Norway: Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett to marry in August 2024

It was announced from Princess Märtha Louise of Norway's Instagram account today, 13 September 2023, that she and Durek Verrett will celebrate their wedding at Hotel Union in Geiranger on 31 August 2024.

Their engagement was announced on 7 June 2022.

The King and Queen of Norway as well as the Crown Prince couple have expressed their congratulations in a statement issued by the Royal Palace earlier today:

Congratulations

Her Highness Princess Märtha Louise and Mr Durek Verrett announced today that they will marry in August 2024. Their Majesties The King and Queen, and Their Royal Highnesses The Crown Prince and Crown Princess extend their congratulations.

13.09.2023

Greetings from The King and Queen

The Queen and I are delighted that Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett have announced their wedding plans today. We are happy to include Durek Verret in our family and look forward to celebrating the big day with them. We wish Märtha and Durek all the best. 

Greetings from The Crown Prince and Crown Princess

We congratulate Princess Märtha and Durek Verrett on their wedding in August next year. We are happy for them and look forward to celebrating with them in Geiranger. We wish Märtha, Durek and the girls all the best for the future.

Gjallarhorn nr. 72, juni 2023

 

Jeg mottok Gjallarhorn nr. 72, juni 2023, i posten for en liten stund siden og tenkte jeg som vanlig skulle skrive noen ord. Tidsskriftet er som det fremgår av forsiden felles medlemsblad for Vestfold Slektshistorielag, som jeg er medlem av, og Buskerud Slektshistorielag, som jeg kunne ha vært medlem av, ettersom jeg har røtter blant annet i Skoger (men nå var jo Skoger opprinnelig et herred i Vestfold ...) og i Modum.

Innholdsfortegnelse:

• Protokoll fra årsmøtet i Vestfold Slektshistorielag den 8. februar 2023, s. 4.
• Referat fra Medlemsmøter. Vestfold Slektshistorielag, s. 5–9.
• Årsberetning for 2022 Buskerud slektshistorielag, s. 10–11.
• Protokoll fra årsmøtet i Buskerud Slektshistorielag den 8. februar 2023, s. 12.
• Referat fra Medlemsmøter. Buskerud slektshistorielag, s. 13.
• Torbjørn Steen-Karlsen: Nes i Sandeherred & Mannsnavnet Timand, s. 14–24.
• Torbjørn Steen-Karlsen: Vestre Nes i Sandeherred – Øvre Såtvedt i Sandsvær – Tarandrød i Andeby og Nordre Kverne i Arnadal, s. 24–36.
• Ketil Firing-Hanssen: Etterkommere av David Sinclair, fogd i Buskerud og Eiker, s. 37–47.
• Gro Hege Ødegård: Et tidsbilde fra barndom og oppvekst i Tønsberg-distriktet under og etter 2dre verdenskrig, s. 48–50.
• Eli Ulriksen: En grav i Swakopmund, s. 51–57.
• Erik Bjune: Hurum gårds- og slektshistorie utgitt i vinter, s. 58.
• Et lite dykk i Vestfold slektsenters bibliotek, s. 59.

Den første artikkelen til Torbjørn Steen-Karlsen tar utgangspunkt i Østre Nes i Sandeherred (Sandar), og det heter innledningsvis at gården i 1590 ble satt til 9 pund smør, herav 1 1/2 pund for Oksås. Ved et forlik på gården 17. juni 1590 med Jens Brønnum «ble enken Live Nes og hennes (umyndige) barn tilkjent hele denne parten.» Deretter følger en avskrift av forliket hentet fra Sandeherreds prestearkiv. På s. 16 stilles det opp en slektsoversikt over Tor Østre Nes' barn med Live, nemlig e N.N. Torsdatter, som  hadde sønnen Timand og Rolf Jonsen Hørtvedt, og Live (Torsdatter?) n. 1653-1661, som hadde barna Sebjørn og Gryte. Mye av artikkelen omhandler etterslekten til denne Timand. Artikkelforfatteren påstår her at de fleste med navnet Timand på Østlandet har sitt navn fra denne Timand, deriblant mange i USA. Artikkelen handler mye om etterslekt i Sandsvær. Man finner noen av disse Timand'ene (er Timand en versjon av Tidemand, forresten?) i Høeg, Hans. Sandsvær-slekten Bjerknes Evju gjennom 600 år, Høvik, 1953.

Torbjørn Steen-Karlsens neste artikkel tar utgangspunkt i Vestre Nes i Sandeherred (Sandar), med slektslinjer til Øvre Såtvedt i Sandsvær, Tarandrød i Andebu og Nordre Kverne i Arnadal. Som vanlig er det 1600- og 1700-talls materiale Steen-Karlsen jobber med, og kommer man seg tilbake til slektene som han tar for seg kan man få litt ekstra hjelp på veien. I artikkelen kommer man for øvrig innom slekts-/tilnavnene Pestel (Pestell, Pestil) i Holmestrand og Nibe (Niibe).

Ketil Firing Hanssens artikkel omhandler David Sinclair, som var fogd over Buskerud fogderi fra rundt 1652 til 1663. Hanssen skriver: «David Sinclair oppgis å være 46 år gammel i 1665, og dermed født ca. 1619. Hans etterslekt er beskrevet av E.A. Thomle i Personalhistorisk Tidsskrift i 1893, men denne framstillingen er mangelfull. 130 år senere kommer altså en oppdatering, men siste ord er nok ennå ikke skrevet. Selv om denne artikkelen inneholder en omfattende oversikt over etterkommere i 3–4 generasjoner, er det nok mangler i barneflokkene og mangelfulle opplysninger om flere av etterkommerne.» Thomles artikkel fra 1893 het for øvrig «Hans Jenssøn Grønbechs Slægtebok» (Personalhistorisk Tidsskrift, 3. rekke, 2. bind, s. 277–279). Det er mange (eldre) artikler i Personalhistorisk Tidsskrift, Norsk Personalhistorisk Tidsskrift og Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskrift som fortjener en ny gjennomgang og oppdatering, og Hanssen har gitt et verdifullt bidrag i så måte. Det er en del interessante navn i slektsoversikten, blant annet støter vi på slektsnavn som Finne, Faye, Blom, Moestue og Bjørn.

Det er positivt at tidsskriftet dekker flere tidsperioder og ikke bare omhandler rene slektsartikler, men også selvbiografisk stoff. Mange i min foreldres generasjon har vært flinke til å skrive ned minner som vil være av interesse også for andre enn den nærmeste slekts- og vennekretsen. Tidsbildet fra Tønsberg-distriktet under og etter 2. verdenskrig er Gro Hege Ødegårds bearbeidede manuskript ført i pennen av søsteren Tove Gunn Gulliksen (1942–2021). Vi kan være glade for at Tove fikk skrevet ned sine minner fra barndommen før hun så brått gikk bort i september 2021.

Artikkelen «En grav i Swakopmund» av Eli Ulriksen forteller historien til sjømannen og hvalfangeren  Alf Sverre Fredriksen (1883–1925), som var bestefar til artikkelforfatterens ektemann. Fredriksen døde av tyfoidfeber i Swakopmund i dagens Namibia. Ulriksen har gjort en solid innsats med å finne frem til informasjon om Fredriksen gjennom sjømannsruller, kontakt med museet i Swakopmund m.m., og det var en god avslutning på artikkelen å få vite at graven fortsatt eksisterer og at gravstenen er i god stand.

I våres ble endelig de to første bindene av Hurums gårds- og slektshistorie lansert. Dette er et prosjekt i Hurum historielag som har pågått i 17 år og med Torunn Haug, Svein Becken, Tale Eriksen, Håvard Kilhavn og Erik Bjune i redaksjonen. De to første bindene dekker 57 gårdsnumre i gamle Hurum kommune, mens det tredje bindet vil komme ut i løpet av 2024 og vil inneholde de eldste tettstedene (Rødtangen, Holmsbu, Verket/Bogen og Filtvet) samt utfyllende navne- og stedsregistre. Jeg gleder meg til å se nærmere på utgavene når jeg får anledning!

Short English summary: This article is about the latest issue of Gjallarhorn, the newsletter of Vestfold Slektshistorielag and Buskerud Slektshistorielag (Vestfold Genealogical Society and Buskerud Genealogical Society).

Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway to join the army

 

Photo: © 2023 The Royal Court/Øivind Möller Bakken.

Photo: © 2023 The Royal Court/Liv Anette Luane.

Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway graduated from Elvebakken videregående skole (upper secondary school) last week. The second photo above was released by the Norwegian Royal Court yesterday, showing the princess together with her parents Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit at the graduation ceremony.

Yesterday the Norwegian Royal Court also revealed Princess Ingrid Alexandra's plans for the near future. In the fall she will work at her former school Uranienborg in Oslo as a school assistant and environmental health worker. In January 2024 she will start on her 12 months long basic miltary service at Skjold Military Camp at Øverbygd in Målselv municipality, Troms and Finnmark county. Skjold Camp is the home base for the 2nd Batalion and the Engineers' Batalion. After the recruit period she will be given a service position and carry out a period with more specific education followed by a division period with more training and exercises.

Princess Ingrid Alexandra is 2nd in line of succession to the Norwegian throne and will as future monarch and head of state also become commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. In my opinion it is therefore important that she does her military service and gets a basic training and better understanding of the Armed Forces. I am therefore very pleased for the choices she had made so far.

UK: Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank have become parents again

Princess Eugenie of York announced on her Instagram account today, 5 June 2023, that she gave birth to her and her husband Jack Brooksbank's second son on 30 May 2023:

Jack and I wanted to share the news that we had our little boy, Ernest George Ronnie Brooksbank on 30th May 2023 at 8.49 weighing 7.1lbs.

He is named after his great great great Grandfather George, his Grandpa George and my Grandpa Ronald.

Augie is loving being a big brother already.

The couple's first son, August, was born on 9 February 2021. The (almost) newborn baby boy, who is 13th in line of succession to the British throne, has, if I understand it correctly, been named Ernest after his great-great-great-grandfather King George V (1865–1936), whose full name was George Frederick Ernest Albert, George after his grandfather George Brooksbank (1949–2021), father of Jack, and Ronnie after his great-grandfather Ronald Ferguson (1931–2003), father of Sarah, Duchess of York. 

The announcement doesn't say anything about where the baby boy was born, but I would guess that Portland Hospital in London, where August was born, is the most likely place of birth.

Genealogen nr. 1, 2023

På forsiden av Norsk Slektshistorisk Forenings tidsskrift Genealogen nr. 1, 2023, som kom i postkassen tidligere denne uken, kan man se et utsnitt av en illustrasjon med Hjula veveri på Sagene i Christiania i forgrunnen. Illustrasjonen er hentet fra boken Nordiska taflor, 1867, som man kan finne i Nettbiblioteket og som for lengst er «public domain». Bruken av illustrasjonen er knyttet til en av artiklene i herværende utgave. Fra innholdsfortegnelsen kan man lese:

• Arnvid Lillehammer: Simon Jansen knærkar – ein reisande spelemann?, s. 4–10.
• Finn Roaas: Lisa Caisa Larsdotter Örn – ei värmlandsk jente på Hjula veveri og hennes tragiske liv i Kristiania, s. 12–20.
• Per Reidar Christiansen. Agdernøtter 4. Av kongsætt? Slektskapet mellom egder med odel i Åmot i Sokndal, s. 21–39.
• Arvid Skogseth: Frostaslekt med «uekte» opphav i Leksvik, Trondheim og Tylldalen, s. 40–51.
• Robert Stieglitz: Connecting Norwegian Ancestors using DNA, s. 52–58.
• Bjarne Hollund: Benkestokker i Hordaland – sluttkommentar, s. 59-64.
• Dag Trygsland Hoelseth: Bokmeldinger, s. 65–68.
• «Ny bok om familien Salvesen fra Mandal», bokanmeldelse av Aanonsen, Ulf. En norsk klan i Skottland. Familien Salvesen fra Mandal, Mandal: Risøbank Interkommunale Selskap, 2022, s. 65–66.
• «Ny bok om slekt fra Øvre Rise på Hareid», bokanmeldelse av Strand, Geir Liavåg. Magnus og Lisbet Rise frå Øvre Rise på Hareid – deira aner og etterkommarar, Sandane: [Privat], 2022, s. 67–68.

I tillegg er det en del foreningsstoff, blant annet innkalling til årsmøtet tirsdag 23. mai 2023.

Denne gangen har ikke redaktøren hatt problemer med tilfanget av artikler – Rune Nedrud skriver selv i sin spalte at «Min frykt for at skrivelystne medlemmer ikke lenger ville bidra med godt stoff var noe ubegrunnet. Et lite varsko i forrige nummer førte til at vi denne gangen har et velfylt tidsskrift uten at jeg selv måte bidra med fyllstoff.» Faktisk så måtte utgaven utvides fra 64 sider (+ omslagssider) til 72 sider for å få plass til alt. 

Jeg synes utgaven har en god variasjon både tematisk og geografisk. Leserne kommer innom Kristiania (med kobling til Värmland), Agder, Rogaland, Trøndelag, Innlandet (Nord-Østerdalen i gamle Hedmark med Tylldalen), Nordland (DNA-artikkelen, med emigrasjonskobling til USA), Hordaland, Agder igjen og Sunnmøre. Simon Jansen knærkar, som Arnvid Lillehammer skriver om, hadde hollandske aner, slo seg sammen med ei jente av det reisende Vardal-følget. En bror ble stamfar til den velkjente reisende slekten Allting. Det handler mest om Agder i denne artikkelen, men også andre steder er nevnt.

Finn Roaas skriver om sin tippoldemor fra Värmland, Lisa Caisa Larsdotter Örn (1832–1881, som fikk to sønner med en Thorvald Gundersen, og mye av artikkelen går med på å drøfte hvem denne Thorvald kunne ha vært. Det var flere mulige kandidater, og tre av dem blir gjennomgått. I tillegg fortelles det om Lisa Caisas liv og levnet, blant annet ved Hjula veveri på Sagene.

Per Reidar Christiansen bidrar med sin fjerde artikkel i serien Agdernøtter. For ordens skyld lister jeg opp tidligere artikler i serien:

• «Agdernøtter: Forvirring rundt en 1500-talls ættekrets fra Kvåvig i Lyngdal», Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskrift, bind 42, 2009, s. 149–158.
• «Agdernøtter 2. Møllsfolket i Holum og odelen i Lia i Fjære», Genealogen nr. 2, 2011, s. 5–11.
• «Agdernøtter 3. Navnetrøbbel i en arvetvisst fra Gyland», Genealogen nr. 2, 2013, s. 5–8.

Forfatteren skriver selv innledningsvis at «Vignetten Agdernøtter rommer kortere bidrag til revisjon av eldre litteratur om slekter i og fra Agder. Meningen er ikke å gå i dybden på hele slektskretser, men å påpeke feilslutninger og sviktende kildegrunnlag av betydning for hvordan enkelte slekters genealogi tidligere er blitt oppfattet. [... ] Et delmål er å vise at jobbing med primærkilder er lønnsomt, og at det er mulig å komme frem til nye resultater selv om en slektskrets synes å være utredet. Mesteparten av stoffet som settes under et kritisk søkelys er tidligere publisert i årsskrifter for Agder Historielag.» Disse kritiske gjennomgangene er viktige og må leses av alle som beskjeftiger seg med slektsforskning i Agder på 1500- og 1600-tallet.

Bygdebokforfatteren Arvid Skogseth bidrar med en artikkel om egen slekt på Frosta, og forteller blant annet om enkemannen Otte Hallsteinson (1772–1841) fra Tylldalen som havnet på Frosta og fikk barn der med Serina Johannesdatter Hojemsaunet (1771–1842). Artikkelen er grundig, med en grundig kildegjennomgang og interessante historier. Ja, folk beveget seg over større avstander den gangen også, men det er likevel fascinerende at en fra de indre bygder i Nord-Østerdalen havnet på Frosta ved Trondheimsfjorden 250 km unna.

Robert Stieglitz har jobbet med å finne konas slekt i Norge ved bruk av DNA. Man får et praktisk eksempel på genetisk genealogi, altså kombinasjon av DNA-testing med tradisjonell slektsforskning, eller «papirforskning» som vi ofte kaller det. Redaktøren oppfordrer til flere slike bidrag, og minner også om boken NSF ga ut i 2019, Slektsforskning med DNA, som kan være et nyttig hjelpemiddel til genetisk slektsforskning.

I min kommentarartikkel om Genealogen nr. 2, 2022, skrev jeg om serien med Benkestokk-artikler av Bjarne Hollund:

Føljetongen om Benkestokkene fortsetter. Bjarne Hollund hadde på trykk en artikkelserie om mulige  Benkestokker i Hordaland i Genealogen (nr. 2/2020 og nr. 1 og 2/2021). I påfølgende utgave, nr. 1/2022, slo Lars Løberg og Johan Marius Setsaas beina under Hollunds hypoteser, og i samme nummer fikk Hollund muligheten til en samtidig imøtegåelse. Tospannet Løberg/Setsaas' bidrag i herværende utgave er altså en kritisk kommentar til Hollunds imøtegåelsesartikkel. Og dermed er kanskje siste ord sagt i saken for en stund?

Jeg har en viss forståelse for at Bjarne Hollund, som har fått hard medfart for sin artikkelserie, følte behovet for en oppfølgingskommentar, noe han nå har gitt gjennom artikkelen Benkestokker i Hordaland – sluttkommentar. Han mener fortsatt at konklusjonene i artiklene står seg godt. Det er selvsagt nyttig med slike diskusjoner, men jeg lurer på om man nå har kommet til veis ende i utvekslingen. Selv har jeg falt av for lengst (det forteller kanskje mest om meg?), det er nesten slik at jeg ønsker meg en oppsummeringsartikkel. Men bare nesten. Det gjenstår å se om Løberg og Setsaas føler seg fristet til å svare enda en gang, eller om de føler de har sagt det som bør sies i debatten.

Jeg har bidratt med både korrekturlesing og to bokanmeldelser i herværende utgave. Da jeg startet som korrekturleser for mange, mange år siden var vi tre som leste korrektur. Nå har jeg vært alene om jobben en stund. Jeg skulle ønske jeg hadde selskap av i hvert fall én person til, for selv om jeg har en viss erfaring som korrekturleser også i jobbsammenheng, er jeg jo langt fra ufeilbarlig. Jeg får ikke med meg alt. Et par øyne til vil gjøre bladet enda bedre. Når det gjelder Genealogen nr. 1, 2023, så har jeg ikke lest korrektur på alle deler av bladet. Mine to bokanmeldelser kom til etterpå. Det er nesten så jeg ikke tør å lese gjennom anmeldelsene nå når de står på trykk av frykt for skrivefeil, for det er jo som kjent lettere å se andres feil enn sine egne. De to bokanmeldelsene kan tyde på at jeg mangler litt fantasi, for titlene starter jo begge med «Ny bok om ...». Nå var egentlig anmeldelsen av Salvesen-boken ment for forrige utgave, men jeg hadde kanskje justert den ene tittelen hvis jeg hadde sett på artiklene én gang til. Men så veldig viktig er det kanskje ikke. 

I seksjonen foreningsstoff får leserne denne gangen – foruten årsmøteinnkallingen – årsregnskapet for 2022, tilhørende revisjonsberetning samt referater fra foreningens møter i 2023. Det betyr at årsberetningen ikke er inkludert og ventelig vil bli sendt medlemmene per e-post en gang før årsmøtet, akkurat som i fjor. Det viktigste er jo at man får tilgang til årsberetningen før årsmøtet, men av notoritetshensyn hadde jeg sett fordelen av at årsberetningen også kom på trykk, i dette tilfellet i neste utgave. E-poster varer ikke nødvendigvis evig – tenk bare på alle som har opplevd at mange år med e-postarkiv har forduftet etter at Telenor nylig gjorde en «oppgradering». Når årsberetningen kommer på trykk er det lettere å finne tilbake til den i ettertid.

Short English summary: The article covers the latest issue of Genealogen, the bi-annual newsletter of the Norwegian Genealogical Society. 

Oppdatert fredag 26. mai 2023 kl. 11.15 (tyrkleif i siste avsnitt rettet opp).

UK: The Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla

King Charles III of the United Kingdom, who succeeded to the throne on 8 September 2022 following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, was crowned in Westminster Abbey yesterday, 6 May 2023, together with his wife Queen Camilla.

It goes without saying that the coronation yesterday was a really historic event, and a first-timer for the majority of the British people, if not the world. After all it was 70 years since the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. It could very well be the last coronation – one should not take for granted that the Prince of Wales in due time will decide to be crowned – it is an expensive, formally superfluous and old-fashioned ceremony. The political situation at the time might dictate the then King William to abandon the tradition. Time will show.

The above sounds very negative, and that was not my intention. All in all I am very happy to be able to witness such a historic event, a wonderful celebration and manifestation of the monarchy and of the new king. I am just pointing out that the ceremony is far from a necessity and I can understand some of the criticism against it.

I wish I were in London for the coronation – it would have been wonderful to see the processions and balcony scene with my own eyes and to suck in the atmosphare. But my back would not allow me to stand for so many hours, and even if I could afford to travel to London, I have already made several large trips this year, among others to Egypt and the United States – and have more trips planned this year, including another trip to the United States. So I decided to stay home.

Watching the events on TV certainly has its advantages – you get a great view of everything. I turned on the television about two hours before the ceremony started in Westminster Abbey at 11 a.m. local time, and I kept on until BBC stopped the broadcast sometime after the king, queen and the rest of the royal family had greeted the people from the Buckingham Palace balcony. 

The United Kingdom certainly know how to do pomp and circumstance! It was a very impressive «show» (if I am allowed to use such an expression!), and at times a very moving church ceremony. We could enjoy the King's procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster in the State Carriage, the order of service itself with King Charles taking the oaths –  to govern the peoples with justice and mercy, and to uphold the Churches established by law in the United Kingdom – the anointing, the investiture and crowning, the enthroning and homage, the coronation of Queen Camilla and the closing of the service with the singing of the national anthem – God save the King! And on the way out the coronation procession leaving the abbey to music including Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March no. 4! You will find more details at the official website of Westminster Abbey, including the Order of Service.

For the record, the service was conducted by the Archbishop of Cambridge, Justin Welby, supported by the Dean of Westminster, David Hoyle. The readings were given by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (Colossians 1: 9-20) and the Bishop of London and Dean of His Majesty's Chapels Royal, Dame Sarah Mullally (Luke 4: 16-21).

After the service we could watch the Coronation Procession back to Buckingham Palace again. The procession was much larger in scale compared to the King's Procession and included Armed Forces from across the Commonwealth and the British Overseas Territories, and all services of the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom, alongside The Sovereign’s Bodyguard and Royal Watermen. It was wonderful to see Princess Anne, the Princes Royal on horse behind the carriage!

The king and queen upon arrival received the royal salute in the garden of Buckingham Palace before heading for the balcony to greet the people, joined by most members of the royal family, the so-called working royals present and future. Then the royal family and invited guests went to have lunch. The celebrations continued today with garden and street parties and a concert at Windsor Castle tonight.

Audiences ahead of the Coronation

In the days ahead of the coronation King Charles received Realm prime ministers and Indigenous leaders ahead of the Coronation. These included on Tuesday 2 May Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese and on Wednesday 3 May Prime Minister of New Zealand Christopher Hipkins. 

On Thursday 4 May the king hosted an audience with Canadian Indigenous Leaders, RoseAnne Archibald (National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations), Natan Obed (President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami) and Cassidy Caron (President of the Métis National Council), in addition to Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada. He also hosted an audience with The King of The Ashanti’s, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and Lady Julia Osei Tutu. The King also received in audience the indigenous elder, Uyunkar Domingo Peas (Spokesperson for the Sacred Headwaters of the Amazon), Marc Palahi (Chair of the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance) and Atossa Soltani (Director of Global Strategy, Sacred Headwaters of the Amazon).

List of guests at Westminster Abbey

The king and queen held a reception on Friday 5 May at Buckingham palace for many of the guests who were to attend the service at Westminster Abbey on Saturday. Most of the foregn royals present for the service were also at the reception, based on the many photos published in various newspapers and other media, with a few exceptions. King Philippe of the Belgians was, for instance, not with Queen Mathilde on Friday, instead their daughter Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant turned up. And the Netherlands were represented by Princess Beatrix and Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange.

I have compiled a list of the most prominent royals and dignitaries attending the service at Westminster Abbey. The list is based what I managed to spot on TV as well as on newspaper reports, statements from the various royal courts, photos from various news agencies in social media etc. I have probably missed a few. And I might include people who were not present, because there have been contradictary reports as well. In one artice The Telegraph for instance claimed that the king and queen of Norway would be present, but the Norwegian Royal House was in fact represented by Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit. If you find names that should not be on the list, please tell! 

From Buckingham Palace's press release we learn that:

The Congregation at Westminster Abbey for the Coronation Service

Published 01 May 2023

The Coronation Service of Their Majesties The King and The Queen Consort at Westminster Abbey will be attended by a congregation of more than 2,200 people. Guests attending will include Members of the Royal Family, as well as international representatives from 203 countries, including approximately 100 Heads of State, alongside community and charity champions.

The congregation will include:

• Members of the Royal Family
• Family members and friends of Their Majesties
• Members of Foreign Royal Families
• Heads of State and Foreign Ministers
• Governors-General and Realm Prime Ministers
• Members of the Government, Parliament and Devolved Administrations, including former Prime Ministers
• Lord-Lieutenants and Lord Provosts
• Representatives from the Church and other faiths
• Representatives from the Defence Services, including serving and former Armed Forces personnel
• Representatives from The King’s patronages, including The Prince’s Trust and The Prince’s Foundation
• Members of the Diplomatic Corps
• Public Service organisations and the emergency services
• Representatives from The Queen Consort’s patronages
• Representatives from the Law
• Nobel Prize Winners
• British Empire Medal recipients
• Representatives from the Realms nominated by the High Commissions

In addition to the guests seated in the Abbey, 400 young people representing charitable organisations nominated by The King and The Queen Consort and the UK Government, will have the opportunity to watch the Coronation Service and Processions from inside St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey, by kind permission of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster.

Both news media and social media have ever since the coronation date was made public in October 2022 heavily reported and discussed who were to be invited or not invited (or should not at all be invited!)

The Duke of Sussex (Prince Harry) for instance, arrived on Friday and was present at the coronation, but not seated among the members of the British royal family. He was allegedly invited to the lunch at Buckingham Palace (kind of peace offer?), but decided instead to go directly to Heathrow to fly home to Los Angeles. After all, his son Prince Archie celebrated his 4th birthday the same day. Prince Harry's  wife the Duchess of Sussex decided to stay behind in Los Angeles. She would most likely not have received a warm welcome if she had turned up, but I am sorry that she didn't. It was a life-time event after all, and even if it doesn't look so promising at present, it could have been a good opportunity to work on improving her and her husband's relations with the royal family. If the whole family had traveled to London, Alfie's birthday could have been celebrated after the lunch at Buckingham Palace, not in Los Angeles close to Archie's bedtime. Oh well. It is all just sad.

The Duke of York (Prince Andrew) was in the abbey, but not on the balcony. He is not a working royal anylonger, due to circumstances we all know.I have no idea if he was present at the lunch or not. His former wife Sarah, Duchess of York was not invited. But Queen Camilla's former husband Andrew Parker Bowles was. They are still on good terms, thankfully. All in all, the congregation at Westminster Abbey included a much larger number of «ordinary people» compared to in 1953. Some have complained that many British royal descendants were not invited, while members of the Duchess of Cambridge's Middleton family were, and some have complained that too few peers/nobles were present. But "everyone" could not be invited like in 1953 when 8000 people were present. And it would not look good if the congregation was dominated by royals and nobles. Oh well, it is impossible to suit everyone. I think all in all the list mentioned in the press release makes sense. An interesting break with tradition, however, was all the crowned heads being present this time. 

The British Royal Family (and relations)

• The Prince and Princess of Wales (William and Catherine)
• Prince George of Wales 
• Princess Charlotte of Wales 
• Prince Louis of Wales
• The Duke of Sussex (Prince Harry)
• The Princess Royal (Princes Anne) and Sir Timothy Laurence
• Peter Phillips
• Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall
• The Duke of York (Prince Andrew)
• Princess Beatrice of York and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi
• Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank
• The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh (Prince Edward and his wife Sophe)
• James Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Wessex
• Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor
• The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester
• Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster
• Lady Davina Windsor
• Lady Rose Gilman
• The Duke and Duchess of Kent
• George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews
• Lady Helen Taylor
• Lord Nicholas Windsor
• Princess Alexandra, the Honourable Lady Ogilvy
• Prince and Princess Michael of Kent
• Lord Frederick Windsor and Sophie Winkleman
• Lady Gabriella Kingston and Thomas Kingston
• Lady Sarah Chatto and Daniel Chatto
• Samuel Chatto
• Arthur Chatto
• David Armstrong Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon
• Charles Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley
• Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones

Prince George was one of King Charles's Pages of Honourm, together with Lord Oliver Cholmondeley, Nicholas Barclay, and Ralph Tollemache, the last three are the sons of the king's friends. Queen Camilla's Pages of Honour were her three grandsons, Gus and Louis Lopes, and Freddy Parker Bowles, as well as her great-nephew, Arthur Elliot. Ladies in Attendance were her younger sister Annabel Eliot and the Marchioness of Lansdowne.

Royal Europe

Current royal and princely families

• King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians
• Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
• Hereditary Prince Alois and Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein
• Grand-Duke Henri of Luxembourg and Grand-Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg
• Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco
• King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands
• Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway
• King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain
• King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden

Former royal families

• Margrave Bernhard and Margravine Stephanie of Baden
• King Simeon II and Queen Margarita of the Bulgarians
• Queen Anne Marie of the Hellenes
• Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece
• Landgrave Heinrich Donatus and Landgravine Floria of Hesse
• Prince Philipp and Princess Saskia of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
• Princess Margareta, The Custodian of the Romanian Crown Margareta and Radu Duda (Prince Radu)
• Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia

Non-European royals

• Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II, Asantehene of Asante and Otumfuo-Yere (Princess Consort) Julia Osei Tutu
• King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain (other sources state the Crown Prince «only»
• The Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King) of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and the  Druk Gyaltsuen (Dragon Queen) of Bhutan, Jetsun Pema
• The Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saifuddien III
• Crown Prince Fumihito (Akishino) and Crown Princess Kiko of Japan
• King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan
• Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Crown Prince of Kuwait
• King Letsie III and Queen Masenate of Lesotho
• Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham Al Said of Oman
• The Yang di Pertuan Agong (King) (Abdullah of Pahang) and The Raja Permaisuri Agong (Queen) of Malaysia (Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah)
• The Māori King. Tūheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero VII and The Makau Ariki (Queen Consort) Te Atawhai 
• Princess Lalla Meryem of Morocco
• The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Sheikha Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suhaim Al-Thani
• Prince Turki bin Mohammad bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz of Saudi-Arabia
• King Mswati III of eSwatini and Inkhosikati LaMbikiza
• King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) and Queen Suthida of Thailand
• King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipa'u of Tonga
• Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court.

Some British peers and others

• The Duke of Norfolk, the Earl Marshal
• The Marquess of Cholmondeley
• The Lord Great Chamberlain, the 7th Baron Carrington
• Lord True, Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
• Baroness Smith of Basildon, leader of the opposition of the House of Lords
• Merlin Hay, the Earl of Errol
• Simon Abney-Hastings, the Earl of Loudoun
• Alexander Henry Scrymgeour, the Earl of Dundee
• Delaval Thomas Harold Astley, the Baron Hastings
• Barons of the Cinque Ports

Dignitaries

United Kingdom

(Some, if not all, members of the government were together with their spouses, but as I didn't spot (or could recognize) most of them I will not mention them if I not 100 % certain of their presence.)

• Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister and his wife Akshata Murty
• Oliver Dowden, Deputy Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor
• James Cleverly, Foreign Secretary
• Suella Braverman, Home Secretary
• Ben Wallace, Defence Secretary
• Michelle Donelan, Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary
• Michael Gove, Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary
• Steve Barclay, Health Secretary
• Penny Mordaunt, Lord President of the Council and Leader of the Commons
• Kemi Badenoch, Business and Trade Secretary
• Therese Coffey, Environment Secretary
• Mel Stride, Work and Pensions Secretary
• Gillian Keegan, Education Secretary
• Mark Harper, Transport Secretary
• Alex Chalk, Justice Secretary
• Lucy Frazer, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary
• Chris Heaton-Harris, Northern Ireland Secretary
• Alister Jack, Scotland Secretary
• David T C Davies, Wales Secretary
• Sir Keir Starmer, Labour leader
• Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons
• Humza Yousaf, First Minister of Scotland
• Mark Drakeford, First Minister of Wales
• Michelle O'Neill, Vice President of Sinn Féin
• Former prime minister Liz Truss and her husband Christopher Fraser
• Former prime minister Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie Johnson
• Former prime minister Theresa May and her husband Sir Philip May
• Former prime minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha Cameron
• Former prime minister Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah Brown
• Former prime minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie Blair
• Former prime minister John Major (came alone, his wife was not feeling well, according to BBC)
• The Lord Mayor of London
• Joseph Morrow, the Lord Lyon King of Arms
• Antonia Romeo, Clerk of the Crown in Chancery

Dignitaries from outside United Kingdom

Only a few are listed here, all confirmed by their official websites and/or national news agencies:

• The Governor General, David Hurley, and his wife Linda Hurley
• The Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, and his wife Jodie Haydon
• The State Governors of Australia
• The Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon, and her husband Whit Fraser
• The prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau
• Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald (Canada)
• President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami Natan Obed (Canada)
• President of the Metis National Council Cassidy Caron (Canada)
• The Governor General of New Zealand, Cindy Kiro
• The Prime minister of New Zealand, Christopher Hipkins
• Other Governors General.
• The President of Czechia, Petr Pavel and his wife Eva Pavlová
• The President of France, Emmnanuel Macron of France and his wife Brigitte Macron
• The President of Germany, Franz-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender
• The President of Poland, Andrzej Duda and his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda
• First Lady Dr. Jill Biden of the USA together with Finnegan Biden (granddaughter of President Joe Biden)
• The Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin (allegedly the first time the Vatican has been represented at a British coronation)
• EU: The President of the European Council), Charles Michel, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola
• NATO: General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg

The Norwegian Royal Court. Annual Report 2022

The Norwegian Royal Court's annual report for 2022 was published on 13 April 2023. As I wrote last year, the annual report is a great compensation for the lack of the former royal yearbooks. You get a very good summary of the activities of the royal family during the year in question.

From the article «Annual Reports» at the official website:

Annual report for 2022

The celebration of the eighteenth birthday of Her Royal Highness Princess Ingrid Alexandra was the most important event for the Royal House of Norway and the Royal Court in 2022. The Princess will one day assume the role as the Norwegian Head of State. In connection with attaining the age of majority, the Princess visited the Storting, the Government and the Supreme Court. She also attended a meeting of the Council of State at the Royal Palace as an observer. Originally scheduled for January, the celebration was postponed until June due to the pandemic. The Princess was celebrated by the Government at Deichman library, and at a gala dinner at the Royal Palace hosted by Their Majesties The King and Queen.

Official engagements

When Norway reopened after the pandemic, the members of the Royal House once again had the opportunity to meet people in person across the country, and in 2022 they paid visits to 10 counties and 37 municipalities. In addition, they participated in several hundred official events and hosted a variety of events at the Royal Palace and Skaugum. They were also able to resume their international travel on behalf of Norway, and paid visits to Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland, the US, Italy and Kenya, among others. Guided tours of the Royal Palace were reinstituted, and more than 43 000 people visited the Palace in the course of the eight-week period. In addition, more than 20 000 people visited the two exhibitions at the Queen Sonja Art Stable, “The King’s Cars” and “Open Doors”.

The Royal House of Norway encompasses the King and Queen, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, and Princess Ingrid Alexandra. In addition, Princess Astrid, Mrs Ferner carries out certain official duties. In November 2022, Princess Märtha Louise, in consultation with The King and close family members, decided that she will not carry out official duties for the Royal House at the present time. This is intended to draw a line that more clearly separates her commercial activity from her role as a member of the Royal Family.

In 2022, the Royal House of Norway, too, dealt with the impact of the crises and the geopolitical situation that Europe and the world have been contending with. Throughout the year, members of the Royal House have taken part in events and met people who are directly affected by the war in Ukraine.  When the Oslo Pride Celebration was subject to an act of terrorism in June, the members of the Royal House took part in the memorial services and commemorative activities.

The war and the crises in Europe have also had ramifications for Norway, and thus on the activities of the Royal Court. Rising prices, especially the price of electricity, have changed the anticipated cost levels. Measures implemented to reduce energy consumption at the Royal Palace by roughly ten per cent during the winter, combined with re-ordering of priorities and austerity measures have provided the funding needed to cover the extra expenses incurred in 2022.

The security project

Over the course of the past years, an extensive security project has been carried out at the Royal Palace and the other Royal residences. The project primarily involves enhancing the security of the properties and surrounding park areas. A major portion of the project activity was completed in 2022, and will be finalised during 2023. The activity has been somewhat delayed, and in 2022 the cost framework was adjusted upwards in line with new prognoses. In the revised national budget, the project’s cost framework was increased to NOK 800 million, and all the remaining activities will be carried out using the allocations provided under the national budget.

Annual accounts

The accounts for the Civil List showed a surplus of NOK 63.6 million in relation to the 2022 allocation. The surplus is due to allocations to the security project that will not be disbursed and charged to expenses until 2023. The 2022 accounts for the security project at the Royal Palace and the other Royal residences therefore show a surplus of NOK 92.7 million. The management accounts for the Royal Court show a deficit of NOK 27.17 million. This is largely due to the transfer of NOK 31 million from the Royal Court’s operating reserve to the security project to cover the increase in the cost framework for the project.

The annual report and accounts of the Royal Court for 2022 have been submitted to the Presidium of the Storting, the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, and the Office of the Auditor General of Norway.

Besides the topics mentioned above, the readers can among others enjoy the new Lord Chamberlain's commentary as well as articles about the royal court, the Royal House's cultural outreach activities, audiences, a more environmentally friendly car park, apprentices at the Royal Court, royal orders and medals.

The Lord Chamberlain, Olav Heian-Engdal, replaced Gry Mølleskog in 2022.

The royal family had 769 engagements («oppdrag») in 2022, compared to 635 in 2021. The numbers show that the world has become «more normal» again after the pandemic. In 2019 the number was 723, compared to only 381 in 2020.

The newspapers have written about the annual report, and the focus is of course mostly on the costs. Nettavisen points among others out out that the court paid NOK 1,067,944 for the celebrations of Princess Ingrid Alexandra's 18th birthday. The Government's dinner for the princess cost NOK 3,7 mill. 

But I would rather like to focus on orders and medals! 17 people were awarded the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 2022, which was exactly the same number as in 2021. Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Daniel of Sweden and former Lord Chamberlain Gry Mølleskog all received the Grand Cross (in 2021 the latter was, by the way, awarded the Commander with star). Besides the class of Grand Cross, 4 people became Commanders of the Order of St. Olav, while 10 people became Knights 1st class. The Order of St. Olav is acording to the official website «a reward for distinguished services rendered to Norway and mankind».

34 people received the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit in 2022, all classes combined, compared to 56 in 2021, 89 in 2020 and 57 in 2019. The Order of Merit «is conferred on foreign and Norwegian nationals as a reward for their outstanding service in the interest of Norway». As usual most of the recipients were dilomats – ambassadors or honorary consuls. Two of the exceptions were the current Lord Chamberlain Olav Heian-Engdal, and the Swedish vaccine coordinator Richard Bergström, who became a Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit.

The Medal of St. Olav is conferred as «a reward for services in advancing knowledge of Norway abroad and for strengthening the bonds between expatriate Norwegians and their descendants and their country of residence». In 2022 two people received the medal – managing director Anne Margrethe Hovland Pye, Great Britain, and shipowner Ragnar Meyer-Knutsen, USA – compared to none in 2021.

53 people received the King's Medal of Merit, compared to 47 people in 2021 and 46 in 2020. The medal is conferred as «a reward for service in the fields of art, science and industry and for outstanding public service».

Finally, the King's Commemorative Medal, which is conferred for particularly meritorious service to the king, was awarded to 9 people in 2022, compared to 32 people in 2021 and 9 people in 2020. 

Previous articles on the subject of the Norwegian Royal Court's annual report:

• 2021 (published 4 May 2022)
• 2016 (published 24 April 2017)
• 2014 (published 30 March 2015)
• 2013 (published 16 April 2014) 
• 2012 (published 17 April 2013)  
• 2011 (published 11 April 2012)  
• 2010 (published 12 April 2011)

Downloads of the annual reports for 2005 to 2022 can be found here.

Front cover: © 2022 Kimm Saatvedt/The Norwegian Royal Court.