On that June day in 2006, the doors of the Bird Room at the Royal Palace in Oslo opened wide to welcome ¡HOLA! for a historic meeting with King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway. Filled with excitement over the then-imminent state visit of their “good and old friends,” King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía of Spain, the royal couple opened their hearts and looked back over nearly four decades of marriage. It was a warm and relaxed conversation that touched on everything from the King’s recent health issues, thankfully overcome, to the joy of spoiling grandchildren, along with the truth behind their youthful legends, the Queen’s difficult early challenges in shaping her role, and an unshakable commitment to serve their country for as long as their people wish.
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The King’s health
After successfully overcoming bladder cancer and undergoing heart bypass surgery, King Harald faced that conversation with an extraordinary sense of humor and infectious optimism. Asked about his health, he explained: “The operation, which was described as a success, went exactly as planned. So I could say I’m very well, thank you. And besides, when they operate on you, you don’t feel a thing. What I do know is that now I’m better than I was before.” Looking ahead to the near future and the approach of their respective 70th birthdays, he admitted: “We have some ideas, but we haven’t made any plans about that. Next year still feels a bit far away, but something will be done.”
The truth about their “forbidden” courtship
Looking back to remember how their love story began, he pointed out that “thirty-eight years of marriage have allowed us to get to know each other very well,” to which the Queen added: “Love and marriage are always based on that, aren’t they?” Recalling their first encounter at a mutual friend’s birthday party and the subsequent military academy ball, the Queen reminisced: “It was destiny. Yes, I remember it very well. The King was about to leave the military academy and he invited me to the final ball. It was quite exciting, of course. And afterwards I met all his friends from the academy, and that’s how it all began.”
When asked about the promises and dreams of their youth, the monarch reflected: “I don’t think anyone sees all their dreams come true. In our case, at least, not all of them have, but we can’t complain. The result is good,” while Queen Sonja added that life had brought them “quite a few pleasant surprises.”
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King Harald took the opportunity to firmly debunk the famous legend surrounding their courtship and his father’s opposition, King Olav V: “What I actually said to King Olav, my father, was that I was going to marry Sonja or that I would never marry at all.” When recalling the most painful episode in their lives, both immediately agreed it was Olav V’s death in 1991.
Queen Sonja described the difficulty of that ordeal: “It was a hard experience because you live out your grief in front of the public. You can’t hide or stick your head in a hole in the ground. You have to be present at the funeral and live through your sorrow together with the people who share your pain.”
Watching TV alone together
In the privacy of the Palace, the King and Queen clearly enjoyed the simplest routines. The Queen revealed what they most like to do when they’re on their own: “Day to day, we like watching television. We have a great time. Since we’re always surrounded by people, it’s wonderful and relaxing to be able to sit down and watch others entertain you.” Speaking of how proud he is of his family, Harald did not hide his devotion to the youngest ones, and confessed with a laugh: “I feel very satisfied with my children and my grandchildren, and although I feel very similar love for both, I enjoy myself more with the grandchildren, because you can spoil them and then hand them back to their parents.” The Queen admitted that she likes ‘giving advice’ as a grandmother, to which the King joked: “I’m not a grandmother… I really like my role as a grandfather.”
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Asked about dynastic decisions and the reason his grandson Sverre Magnus was not given the style of Royal Highness, the King explained the institutional logic with complete ease: “Because only the eldest will inherit the Throne, and if something were to happen to Ingrid… Let’s hope not, then Sverre would get the title. Well, he wouldn’t get it back, because he never had it, but if it were necessary, it could be given to him at any time.”
Haakon’s courage for love
Regarding the wedding of his son, Crown Prince Haakon, to Mette-Marit, Queen Sonja praised her eldest child’s determination: “I think he was very brave in facing reality and that he did it very well. Thanks to his intervention, everyone understood how he felt… Besides, marriages between princes or princesses and citizens without royal ancestry are becoming more and more common,” while the King added: “It’s only natural to share your life with someone you choose yourself.”
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They both categorically denied that Haakon had threatened to give up the throne for love: “No, that’s not true.” After the periods of regency during which the heir assumed state duties throughout his father’s convalescences, King Harald reaffirmed his complete confidence in him: “I’m sure he will be a good King. He did very well and he will do very well… The whole family worked together because in that situation we all had to help one another.”
Queen Sonja’s difficult beginnings
In one of the most candid moments of the interview, Queen Sonja reflected on the tough early days of her institutional role when she married and found herself in a predominantly male court following Queen Maud’s death: “Of course, there have been periods in my life when the task has been difficult. And of course there have been challenges, because when I got married, my father-in-law was surrounded only by men, and it was very hard to be a woman in such a male-dominated environment…It took time for them to understand that I also wanted to have a job and that I wanted to do it my way, and be respected for that. Over the years those problems disappeared, although, of course, there were other challenges. The main thing is not to let yourself be defeated. Sometimes you have to fight.”
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Their close friendship with King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía
Finally, the Norwegian Monarchs expressed their excitement about the state visit of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía. King Harald highlighted the deep personal bond that unites them: “The truth is that we’re very good friends, and I don’t say that lightly…I met his Queen first, back in the fifties. And I’ve known King Juan Carlos for forty years, at least for four decades. We know each other very well. That’s why we’re so excited about Their Majesties’ visit and why we’re going to try to make it a visit that benefits both countries.”
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Queen Sonja took the opportunity to reflect on the cultural exchange between the two nations, noting that nearly a million Norwegians (out of a population of five and a half million) travel to Spain every year in search of sunshine, while also encouraging Spaniards to visit Norway: “For you it should also be exotic to travel here. There is so much to see in this country… I can give you a map to help.” The Queen recommended everything from cruises through the fjords departing from Bergen to expeditions in the far north: “We’ve just been in Spitsbergen, in Svalbard, the far North, and it is so beautiful and there is so much to do…I’ve been riding a snowmobile across the countryside.” To conclude, when asked what kings talk about when they’re alone together, King Harald summed up the closeness he feels with his Spanish counterparts by saying: “Although we’re friends, it’s like being with family.”