Last October 17th 2016, King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway gathered around their children and grandchildren. All the members of the royal family joined their Majesties to pose in front of the camera in a room of the Royal Palace in Oslo for a series of historical clichés to mark the 80th birthday of both the sovereign and his wife.

These beautiful images were kept secret for exactly four months. They were only revealed last Friday, February 17th 2017, just four days before Harald V blew its 80 candles. Three of them have been published on the website of the Palais.

This royal shooting took place in several settings. King Harald V and Queen Sonja, dressed in a white set, were photographed alone, standing, and sitting side by side in gilded wooden chairs. The royal couple was also photographed with their two children Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Märtha Louise. Another image shows them this time with their four granddaughters and their grandsons: Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus - the children of Haakon and Mette-Marit - and Maud Angelica, Leah Isadora and Emma Tallulah- the daughters of Märtha-Louise and Ari Behn. Finally, a beautiful family photo gathered around them their children and grandchildren, to which were joined their daughter-in-law the Princess Mette-Marit and the eldest son of her, Marius Borg Hoiby.


In this gallery of portraits, a photo is missing. The one where King Harald V and his two successors to the Norwegian crown would be seen: his son Crown Prince Haakon and his granddaughter Princess Ingrid Alexandra. The trio has been immortalized over the years. But perhaps this photograph has been realized and not yet revealed. It will be seen this Tuesday, February 21, 2017, J. day of the king's birthday. To be continued…
Photo credits: Paris Match/ Kongehuset.no

This Wednesday, Crown Prince Haakon together with Crown Princess Mette-Marrit to meet asylum seekers in Oslo.

She had put on comfortable flat-heeled PRADA boots and a Valentino coat, put on a hat, protected her neck with a scarf, and put a cap on her head to face the cold and snow in Oslo. On her program, a visit, with her husband Prince Haakon, of the transit center of Torshov.


The crown princely couple wished to know more about the living conditions of asylum-seekers living in this temporary accommodation of 200 places, one of the five reception centers run by Norsk Folkehjelp (Norwegian People's Aid) . They met with residents, but also volunteers from the Red Cross who organize activities for them, as well as staff members.

This visit followed those of they had two days earlier on the same theme. Mette-Marit and Haakon went to the headquarters of the UDI (Utlendingsdirektoratet), the Directorate of Immigration, in Oslo on Monday (February 13th) to learn about the way in which this administration under the Ministry of Justice his mission. This involves processing applications for visas, residence permits, citizenship and asylum from foreigners. The IDU is also responsible for the operation of reception centers and eviction cases. They then joined the offices of the UNE (Utlendingsnemnda), the Immigration Appeal Board. This state court examines, as the name suggests, appeals filed with the Immigration Branch.
Photo Credit: Paris Match

Last Saturday, January 14th 2017, Crown Princess Mette-Marit accompanied her husband Crown Prince Haakon to Ekeberghallen, a Oslo sports hall, for the final of the men's volleyball championship. And the heir to the Norwegian throne attended to give out the winning team.

Sitting in the stands beside her husband, the Crown Princess literally was in the game and had her moments during the match between the Viking team from Bergen, in the south of the country, and that of Tromso, in the north. Taken in pictures several times, the mother of 3 was watching the game with passion, while Haakon remained calm. It must be that the Crown Princess played volleyball in her youth, having also been a coach for this sport.

For this sporting event, which saw the victory of the players of Tromso, the Crown Princess Mette-Marit was dressed in a relax mode. Having opted for a casual outfit, she chose to put on a pair of jeans and a blue zipped sports jacket that she wore on a white sweater. She had put on a pair of sneakers and had worn her hair.

The day before, Mette-Marit had published an open letter on Kongehust(the Royal Court of Norway)'s website on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of her son Marius Borg Hoiby. Her love for the eldest of her three children, born before her meeting with Haakon from Norway, she asked some media to let him live a quiet life, while the young man made the choice to lead a life outside Of the public scene.

Snow and sleet was the weather which welcome this January 11th 2017  Their Royal Highness  Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Maritt of Norway. The heir and his consort visited the town of Ski, a town in the county of Akershus south of Oslo.

The Crown Princely couple had an appointment with rescue dogs, as part of the 60th anniversary of the Norske Redningshunder with motto Understand "Norwegian Rescue Dogs". This humanitarian organization, which has several sections throughout the country, trains rescue dogs (two or three years) and dog handlers, so that they can provide, on a voluntary basis and in Voluntary assistance in Norway. With approximately 1,600 members, Norske Redningshunder participates in approximately 500 person-search operations each year, whether in the wild, especially in the forest, avalanches or under disaster-related ruins.

After a presentation of the organization by its officials in their warm building, Haakon and Mette-Maritt went outside to see how the dogs were trained to obey, report or search for a person. The opportunity to get to know the border collie Nicki or the German shepherd Orax.
Photo Credits: Kongehuset.no

On Jan 5th Their Royal Highnesses The Crown Prince and Crown Princess attended the annual conference of the Confederation where the green shift was the main topic.

"Made in Norway - a work for a green future" is the title of this year's conference in Spektrum, Oslo. The conference reunites both businesses, politicians and other decision makers.

One of the main goals of this year's conference is to show that it is possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while creating value and jobs.

Meeting with young leaders
During the first break, Crown Princess met with many youth leaders who attended this year's conference and received a greater insight into their perspective on the green shift. The Crown Prince also received several Norwegian companies come up to talk about how they both ensure added value and jobs in a sustainable manner. The business world is a big part of the key to get to the green shift.

In the evening their Royal Highness took part in the the traditional NHO dinner.

Here is NHO 2017 goal:
1)Lifting up businesses, natural resources, technology and people who solve problems related to population growth and greenhouse gas emissions.
2)Creating a debate about what should characterize a product, service or idea that is "Made in Norway".
3)Show that it is possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while creating value and jobs.
Discuss what kind of leadership and framework we need on the path towards a low-emission in 2050.
Photo credits: Kongehuset.no