Posted on 04/25/2005 1:05:30 PM PDT by franksolich
New royal heir on the way
Staff at Norway's Royal Palace announced Monday that Crown Princess Mette-Marit is pregnant with a new royal heir. The child will be third in line to take over as reigning monarch.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit has bowed out of several events during recent weeks, claiming illness, just as the royal program has been in one of its busiest phases ever.[Fred: because of the Norway centennial celebrations this year; Norway became independent of Sweden in 1905]
That's left Crown Prince Haakon and his mother, Queen Sonja, handling the brunt of the royal duties as King Harald recovers from heart surgery. Princess Martha Louise recently delivered her own second child, and is thus out of official action herself.
A statement from the palace Monday afternoon reported that the so-called "crown couple" expect their second child in December. That suggests Crown Princess Mette-Marit's pregnancy is in a relatively early stage.
The statement went on to report that, "on the advice of her doctor," the crown princess "will take it easy" during the near future. "The situation isn't dramatic, but the doctor's advice may lead to changes in Crown Princess Mette-Marit's program," the palace concluded.
That program has been fairly full, given all the official events and festivities planned in accordance with the celebration of Norway's 100th anniversary as a sovereign nation this year. Centennial events are planned through the rest of the year, with the high points coming in May and June.
Mette-Marit was in her hometown of Kristiansand, on Norway's southern coast, on Monday when the announcement of her pregnancy came. She's due to officially open a children's film festival there on Tuesday.
Haakon and Mette-Marit already have a daughter, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, who was born last January and is next in line to inherit the throne after her father. Mette-Marit also has a son, Marius, from an earlier relationship before she met the crown prince.
The announcement of the pending royal birth in Oslo came on the same day that the crown couple in Denmark also announced that they were expecting a baby. Crown Prince Frederik was Crown Prince Haakon's best man, and the two royal families have traditionally close ties.
The deal is, Norway has only a minuscule percentage of Moslems--Norway is not Sweden--but the Moslem birth-rate far exceeds the Norwegian birth-rate, and we all know what that means, down the road.
Oops, wrong picture.
Meant to post the usual standard customary Norwegian flag.
Sorry.
Europeans sure have strange taste in hats...
thats a hat?
Why do Europeans have to wear twigs on their head?
Isn't Crown Prince Haakon the one who was working as an airline pilot for KLM ?
A happy day for Scandinavian royals, as the Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark announced today that they are also expecting their first child :).
A happy day for Scandinavian royals, as the Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark have made an announcement today as well, that they are expecting their first child :).
Name him Olav and surprise everybody!
A Hat? I thought it was some strange Norwegian bird that had landed on her head!
My Grandpas hated the king so much, they thought the ocean and half the continent was just about the right space between them.
The reporter who wrote this article has a mind like a steel trap!
Congrats to the royals in both countries. :-)
Well, it's my impression that at least in public appearances, certain royal women are required to wear something on their heads--even though it is an informal event, for example, the Queen dons a scarf during the Ascot Races in England.
Yeah, that thing on her head looks pretty odd, in the photograph, but perhaps in person, or in reality, it looks pretty good. I have no idea.
I'm not sure if he was ever a pilot for KLM; we'll have to wait to hear from some of the authentic Norwegians actually in Norway, to answer that question--but as it is near the middle of the night in Norway now, probably we won't know until tomorrow.
One wonders, sir, if it was perhaps a little more complicated than that, with your grandfather.
Many Norwegians emigrated to the United States--most particularly to Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa (a significant number however also to New York)--before 1905.
Of course, they came here for a chance at a better life, more opportunities.
But at the same time--say, circa 1840-1905--a secondary reason existed; Sweden owned Norway, and was rather, uh, heavy-handed and brutal in repressing the Norwegians, and of course the king of Sweden (Oskar something) represented that oppressive regime.
Such was the enmity between the Norwegians and the Swedes, that when Norway finally broke away, since they had no king, they selected one from.....Denmark (a younger brother of the then-king of Denmark), because they apparently wished as "anti-Swede" of a king they could get, and Denmark had always had, uh, problems with Sweden too.
From looking at the emigration statistics, immigrants to this country from Norway diminished from a flood to a dripping trickle, after 1905.
The king can kiss my unroyal butt.
Well, right, monarchy is antithetical to the American experience and culture, and I myself am a republican (small "r") as well as a Republican.
However, two points.
One is that monarchy apparently seems eminently reasonable to some societies and cultures, and so one is obligated to respect that choice.
Two, I have a real fear that "monarchism" is not dead in America, and perhaps even rising; from reading both the "mainstream media" and DUmmieland, one gets the distinct impression there are many here who would LOVE the idea of Hilarity Clinton crowned as queen for life, absolute ruler and dictator.....and that is against which we have to guard; this popular reverence for certain, uh, people.
We have to watch this very carefully--this habit of unquestioning adulation for certain, uh, people--otherwise sooner or later we WILL have a queen, Messalina I.
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