Norway's Norwegian Queen

Queen Sonja's official
                                      80th birthday photo in 2017

Photo: Lise Åserud, NTB scanpix

The current Queen Consort of Norway grew up in Oslo as a shopkeeper's daughter, who often made her own clothes. Born Sonja Haraldsen, her family never dreamed that she would one day help to lead the nation. Here are some things you might not know about her.

She Sometimes Celebrates Her Birthday Twice
Although she does not have a real birthday and an official birthday like Queen Elizabeth II in Britain, Queen Sonja does have two "birthdays" in some years. Since she and her husband, King Harald, were born in the same calendar year, they have usually celebrated landmark birthdays with a big joint party featuring guests from all of the other monarchies. In 2017, they held their 80th birthday gala over the course of several days at the end of May. (His actual birthday is February 21 and hers is July 4, so May is a good midway point.) Royals from across Europe joined in a balcony appearance, a white-tie-and-tiara gala, a concert, and a boat tour of the Oslofjord. They were also surrounded by their children and grandchildren, who memorably performed a traditional birthday dance on the palace balcony.

She's the first Norwegian Consort Born in Norway in 700+ Years
First established in the 9th century, the Norwegian throne went through long periods of time when it was ruled by Danish or Swedish kings and other periods of interregna with no monarch at the head of the nation. Over the course of those 11 centuries, the consorts were also drawn mostly from among the leading Danish, Swedish or various German dynasties, with notable intermarriages with the Scottish and later British royals. Rarely, however, did they choose a Norwegian lady to marry the King whether than king was Norwegian, Swedish or Danish. The most recent Norwegian-born consort before Sonja was a woman named Margrete Skulesdatter in the 13th century, whose father actually claimed the throne as a rival to her husband, King Haakon IV. They were married in an attempt to prevent her dad, Jarl Skule Bardsson from pressing his claim, but the effort failed and war still broke out between her father and her husband. The jarl was eventually killed by the king, whose successors didn't marry another Norwegian again for more than seven centuries.

She Was One of Only Two Norwegian Queens in the 20th Century
During the Napoleonic Wars, Norway had managed to escape Danish rule only to be scooped up Sweden. (It's notable that the "main" street in Oslo that runs from the Royal Palace to the Stortinget, or Parliament building, is still called Karl Johans Gate after the Frenchman who Napolean made King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden.) However, the Norwegians, who were still able to maintain a separate government under a joint monarchy, wanted total independence. It took nearly a century, but in 1905, the Norwegian parliament voted for independence and the country elected a new king, who just happened to be the son of Danish king. Prince Carl of Denmark, who changed his name to King Haakon VII, was married to the British Princess Maud (who kept her name). The couple's only son, Prince Alexander, only two years old at the time, was renamed Olav. When he grew up, he married Princess Martha of Sweden, but she died at the age of just 53 before her husband inherited the throne. Olav never remarried and therefore never had a queen. When his only son married Sonja Haraldsen, she became Norway's official first lady while still the Crown Princess. After Olav's death in 1991, her immediate predecessor as consort, Queen Maud, had been dead for nearly 64 years.

She Had to Wait a Decade for Her Prince
Although you could never tell by looking at this grand lady today, Sonja was considered an inappropriate match for Crown Prince Harald when they fell in love in the 1950s. His father, an old school royal and great-grandson of Queen Victoria, refused to allow his son and heir to marry a woman whose father was merely a local merchant in Oslo. She had absolutely no aristocratic, much less royal, lineage. Harald was stern about his choice and eventually wore his father down with his obstinacy: he refused to marry anyone else, which would have meant the end of the dynasty and the monarchy. King Olav and the parliament at last relented and the couple married in 1968. Sonja eventually won over her detractors and was a great support to her father-in-law as Norway's official hostess during the last two decades of his reign. (Read my review of Rachel Wisdom's novel about this royal romance.)

She Has Visited Every Continent
Queen Sonja has visited every major nation in the world, which has taken her to all six of the permanently settled continents on the globe. You can find photos of her at all of the world's iconic locations. In 2005, however, she added the one continent missing from her travel itinerary becoming the first queen to visit Antarctica, where she opened a new research station in Queen Maud Land, which was named for her husband's grandmother. Much of her international travel is done through state or otherwise official visits to support foreign partnerships and tourism for Norway. But, she also is frequently working on behalf of charities like Red Cross and in support of refugees.

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Previously at the Palace: Princesses of Monaco

In this series, we capture the biographical and major news posts from this date in previous years so that you can "catch up" on your favorites or reflect on some topics you might have missed. One paragraph is included here; click the title to see the full post.

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MGM publicity still, 1956

via Wikimedia Commons

2011: Princesses of Monaco

"When South African Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock married the reigning Prince of Monaco, she joined a long line of, let's say, interesting brides for the House of Grimaldi. While other princely houses have insisted on highborn wives for their sons and heirs--even "disinheriting" dynasts for whom the throne or title has been abolished for decades--Monaco has felt no such compulsion. Therefore, it has selected more than its fair share of actresses and ladies with scandalous behavior. They also seem to favor English-speaking ladies. One positive impact of their matrimonial choices: the Grimaldi family is one of the most attractive reigning families in the world!."  READ MORE

The Lutheran Lady: Anna Sophie of Denmark

via Wikimedia Commons

Anna Sophie walked into the chamber fearful of what she would see. The visit was a risk to her own health, but one she had to take. The Elector of Saxony lay in his bed, covered by pox, shivering but racked by fever. Just 25 years earlier, she had held him in her arms for the first time. John George had not been the best of sons, but he was her firstborn and soon she would see him no more.

Born far from Saxony in Denmark, Anna Sophie's father had become King Frederick III when she was just an infant. In 1647, Denmark was a formidable power in the Baltic and its princesses were highly in demand as brides. While her younger sisters were sent to Holstein, Sweden and the Palatinate, Anna Sophie was reserved for the future John George III Elector of Saxony. He was stout and unkind, preferring his mistress over his wife, and his first son followed closely in his footsteps. Although lovely and bright with six languages at her command, Anna Sophie found no love from her husband, he who called himself the "Saxon Mars."

She found some comfort in having fulfilled her duties in delivering two boy children: John George IV in 1668 and Frederick Augustus in 1670. Initially, the boys were raised by Danish ladies sent from her mother's court in Denmark and, in this century of continuing religious turmoil, they were rigorously trained in the Lutheran faith. Soon, however, male tutors were brought in and the princes began to pursue more manly and military pursuits like mistresses and war.

In 1685, Anna Sophie was joined by her widowed and childless younger sister Wilhelmine Ernestine, after an unhappy time as Electress of the Palatinate. The sisters would remain each other's companions for the rest of their lives. Seven years later, Anna Sophie was relieved of her own husband by a passing epidemic and left to the not-so-tender mercies of her oldest son's rule. The new Elector John George IV of Saxony had dutifully married Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach at his mother's insistence. Politically, the match was intended to strengthen the alliance between Saxony and Brandenburg, where Eleonore Erdmuthe's former stepson succeeded her first husband. Personally, the widowed princess with three children (who, of course, she had to leave behind) was seen by Anna Sophie as the best tool for ensuring the succession in Saxony. Although marriage had not cured her husband of seeking out mistresses, Anna Sophie hoped that a bride might distract her son from his lady love, Magdalene Sibylle "Billa" of Neidlutz, who might have been the new elector's illegitimate half sister.

Despite her earlier fertility, Eleonore Erdmuthe suffered two miscarriages in quick succession while Billa was delivered of young John George's daughter. Less than a year later, Billa died from smallpox and her royal lover soon followed suit.

After her first son's death, Anna Sophie turned all of her attention to her second son Frederick Augustus, the new elector, and his bride, Christiane Eberhadine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. The younger son, more talented than his older brother, had always envied his brother's birthright. Now that he had inherited it from him, however, he showed some magnanimity by taking in his orphaned by illegitimate niece and providing for the little girl in his court. His sympathy to her may have stemmed from his affinity for his own philandering ways and numerous illegitimate children. Some contemporaries estimate that he had well over 300 children, although his official mistresses only gave him eight.

His wife, Christiane Eberhardine, gave him one son soon after his accession, named Frederick Augustus for himself. Frederick Augustus Senior, however, was much more concerned with power and might than familial relations. He had his sights set on a very big prize: Poland and he would not even have to battle to get it. All he needed was significant financial banking and political allies in the right places. After the death of John III Sobieski, King of Poland, the vacant throne was up for election, not in today's democratic terms of course. Despite rumors of meddling and tampering, he received strong enough backing from Russia and Austria to win the crown. All he had to do was make one small sacrifice: his Lutheran faith.

Despite his conversion to Catholicism, he guaranteed the Protestantism of his territory of Saxony, but his mother, who was raising his son, and his wife were outraged. They maintained a strong Lutheran front at home, while the new "Augustus the Strong" took up his armaments to expand his Catholic Polish rule elsewhere. Anna Sophie's piety and example were not enough to prevent her only legitimate grandson from converting when he reached adulthood, the Polish throne was a rich enticement after all, and he was the only legitimate child of his father.

Alas, Anna Sophie did not live long enough to see her grandson become Augustus III. She passed away 300 years ago today on July 1, 1717.