Royal golden wedding in Norway

King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway celebrated their 50th wedding anniversery today. The golden wedding was among others marked by a special service in Oslo domkirke (Oslo Cathedral), the same church were they were married in 1968.

It is not easy to find photos from the 1968 wedding which are not copyrighted. But here is one photo (from a distance!) when the bridal couple came out of the church after the ceremony. Photo: Unknown/Oslo Museum (Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Norway (CC BY-SA 3.0 NO)).

In attendance were, besides the happy couple, also Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Sverre Magnus, Princess Märtha Louise, Maud Angelica Behn, Leah Isadora  Behn, Emma Tallulah Behn and Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner. Representatives of the official Norway, including the government, members of the court and staff as well as family and friends were also present. The king and queen had also invited 200 people on a first come, first served basis to attend. Just a day after the invitation was announced, more than 3500 people had shown their interest.

The ceremony was officiated by Bishop Kari Veiteberg. Bible texts were read by Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Maud Angelica Behn and Princess Märtha Louise.

I took some time off work to walk down to Karl Johans gate, the main street of Oslo, to see king and queen driving by on their way to the cathedral. The other members of the royal family drove in closed cars a few minutes before Their Majesties.

All four photos: © 2018 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth.  

See more photos at Kongehuset.no. Following the church service, the members of the royal family made a short appearance on the Palace balcony. The celebrations continue tonight with a family dinner. About 60 people have been invited.