The bold fellow has been on the throne for 33 years.
Today is a party at the court in Oslo! King Harald was born 87 years ago today, and that should be celebrated. For the occasion, Glamial delved into the archives.
Turbulent youth
On February 21, 1937 there is reason for great joy: that is when the young Prince Harald is born. As the first son of Crown Prince Olav and his wife, Princess Märtha, Harald’s arrival means that the future of the Norwegian throne has been secured again. As women, his older sisters, princesses Ragnhild and Astrid, are excluded from a place in the line of succession.
When the Second World War also reaches Norway, the Norwegian princess Märtha leaves for Sweden with her offspring, while the Norwegian king Haakon VII and son Olav stay behind to resist the German occupation. However, the neighboring country is not very enthusiastic about hosting the Norwegians, and so young Harald leaves for the United States with his mother and sisters. When the war is finally over, the royal family is reunited upon their return to Norway.
Rebellious love
When his grandfather died in 1957, twenty-year-old Prince Harald became crown prince in one fell swoop. And an existence as a future king? There are quite a few expectations attached to that. For example, Olav and Märtha prided themselves on the fact that their son would marry a royal match, and names such as Princess Alexandra (the niece of the late Queen Elizabeth), or Princess Sofía of Greece and Denmark (the former Queen of Spain) were discussed.
But Harald had long since lost his heart: in 1959 he met the charming Sonja Haraldsen, an ambitious young woman with a background in the fashion industry, and – quelle horreur – a bourgeois girl. For nine years they had to court each other in complete secrecy, because Harald’s parents refused to approve a possible marriage.
Only when Harald made it clear that he would marry either his Sonja or no one at all did his parents reluctantly agree. Had they stood their ground, this could have meant the end of the Norwegian dynasty, as Harald was the only heir to the throne.
So the couple married in Oslo Cathedral in 1968.
Nowadays, the two have been happy together for many decades, and there is even a series in the making about their love story. With daughter Märtha Louise and son Haakon, family happiness is finally complete, and the two are now of course also the proud grandparents of Princess Ingrid Alexandra (below), Prince Sverre Magnus, stepson Marius, and granddaughters Maud Angelica, Leah Isadora, and Emma Tallulah.
Health
In recent years, the active brat has had to take it easy more and more often. King Harald’s health fails from time to time. For example, the monarch was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2003 and had to have heart surgery in 2005. Since 2020, the king has unfortunately increasingly been struggling with his health. For example, he had to undergo heart surgery again that year, had knee surgery in 2021, was hospitalized several times in 2022 and 2023 due to illness, and had to go on sick leave at the end of January this year due to a respiratory infection.
Although you might think that the monarch is ready to resign so that he can quietly do his own thing, Harald should not think about that. The best man has always stated that he is a monarch ‘for life’. “It’s that simple for me. We will do this to the bitter end,” said the Norwegian king.
Cheerful photo
The Norske kongehuset already shared a cheerful photo of the best man on social media this morning, to mark the day.
View this post on Instagram
The photo reads: “Happy birthday, King Harald! His Majesty turns 87 today.” It is not clear from the caption who took the snapshot – who knows, maybe Queen Sonja herself got behind the camera again for this snapshot of her husband?
In any case, today we toast the health of the 87-year-old monarch. More gratuitous days, your highness!
Source: Glamial archive, Gert’s Royals | Image: NL Image
