course, so it’s high time to look back on the special love story of the two.
Harald perseveres
In the 1960s, Harald lost his heart to commoner Sonja Haraldson. They met when they were both fourteen years old, and about eight years later, love blossomed. But a marriage with a commoner? Not everyone was happy about that. In fact, King Olav V forbade it.
For a large part of their nine-year (!) courtship, their romance had to remain a secret. Eventually, Harald put his father on the spot by announcing that he would remain unmarried if he was not allowed to marry Sonja. This would have meant the end of the Norwegian monarchy and the ruling House of Glücksburg, because his sisters were not allowed on the throne as women. And that was just a bit too much for Olaf V, so he grumblingly gave in. Incidentally, Crown Prince Haakon used exactly the same threat 32 years later to be allowed to marry single mother Mette-Marit. It takes some effort, but it does result in happy Norwegian royal marriages.
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Harald and Sonja, shortly after announcing their engagement in 1968 (Image: Getty Images)
Royal wedding
Sonja and Harald married in 1968 and had two children: Princess Märtha Louise (1971) and Haakon Magnus (1973). The two married in Oslo Cathedral. The beginning of a long and happy marriage!
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The bride and groom leave the cathedral in Oslo (Image: Getty Images)
Heir to the throne
It remains to be seen how long Harald and Sonja will continue to reign. Harald has been struggling with health problems for years, and it was previously announced that he would permanently scale back his royal duties. However, it does not yet appear that the king intends to pass on the baton.
Because at that time, according to the law, girls could not become queen, Haakon is the heir to the throne. In the meantime, this has been adjusted: Haakon’s daughter Princess Ingrid Alexandra will simply become crown princess as soon as Haakon succeeds his father. But we will probably have to wait a while for that. For now, King Harald and Queen Sonja wish you a very happy anniversary and many more healthy years!
Source: Blue Blood, Glamial archive | Image: Jørgen Gomnæs / The King’s Court
