There have always been close links between the Norwegian and
British royal houses, all the way back to the Viking era when
Norwegian kings also ruled over parts of what is today Britain.
Fortunately, in modern times, the relationship has been somewhat
more peaceful than it was 1000 years ago.
King Haakon VIII, the newest monarch on the continent of Europe,
and King Charles III are third cousins. King Edward VII and Queen
Alexandra of the United Kingdom are the great-great-grandparents of
the Norwegian monarch and the great-great-grandparents of the
British monarch. King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra had six
children. One of them was a daughter, Maud. She married into the
Danish Royal Family; her mother had, after all, been born a Danish
princess. Maud’s marriage with Prince Carl took a dramatic turn in
1905. When Norway became independent, it needed a new monarchy. The
Norwegian delegation asked Prince Carl to be king. He took the name
Haakon, and Maud became Queen of Norway.
When King Haakon became King of Norway in 1905, two things
influenced the election. One was that he was married to Princess
Maud, daughter of British King Edward VII. The other was that the
couple already had an heir to the throne, their son Alexander, who
was renamed Olav on his father’s succession. King Haakon and Queen
Maud lived mainly in England before coming to Norway. The Queen
also retained her British home at Appleton House until she died in
1938.
After moving to Norway, Queen Maud maintained a solid connection
to the country of her birth and usually visited over the winter
months. These bonds were also important when King Haakon and Crown
Prince Olav fled to London during World War II. King Olav also had
strong ties to Britain. He was born at Appleton House and studied
in Oxford.
Crown Prince, later King, Olav married Swedish Princess Märtha,
who became Crown Princess of Norway. Unfortunately, Märtha died
before she could become Queen of Norway, but before she died, she
gave the Norwegians three royal children. This was the present
king, Harald V, and his two sisters, Princess Astrid and Princess
Ragnhild.
In the United Kingdom, another of King Edward VII and Queen
Alexandra’s children became monarchs. Following his father’s death,
George V became King; he was the brother of Queen Maud of Norway.
He married Mary of Teck, and the couple had six children. Their
second son later became King George VI, a first cousin of Olav.
George VI is, of course, the grandfather of King Charles III.
When King Charles III was born in 1948, three years had passed
since King Haakon returned to Norway after the Second World War.
The ties were strong, so Queen Elizabeth chose to name her
first-born son, a future king, after her favourite uncle, Prince
Carl. King Haakon of Norway was then an obvious choice as the
then-Prince Charles’s godfather.
King Haakon VII died in 1957 and his son, Olav, became king.
During his reign, in 1973, his heir, Harald,
welcomed a son who he and his wife, Sonja, called Haakon. Harald
took the throne on the death of Olav in 1991 and reigned for 35
years until his death on August 28. The throne now passed to
Haakon.
Which means that Europe now has two monarchs named after the
first king of modern Norway. And they are third cousins and
friends, to boot. History comes full circle.
