Norway: A project to build a sarcophagus for King Harald and Queen Sonja has been started

© 2019 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth 

In the Norwegian government's proposal for the state budget 2025, which was presented today, the government has proposed to allocate NOK 20 million in project funds for the acquisition of a sarcophagus. The acquisition is carried out by the Royal Court.

The sacrophagus will be used as the final resting place for the king and queen in The Royal Mausoleum at Akershus Palace. Snøhetta, which among others was beind the Opera House in Oslo, has been chosen to design the sarcophagus. According to today's press release from the Royal Court, the status of the project is that the work "to design the sarcophagus has begun in an early phase".

The mausoleum was inaugurated in 1949 and includes the double sarcophaguses of King Haakon and Queen Maud (in white marble, see the photo above) and King Olav V and Crown Princess Märtha (in dark green marble). The coffin of Queen Maud was after her funeral kept at Akershus, where it waited for the construction of the mausoleum, which is a additio to the Akershus Castle Church. Due to the war the work was stopped and was not finished before 1948. The work on the sacropahgus was, however, not finished before the year after. In December 1949 Queen Maud's coffin was brought from the crypt of Gamle Aker Church, where it had been kept since Apri 1940, to Akershus Castle.  

For more details (in Norwegian) and photos of the mausoleum please read the article "Det kongelige mausoleum" at Slektshistoriewiki (the Norwegian genealogy wiki).

Norway: The Royal House reorganized

The King of Norway has decided to change the way the Royal Family has been categorized, as shown at the official website today.

Earlier there were two categories – the Royal House and the Royal Family:

The Royal Family

The Royal House of Norway belongs to the House of Glücksburg. The members of the Norwegian Royal House are Their Majesties King Harald and Queen Sonja and Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Princess Ingrid Alexandra.

The members of the Royal Family are in addition the Crown Prince and Crown Princess’s other children, His Highness Prince Sverre Magnus and Mr Marius Borg Høiby; Her Highness Princess Märtha Louise, Miss Maud Angelica Behn, Miss Leah Isadora Behn, Miss Emma Tallulah Behn and Her Highness Princess Astrid, Mrs Ferner. 

As of today we can read:*

The Royal House of Norway

The Royal House of Norway belongs to the House of Glücksburg. The members of the Norwegian Royal House are Their Majesties King Harald and Queen Sonja and Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Princess Ingrid Alexandra. 

[...] 

Other royals

In addition to the members of the Royal House, HH Prince Sverre Magnus, HH Princess Märtha Louise, and HH Princess Astrid also hold royal titles.

* See also the subpage about the "Other royals".

An article on the subject in English can be read at Newsinenglish.no today. The Head of Communication at the Royal Court, Guri Varpe, has explained the changes to VG.no today: "The changes on Kongehuset.no have been made to clarify who represents the royal house, as well as who the other royals are. This is in line with current definitions of the royal house and its members"

I think it is obvious to conclude that the changes have come after the many discussions concerning Princess Märtha Louise's activities, including the claims that she has used her title for commercial gains, and her many violations of the agreement made in 2022 where she promised to differentiate more clearly between her own activities and her relationship to the Royal House of Norway, which among others meant that she would "not employ the title of Princess or refer to members of the Royal House in their social media channels, in media productions or in connection with other commercial activities". 

The changes also means among others that Crown Princess Mette-Marit's son Marius Borg Høiby, who last month was charged with among others domestic violence, has also ceased to be a member of the royal family.

I think it was a good idea to change the categories, but I would have preferred if the category "royal family" had been continued, but that it should only include those with titles. There is no reason to get rid of the the category altogether. Of course the man in the street will still use it even if not used by the Royal Court.

The changes will, for the record, have no effect on the line of succession. Many people have demanded that Princess Märtha Louise should lose her title, but it doesn't seem very likely as of now.

The King and Crown Prince have constitutional roles to play and together with their spouses belong to the Royal House, together with Princess Ingrid Alexandra, who is 2nd in line and will one day inherit the throne. In other words, those styled Majesty or Royal Highness. They are also exempted from paying taxes, cf. the Norwegian taxation act section 2-30, while other family members have to pay taxes just like other citizens.

Sweden: Princess Sofia is pregnant

The Swedish Royal Court announced today that Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia are expecting their fourth child and that the due date is some time in February 2025.

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia are expecting a child

Their Royal Highnesses Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia are delighted to announce that The Princess is expecting their fourth child.

Princess Sofia is feeling well, and the birth is expected to take place in February 2025. During the autumn, no changes in the public schedule of Princess Sofia are planned.

The princely couple has three boys – Prince Alexander, b. 2016, Prince Gabriel, b. 2017 and Prince Julian, b. 2021. The future prince or princess will become 8th in the line of succession to the Swedish throne, and will become the king and queen's 9th grandchild. He or she will become a member of the Swedish Royal Family only and not of the Royal House, following the changes made in October 2019.

Norway: Princess Märtha Louise married to Durek Verrett

The marriage took place on Saturday 31 August 2024 at Vinjevollen (Vinje farm), Geiranger, Norway between Princess Märtha Louise, b. Oslo 22 September 1971, the daughter and eldest child of of King Harald V and Queen Sonja, née Haraldsen, and Durek David Verrett, formerly Derek David Verrett (name change in 2014), b. Sacramento, California 17 November 1974, son of David Benjamin Verrett and Sheila G. Farmer (also called Veruschka Urquhart – Farmer was her mother's name, Urquhart her father's adoped name). 

The engagement was announced on 7 June 2022.

The bride was escorted down the aisle by her eldest daughter from her first marriage, Maud Angelica Behn. The ceremony was officiated by vicar Margit Lovise Holte, using the wedding liturgy of the Church Norway. Holte is a personal friend of the bride. Pastor Michael Beckwith also gave a greeting during the ceremony. 

350 people were invited to the wedding. Among the guests were:

Norway

• HM King Harald V
• HM Queen Sonja
• HRH Crown Prince Haakon 
• HRH Crown Princess Mette-Marit 
• HRH Princess Ingrid Alexandra 
• Prince Sverre Magnus 
• Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner
• Maud Angelica Behn
• Leah Isadora Behn
• Emma Tallulah Behn

Sweden

• HRH Crown Princess Victoria 
• HRH Prince Daniel
• HRH Prince Carl Philip 
• HRH Prince Sofia

The Netherlands

• HRH Prince Constantijn 
• HRH Princess Laurentien

From the groom's family:

• Angelina Verrett-Byrne (sister), her husband Mike Byrne and their children Lukas Byrne and Alexandria Byrne
• Brandon Clarke (half-brother) and his wife Kim
• Maggie Alava (niece?), her husband Bryan Marks and their daughter Ava

Other guests included Prince Sverre Magnus' girl-friend Amalia Giæver Macleod, the children of the late Princess Ragnhild, Mrs. Lorentzen and Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner and most of their partners.

Among the sources

• Bryllup i Geiranger, Kongehuset.no 26 August 2024
• Marius Borg Høiby deltar ikke i bryllupet i Geiranger, VG.no 26 August 2024
• Kronprinsesse Victoria og prins Daniel deltar i prinsesse Märtha Louises bryllup, VG.no 27 August 2024
• Prinsessebryllupet: Disse kommer fra Dureks nærmeste familie, VG.no 28 August 2024
• Prins Sverre Magnus: Hånd i hånd med Amalie, Dagbladet.no 30 August 2024
• Salsa-festen i gang i Geiranger, Nrk.no 30 August 2024
• Prins Constantijn (54) og prinsesse Laurentien (58) av Nederland – Båndet er sterkt, Dagbladet.no 31 August 2024
• Nå er prinsesse Märtha Louise (52) og Durek Verrett (49) gift, VG.no 31 August 2024
• Trond Norén Isaksen - historiker/historian (official Facebook page) 1 September 2024

Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskrift, bind XLVII, hefte 2

Tidlig i august kom endelig en ny utgave av Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskrift i posten. Tidsskriftet har vært svært etterlengtet. Det har gått over 2 1/2 år siden forrige utgave, og det er svært kritikkverdig uansett årsak. Medlemmene har rett og slett ikke fått det de har betalt for. Så er det bare å håpe at redaktørene nå kan få tidsskriftet på rett spor igjen med regulære utgivelser. 

I «Fra redaksjonen» forteller redaktørene litt om årsakene til forsinkelsene, for deretter å fremheve at herværende utgave har 100 % kvinneandel blant forfatterne. Det kommer også litt NST-historikk om de første kvinnelige bidragsyterne til tidsskriftet. Første kvinne ut var for øvrig «frøken» Mathilde Ambjørnsen (1859–1955) som bidro med artikkelen «Hvem var krigsraad Wilhelm Falcks forældre» i NST bind 2, 1930, s. 174. Artikkelen var på kun en halv side, men hun bidro med flere artikler utover 30-tallet. Det var for øvrig en fin artikkel om henne i Tønsbergs Blad i anledning 95-årsdagen i 1954. Ambjørnsen kom opprinnelig fra Melsomvik i Stokke (dagens Sandefjord kommune), bodde flere år i Oslo, men flyttet til Tønsberg i 1943. Hun bør nok bli viet en egen biografisk artikkel i Slektshistoriewiki etter hvert.

NST bind 47 hefte 2 inneholder følgende artikler:

• Vilborg Auður Ísleifsdóttir: «Otthe norske» og Det nye testamentet, s. 67–86.
• Cecilie Simon: Offiserslekten Winther – dens opphav og de første ledd av slekten i Norge, s. 87–144.

Jeg har ikke god nok oversikt over alt som er utgitt i NST tidligere til å si noe sikkert om hvor mange artikler som har omhandlet islandsk genealogi, men det må i hvert fall ha vært en stund siden. Jeg tillater meg å sitere prologen:

«I 1500-tallets historie har det alltid stått en stråleglans – til og med en religiløs glime – av ODD GOTTSKALKSSON († 1556) og hans oversettelse av Det nye testamentet til norrønt språk. Med denne bedriften ble Odd en avgjørende aktør i islandsk historie, ettersom kirken, landets mektigste utdanningsinstitusjon og forlegger, brukte dette språket og har siden banet veien for det som ble det offisielle språk på Island de siste århundrer. I denne artikkelen framsettes det verdslige spørsmål rundt formålet med denne oversettelsen og utgivelsen, fra hvilket miljø den kommer, hvem som kan ha finansiert den og hvem som var dens sannsynlige kjøpere.»

Vi får gjennom dette arbeidet servert genealogiske og personbiografiske detaljer (med forbindelser til Norge, selvsagt) og på side 82 er det også en oversiktstavle, «Biskopene på Hólar og Odd Gottskalksson», som bl.a. oppsummerer Odds norske slekt, og som er basert på forfatterens, Anton Espelands, Marko Lambergs og Jo Rune Ugulens arbeider.

Cecilie Simon bidro med en artikkel også i forrige utgave av NST. Denne gangen skriver hun om offiserslekten Winther. Det er flere Winther-slekter i Norge, og artikkelen omhandler slekten til Aalborg-fødte Lucas Jenssøn Winther (1691–1772), som kom til Norge som kaptein i Det akershusiske infanteriregiment i 1716. Vi blir underveis godt kjent med både Lucas og kona Anna Elisabeth Kock, barn og barnebarn, men også Winther-slekten i Ålborg er godt utredet, med detaljer om søsken, foreldre og besteforeldre og litt om oldeforeldrene, borgermester i Skagen, Niels Jensen (d. 1621/1624) og Karen Lauritsdatter Tversted, n. 1649–1661. Dette er så langt jeg kan se et solid stykke arbeid og en nokså «typisk» genealogisk NST-artikkel.

Jeg har bidratt med korrekturlesing og ser at det står igjen noen (i hvert fall for meg) irriterende småfeil i artikkelen om Odd Gottskalksson. Det skal være usagt om det er jeg som har oversett feilene og/eller om redaktørene har oversett noen av mine rettelser (jeg tar ikke bryderiet med å sjekke det jeg skannet og sendte av gårde). Uansett, det er bare å beklage. Jeg tror uansett ikke at feilene ødelegger lesegleden. Det var to fine artikler som jeg håper at NSTs lesere vil kose seg med, og så håper jeg å få tilsendt mer korrektur senere i høst.

Short English summary: This article covers issue 2, vol. XLVII (47), of Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskrift, the bi-annual periodical of the Norwegian Genealogical Society.

Royalty Digest Quarterly no. 2, 2024

The latest issue of Royalty Digest Quarterly - no. 2, 2024 – arrived in my mailbox on 4 July. It has been a busy summer, so I haven't much time to write a commentary until now.

The contents:

• Olivier Defrance. A Life Without Tenderness. Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma II, pp. 1–10.
• Martijn Arts: Sigismund and Charlotte Agnes of Prussia. From Palace to Nature, pp. 11–17.
• Elisabeth Jane Timms: Losing Ludwig, pp. 18–28.
• Bearn Bilker: The Princely House zu Wied – A Family Album, pp. 29–49.
• Coryne Hall: Little-Known ROYALS. Prince Christian of Schaumburg-Lippe, pp. 50–52.
• Stephen Bunford: The Pursuit of Pleasure - the Georgian Mistresses, pp. 53–62.
• The World Wide Web of Royalty, p. 64.

The main cover photo is of Schloss Monrepos near Neuwied, one of the palaces of the Wied family, while the inserted photo is of  Princess (Fürstin) Marie, née Princess of  Nassau-Weilberg (1825–1902), who was married to Prince Hermann (1814–1836–1864). They were 4xgreat-grandparents of the current head, Prince Maximilian, b. 1999, if I have done my maths correctly.

Ted Rosvall opens his Editor's Corner this way: "The Duke of Sussex is now definitely "Persona non Grata" within the British Royal Family. This is hardly a secret and every new scandal seems to confirm it. Not to mention his easily hurt, spoiled and scheming duchess. Without being too harsh, one must probably conclude that their place in the cold is more than well deserved."

Well, we certainly agree that the ducal couple are "Persona non Grata". But I don't think it is fair to put all the  blame on them. The king, his brother and the media also have a share in my opinion, even if the couple has made the situation much worse by their TV interview, book publication etc. after moving to the States. It is all a very sad story ...

I feel that I have learned a lot about Princess Marie Louise of the Bulgarians, née Princess of Bourbon-Parma (1870–1899), wife of Prince Ferdinand (1861–1887–1918–1948) by reading Oliever Defrance's article, which was written with the collaboration of Joseph van Loon and Damien Bilteryst. What a sad marriage and what a selfish husband ...

Prince Sigismund (1896–1978), the second son of Prince Heinrich of Prussia (1862–1929) and a nephew of Emperor Wilhelm II, had an interesting life as a farmer in Guatemala and later in Costa Rica, together with his wife Princess Charlotte Agnes, née Princess of Saxe-Altenburg (1899–1989). I have read about them before, but it was a nice "return visit".

The article about king Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845–1886) by Elisabeth Jane Timms is based among others on the diary of Archduchess Marie Valerie (1868–1924), whose mother was Empress Elisabeth "Sissi" of Austria, née Duchess in Bavaria (1837–1898).

The main article of this issue is of course Bearn Bilker's Family Album of the House of Wied. The article follows the same pattern as previous family albums – a short introduction followed by a large collection of photos of various family members and then finally a genealogical table. Bilker could perhaps have mentioned Prince Wilhelm of Wied (1876–1945), who reigned as Prince (Mbret) of Albania for a short period in 1914, but at least it is mentioned in the genealogy (provided by Ted Rosvall, I gather?).

Prince Christian of Schaumburg-Lippe (1898–1974) was certainly not among the best-known members of royal Europe, and you would have to be very interested in royal history to know much about him these days. He was the son of Prince Friedrich (1868–1945), head of the Náchod branch, and Princess Louise of Denmark (1875–1906), the eldest daughter of Crown Prince, later King Frederik VIII) of Denmark (1843–1906–1912). Prince Christian, a first cousin of among others King Frederik IX of Denmark (1899–1947–1972) and King Olav V of Norway (1903–1957–1991), married his first cousin Princess Feodora of Denmark (1910–1975), eldest daughter of Prince Harald (1876–1949). Prince Christian and Princess Feodora's second son was the notorious Prince Waldemar (1940–2020), who caused so headlines of the years for the wrong reasons ...

When Stephen Bunford writes about "the Georgian Mistresses" he refers to the various Kings named George (of Hannover and the United Kingdom), but if you read the headline fast without thinking too much, you could easily wonder if the article was about mistresses from Georgia, and that would have made it more eccentric, wouldn't it?! Bunford doesn't hide the truth about King George IV: "[He] was an egotistical, romantic, dramatic, foolhardy, untruthful, narcistic, self-interested, self-absorbed sybarite." If you want to see the full list of George's over 70 known and alleged mistresses (and children) you should see Anthony Camp's website https://anthonyjcamp.com/pages/anthony-j-camp-nos-1-29.

Finally, the column The World Wide Web of Royalty this time brings you genealogical news of Hohenlohe-Öhringen, Lippe-Weissenfels, Schleswig-Holstein, Austria and Bavaria.

Information about Royalty Digest Quarterly can be found at its editor's website Royalbooks.se. See earlier presentations of RDQ here. See also its Facebook page. 

This article was last time updated on Tuesday 20 August 2024 at 21:20 (a link was corrected).

Gjallarhorn nr. 74 (juni 2024)

Siste utgave av Gjallarhorn (nr. 74, juni 2024) kom som tittelbladet antyder ut i juni i år, men det har vært en travel sommer, så jeg har ikke fått så mye tid til blogging. Men nå skal jeg i hvert fall forsøke meg på flere artikler i nærmeste fremtid.

Det første som slår meg er tykkelsen på bladet. Sikkert ikke tykkere enn sist, men likevel, det er snakk om 68 A4-sider, og selv om man trekker fra forsiden og baksiden samt innholdsfortegnelse og lagsinformasjon på side 3, er det fortsatt mange sider med genealogiske artikler og medlemsstoff. Her er det valuta for pengene. Medlemskontingent for Vestfold Slektshistorielag og Buskerud Slektshistorielag, som sammen utgir medlemsbladet, er på hhv. kr 350 og kr 300. Akkurat denne forskjellen er kanskje litt pussig, men det er jo snakk om to selvstendige slektshistoriske foreninger, og det kan godt hende at utgiftene til slektssenteret på Nauen krever et større budsjett enn for Buskerud. Men akkurat dette har jeg ikke nok kunnskap om.

Uansett, her er innholdsfortegnelsen:

• Svein Åge Wærhaug-Mathisen: Leder, s. 2.
• Siri Lind Johannessen: Ole Christian Olsen Nauen 1939–2024 [nekrolog], s. 4.
• Torbjørn Steen-Karlsen: Ikke ødelegg eller kast bildene deres, s. 5.
• Kristina H. Fonn. Tuberkulose – før og nå, s. 6–13.
• Torbjørn Steen-Karlsen: Isak Davidsen Rakkevikens slekt, s. 14–21.
• Torgrim Redalen: Sommerhilsen fra Leder i Buskerud Slektshistorielag, s. 21.
• Torbjørn Steen-Karlsen: Slekten Teesen – Theesen – Tesen – Thesen – Teisen – Theisen, s. 22–31.
• Slekten Krog i Borre, s. 29–31 [underoverskrift til ovennevnte]
• Torbjørn Steen-Karlsen: Torp-Stålerød i Andebu del 1, s. 32–48.
• Torbjørn Steen-Karlsen: Navnet Jeppe, men ikke på Bjerget, s. 50–51.
• Svein-Åge Wærhaug-Mathisen: Slekten Brath/Bratt/Bradt/Bratte fra Kongsberg, s. 51–52.
• Torbjørn Steen-Karlsen: Jon og Ingri på Skog i Våle, bl.a. besteforeldre til Arne Eik og Jørgen Røre i Borre og Jon Bruserød i Nykirke, s. 53–55.
• Tove Andresen: Peder Amundsen Teye (1786–1839. Historie eller bog om mig selv, s. 56–57.
• Tove Andresen: Vanlig slektsforskning og DNA-slektsforskning er en god kombinasjon, s. 58–59.
• Buskerud Slektshistorielag. Årsberetning for 2023, s. 60–61.
• Buskerud Slektshistorielag. Referat/protokoll – Årsmøte 14.02.2024 Strømsfjerdingen, s. 61
• Buskerud Slektshistorielag. Protokoll – Ekstraordinært årsmøte 10.04.2024 Strømsfjerdingen, s. 62.
• Årsberetning for Vestfold Slektshistorielag, s. 63.
• Protokoll fra årsmøte i Vestfold Slektshistorielag, s. 64.
• Møtereferater [Vestfold Slektshistorielag], s. 65–67.

Ole Christian Olsen Nauen, som døde 24. mai 2024, representerte femte generasjon i ledelsen av familiebedriften Olsen Nauen Klokkestøperi AS. Samtidig utviklet han gårdsanlegget og landbruket på Nauen videre. Det er nettopp på Nauen gård hvor Vestfold Slektshistorielags slektssenter holder til. Han mente at «dette hadde vært et meget vellykket etablissement for begge parter».

Torbjørn Steen-Karlsen har som vanlig vært en særdeles produktiv bidragsyter til bladet, denne gangen kan han skilte med hele  6 artikler. Felles for de fleste artiklene er at de dekker slektshistorie fra 1600- og 1700-tallet, og dermed vil bidragene være til god hjelp for de som ikke klarer å ta slekten lenger tilbake enn begynnelsen av 1800-tallet. Jeg har i flere kommentarartikler tidligere påpekt at slektsoversiktene kunne være litt bedre organisert slik at man lettere kunne følge generasjonene. Dette har Torbjørn sagt seg uenig i, men det er vel en uenighet vi begge kan leve med. En del kilder, som for eksempel pantebøker og skifteprotokoller er nevnt, men kirkebøker etc. listes så å si aldri opp blant kildene. Dette har jeg også påpekt tidligere. Hvilke kirkebøker det dreier seg om er for så vidt ikke vanskelig å utrede, men de burde uansett ha vært listet opp slik at leserne lettere kan etterprøve opplysningene. Når det er sagt – du verden for et verdifullt arbeid Torbjørn legger ned! 

I artikkelen om Isak Davidsen Rakkeviken er utgangspunktet David Rakkevik (n. ca. 1620–1645). Her møter vi slektsnavn som Zimmerstrøm, Juel, Schaar, Mørch, Album, Kirsebom mfl. Når det gjelder sistnevnte, så står det at Kirsten Isaksdatter (Vogn)  (1740–1773) og Thomas Jensen Kirsebom (døpt 1741) ikke hadde barn. Men i Kielland, Axel. Familien Kielland. Med dens kognatiske ascendents, Kristiania: Jacob Dybwad, 1897, s. 201 står det faktisk at paret hadde datteren Inger Johanne, døpt i Tønsberg 16. november 1772. Det må legges til at Kielland tillegger Kirsten farsnavnet Jacobsdatter og ikke Isaksdatter. Kirkeboken bekrefter dåpen, men også at Isaksdatter er korrekt. Det virker kanskje urettferdig å trekke frem én mangel som dette når så mye annet åpenbart er på plass, men jeg gjør det for å minne om at litteratursøk kan hjelpe til med å tette igjen hull som dette når man  jobber med en slektsartikkel og dermed gjøre den enda bedre. Uansett så er artikkelen der Kirsten Isaksdatter opptrer svært nyttig for meg, da jeg nå har kunnet rette opp Slektshistoriewiki-artikkelen om Kirsebom-slekten. Det må her legges til at Kirsebom-artikkelen er veldig uferdig – i prosjektbeskrivelsen står det per dags dato at «Slektsoversikten tar utgangspunkt i Axel Kiellands slektsbøker Stamtavle over Familien Kielland samt nogle cognatiske Familier fra 1878 og Familien Kielland. Med dens kognatiske ascendents fra 1897 og må derfor leses med et kritisk blikk. Tanken er, som med flere andre slektsoversikter i Slektshistoriewiki, at oversikten skal bygges ut med henvisninger til primær- og sekundærkilder og føres frem til siste generasjon før vår tid.»

Utgangspunktet for Teisen-slekten (og mange andre stavemåter) er en Tees Lauridsen, begravet ca. 1654/55 fra St. Laurenti kirkesogn i Tønsberg. Også her støter man på mange interessante adressenavn og slektsnavn, deriblant Krog, Duus, von Rothe, Bull, Wessel mfl.

Innledningen til artkikkelen Torp-Stålerød i Andebu del 1, s. 32, er litt festlig. Steen-Karlsen skriver at han har forsøkt å bevise sammenhengen mellom middelalderens kilder og 1600-tallet og skriver videre:

«Are Gustavsen har allerede behandlet denne slekts kretsen [sic!], både med tanke på Andebugrenen og grenen som går til Sande gjennom Gjest Sebjørnson.[1] Jeg har sakset en del stoff derfra av praktiske grunner. Hans artikkel er utfyllende og har mange spennende vinklinger. Dog har jeg gått bort fra Ares mulige forklaring på hvem stamfaren Sebjørn var, og foreslått en annen kandidat. Mye i artikkelen min er sannsynliggjort innenfor den grad av mulig løsning jeg kan finne, og videre forskning vil vise om jeg hadde rett eller om flere versjoner finnes. Noen reagerer kanskje, men jeg har tatt meg den historiske frihet og bruke det gamle navnet på Ødegården, der det står i kirkeboka som var Kuken/Kucken/Kugen/kuggen.[2] Det er historisk riktig og har ikke noe å gjøre med de assosiasjoner vi får. Kan kirkeboka skrive det, så kan jeg. Uansett finnes Pisserød både i Andebu og Ramnes. Tidligere bygdebokforfattere har elegant valgt det vekk.»

Jeg overlater ellers til andre å vurdere Steen-Karlsens hypoteser.

Wærhaug-Mathisens slektsartikler omhandler gruvearbeiderslekten Bratt (Brath/Bradt/Bratte) fra Kongsberg, der utgangspunktet er Lars Brath født ca. 1647. Navnet går igjen både i agnatiske og kognatiske linjer. Det står i artikkelen at han «[k]an ha ryddet gården Bratt som ligger mellom Saggrenda og Meheia under gården Hedenstad i Hedenstad sogn.»

Tove Andresens artikkel omhandler utgivelsen Peder Amundsen Teye: Historie eller Bog om mig selv : dagboksopptegnelser og erindringer om livet som lærer og klokker i Fiskum og Vestfossen 1786-1819, utgitt i serien «Skrifter fra Norsk lokalhistorisk institutt» ved Nasjonalbiblioteket i 2021.

Alt i alt er det mye verdifullt lesestoff i denne utgaven! Det er bare å melde seg inn i et av slektshistorielagene eller finne veien til nærmeste bibliotek.

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).

Luxembourg: Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume to become Lieutenant-Representative in October 2024

In his speech on Luxembourg's national day 23 June 2024, Grand Duke Henri announced that his eldest son, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, is to become Lieutenant-Representative (regent/acting head of state) in October 2024. In this way the Hereditary Grand Duke will have some time to prepare for his role until the day comes when his father decides to abdicate.

The then Hereditary Grand Duke Henri was appointed Lieutenant-Représentant of His Royal Highness Grand Duke Jean by decree of 3 March 1998 (published in Memorial on 4 March 1998) and became Grand Duke when his father abdicated on 7 October 2000. Before becoming Lieutenant-Représentant, Henri was an ex officio member of the Council of State from 1980.

Article 42 of the Constitution of Luxembourg says:

The Grand Duke may have Himself represented by a Prince of the blood, who shall bear the title of Lieutenant of the Grand Duke and who [shall] reside in the Grand Duchy.

This representative shall take an oath to observe the Constitution before exercising his powers.

UK: The Princess Royal in Norway

The Princess Royal (Princess Anne) is currently visiting Norway as Patron of the Anglo-Norwegian Resistance Commemoration Project.. For the most part the visit is "private", but she will nevertheless have one official engagement together with Crown Prince Haakon.

Princess Anne must have arrived some time yesterday, because late last night the British Embassy published photos from her visit to the Norwegian Folk Museum and Gol Stave Church. By coincidence I was at the Folk Museum yesterday together with my wife and two friends from the United States, but Princess Anne must have been there after our visit, most likely after the official opening hours.

Today the princess traveled to Vemork in Telemark county to visit the Industrial Workers Museum and to lay a posy on the memorial to Operation Gunnerside. Later she attended a reception at the British Ambassador's Residence in Thomas Heftyes gate in Oslo where she planted a tree and also met among others people linked to the above-mentioned Anglo-Norwegian Resistance Commemoration Project. Tonight she will have dinner with the King of Norway and other royal family members at the Royal Palace.

On Wednesday 22 May Princess Anne will visit Vestre gravlund (Vestre Cemetery) in Oslo to lay a wreath at the war graves there. This part of the visit is also deemed private and for security reasons the Embassy could not tell me the exact time she was going to be there, but I gather it will be before her visit to Akershus Fortress to meet members of the Norwegian Armed Forces and then the Resistance Museum together with Crown Prince Haakon at 1 p.m.

Sources:

• Kongehuset.no 8 May 2024.
• VG.no 18 May 2024, updated on 21 May 2024 (in Norwegian)
• Royal Life Magazine 20 May 2024
• VG.no 21 May 2024 (about the visit to Vemork, in Norwegian)

Luxembourg: Princess Alexandra gives birth to a girl

The Grand Ducal Court of Luxembourg announced today that Princess Alexandra and her husband Nicolas Bagory have become parents to their first child, a daughter who has been named Victoire. The baby girl, who is the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg's 8th grandchild, was born in Paris on 14 May 2024.

Le Grand-Duc et la Grande-Duchesse ont la grande joie d’annoncer la naissance de leur petite-fille Victoire, premier enfant de leur fille Alexandra et de leur gendre Nicolas, née ce mardi 14 mai à Paris.

La mère et l’enfant se portent bien.

Princess Alexandra and Nicolas Bagory were married on 22 April 2023, followed by a religious celebration on 29 April 2023. 

The updated line of succession to the throne of Luxembourg (top ten):

1. Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg, b. 1981
2. Prince Charles of Luxembourg, b. 2020
3. Prince François of Luxembourg, b. 2023
4. Prince Félix of Luxembourg, b. 1984
5. Princess Amalia of Nassau, b. 2014
6. Prince Liam of Nassau, b. 2016
7. Prince Balthazar of Nassau, b. 2024
8. Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg, b. 1991
9. Victoire Bagory, b. 2024
10. Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg, b. 1992

Genealogen nr. 1, 2024

Årets første utgave av Genealogen, medlemsbladet til Norsk Slektshistorisk Forening, kom i posten i begynnelsen av forrige uke. Det er en omfangsrik utgave på hele 80 sider + omslagssider. Det vanlige tallet er 64 sider. Redaktør Rune Nedrud har denne gangen gjort plass til 3 store artikler, i tillegg til foreningsstoff.

Innholdsfortegnelse:

• Ole Arild Vesthagen: Hvem var Svend Stenersen Vålens foreldre?, s. 2–23.
• Lisbeth Løchen: Bruk av segl og bumerker – noen oppdateringer og rettelser, s. 24–30.
• Årsberetning for Norsk Slektshistorisk Forening 2023, s. 30–31.
• Revisjonsberetning, s. 31.
• Regnskap, s. 32.
• Bli med oss på sommertur til Toten lørdag 1. juni 2024, s. 33.
• Trond H. Bergstrøm: En slektskrets fra Inderøy på 1700-tallet, s. 34–84.

Jeg har ventet lenge på at noen skulle ta fatt på de eldste generasjonene til Stenersen-slekten fra Gausdal. I fjor høst jobbet jeg en del med den andre store Stenersen-slekten, nærmere bestemt sørlandsslekten, og da kom jeg jo underveis borti en del medlemmer fra gudbrandsdalsslekten (gausdalslekten) og som det var viktig å holde fra hverandre. Jeg merket meg at det i diverse fora var en del kommentarer om feil i de eldre generasjonene til gausdalslekten. I tilfelle jeg også skulle gjøre noe ut av Stenersen-slekten fra Gausdal i Slektshistoriewiki håpet jeg at noen tok tak i de mange spørsmålene knyttet til tidligere publikasjoner. Ikke overraskende ble den mannen Ole Arild Vesthagen, og flere enn undertegnede, som for øvrig ikke har noen kobling til denne delen av Gudbrandsdalen, burde takke ham for det! Jeg siterer likeså godt ingressen til artikkelen:

Noen av de eldre utgreide slektslinjene fra Gudbrandsdalen behøver uten tvil å gjennomgås ved bruk av kilder som har blitt adskillig mer tilgjengelige enn de var på den tiden disse slektslinjene ble beskrevet av slektsforskere som var aktive for omkring 50 og 100 år siden. En av disse slektene er slektskretsen på Vålen i Gausdal. I denne artikkelen vil det bli framlagt beviser for at Svend Stenersen Vålens forfedre ikke kan ha vært de samme som ble beskrevet i utgitte publikasjoner i 1828 og 1924 og dermed også har blitt spredd til utallige slektstavler på nett og på private slektstavler rundt om i hele landet og utlandet.

Feil i slektstavler på nett er dessverre seiglivede, så det skal bli spennende å se hvor raskt den nye forskningsstatusen vil gjøre seg gjeldende. Jeg er redd for at det vil ta sin tid. Helt borte vil nok feilene aldri bli.

I artikkelen «Bruk av segl og bumerker i slektsforskning: 1500–1700-tallet i Råde» i Genealogen nr. 2, 2023 var det enkelte feil, og en del oppdateringer og segl kom ikke med. Dette har Lisbeth Løchen bøtt på i artikkelen Bruk av segl og bumerker – noen oppdateringer og rettelser.

Trond H. Bergstrøms artikkel En slektskrets fra Inderøy på 1700-tallet er på hele 51 sider, noe som til dels forklarer hvorfor utgaven er blitt utvidet med 16 sider. Redaktøren skriver: «Den siste artikkelen er såpass lang at redaksjonen har blitt nødt til å dele den i to deler.» Men så langt jeg kan se fremkommer det ikke av artikkelen at det kommer en del 2. Hvis det er tilfelle at artikkelen er delt i to så lurer jeg på hvor lang den var i utgangspunktet! Uansett, det er en god og svært detaljert artikkel som tar utgangspunkt i skiftet etter Ellef Ellefsen (Moksnes Ytre) på Frosta datert 2. januar 1769. Ellef ble begravet 25. juni 1768 og etterlot seg kona Mali Kristoffersdatter, 3 helbrødre, 2 helsøstre, 3 halvbrødre og 3 halvsøstre, hvis jeg har telt riktig. Forfatteren gjør rede for alle hel- og halvsøsknene, i tillegg til foreldrene til søskenflokken, og kartlegger også noen av de inngiftede i søskenflokken, herunder slekter som Heins/Heintz, Hiermin(d) og Wendelbo samt Balch.

Jeg har ikke så mye å legge til her, men lurer på om i hvert fall to av artiklene mer naturlig hadde hørt hjemme i Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskrift i stedet. Spørsmålet om hva som hører best hjemme hvor har jeg tatt opp tidligere i min omtale av Genealogen nr. 1, 2022. NST er et fagfellevurdert tidsskrift og skal inneholde genealogisk forskning, mens Genealogen i utgangspunktet skal være et medlemsblad. Det har dog spesielt under Nedrud utviklet seg til et NST «light», et genealogisk tidsskrift der terskelen for å få ting på trykk er lavere enn i NST. Men det er ikke alltid lett å se forskjellen på de to tidsskriftene, da det er artikler som like naturlig kunne vært publisert i NST eller omvendt. (En annen forskjell, og nå er jeg kanskje litt slem, er at Genealogen alltid kommer ut til fastsatt tid, mens det nå har gått over 2 år siden forrige utgave av NST.) Hva som kommer på trykk i Genealogen er selvsagt redaktørens gebiet, men selv tenker jeg at det – i tillegg til medlemsstoffet, som det gjerne kunne vært mer av – burde vært flere artikler som omhandler kilder og metode som leserne kan lære mer av. Et naturlig forbilde i så måte er NGS Magazine, medlemsbladet til den amerikanske foreningen National Genealogical Society. Denne foreningen utgir også National Genealogical Society Quarterly, som danner parallellen til NST. En annen parallell er New England Historic Genealogical Society, som utgir tidsskriftene American Ancestors Magasine og The New England Historical and Genealogical Register (gjerne forkortet til The Register). Men selvsagt gjenstår jo utfordringen: noen må jo skrive disse artiklene om metodiske problemstillinger og bruk av ulike (og gjerne mindre kjente) kilder! Redaktøren skriver som en fortsettelse av kommentaren til Bergstrøms artikkel: «Det hadde vært ønskelig med noen mindre artikler og kortere type stoff, men vi får se om det kan bli mer slikt stoff i kommende numre. Det er i alle fall gode bidrag også denne gangen og det ser ut til at tilgangen på stoff ikke blir mindre selv om medlemstallet i foreningen dessverre blir litt mindre år for år.»

Årsberetningen gir et godt innblikk i foreningens aktiviteter det siste året, og de viktigste prosjektene har vært digitalisering av biblioteket og i tilknytning til dette utviklingen av nettsiden, avholdelsen av en foredragsserie om bruk av DNA i slektsforskning og arbeidet med ny slektsforskerkonferanse høsten 2024. Når det gjelder medlemstallet, så er det oppgitt til 1378 per 31. desember 2023, som «er en nedgang fra xxx året før». Det er lett å glemme å søke ut alle xxxx-ene! Men tallet skal så langt jeg erfarer være 1404.  

I tillegg til ovennevnte inviterer foreningen til medlemstur til Toten, med innlagte stopp ved Balke kirke, Hoff kirke og amtmannsgården Steinberg. Turen anbefales! Jeg besøkte Hoff kirke og Steinberg samt andre steder rundt Mjøsa i fjor og blir derfor ikke selv med på årets medlemstur. Konfirmasjonen til en nevø er dog hovedgrunnen til at jeg ikke kan bli med denne gangen.

Ikke glem Slektsforskerkonferansen 2024, som finner sted i Oslo kongressenter 16.–17. november 2024, og som kan skilte med foredragsholdere som Peter Sjölund, Yngve Nedrebø og Kristian Hunskaar med flere. Bli med, bli med!

Jeg har for øvrig bidratt med korrekturlesingen av hovedartiklene og foreningsstoffet. Det som står igjen av feil tar jeg selvsagt delvis ansvaret for – det er ikke mulig å få med seg alt. Derfor er flere korrekturlesere ønskelig! Og selvsagt hender det også at redaktøren overser en og annen av mine kommentarer, sånt kan jo skje når det haster med å få sendt bladet av gårde til trykkeriet, eller velger å ikke ta hensyn til alt jeg har hengt meg opp i. 

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

Oppdatert tirsdag 14. mai 2024 kl. 07:55 (tyrkleif rettet opp), onsdag 21. august 2024 kl. 10:40 (flere tyrkleifer m.m.).

Royalty Digest Quarterly no. 1, 2024

The latest issue of Royalty Digest Quarterly (no. 1, 2024) was waiting for me in the mailbox when I returned on 7 April 2024 from my visit to Tanzania. Since my return I haven't had that much time for blogging, but obviously I had to finish reading RDQ before I could start commenting.

The front cover shows a photo of the Ansbach Residence (Residenz Ansbach), also called Markgrafenschloss (Margrave's Palace). The choice of photo tells that this issue's Family Album will cover The Margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach. I will return to the article later in the blog. 

Main contents:

• Olivier Defrance: A Life Without Tenderness. Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma. [Part] 1, pp. 1–10
• Martijn Arts: Princess Alexandra Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Glücksburg. A Princess in a Caravan, pp. 11–15.
• Elizabeth Jane Timms: Friedrich Wilhelm of Hesse (1870-1873), pp. 16–22.
• Ted Rosvall: The Margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach. A Family Album, pp. 23–35.
• Susan Symons: The Last Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, pp. 36–41
• Ove Mogensen: Tombs, Graves and Monuments in Prussia, pp. 42–51.
• Coryne Hall: Little-known ROYALS. Princess Henriette of Belgium, Duchess de Vendôme, pp. 52–53.
• David Horbury: Queen Elizabeth II and Greece, pp. 55–60.
• Ted Rosvall/Anne-Karin Schander: Royal Bustards. The Princes of Lapland. King Oscar I and Emilie Högqvist, pp. 61–62.
• The World Wide Web of Royalty, p. 64 [this time including news about/from Albania, Fürstenberg, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania, Schaumburg-Lippe and Württemberg].

On p. 63 there is an ad for the royal history conference in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, in October. I have paid for the flight and conference fee and got a hotel room reservation, so I look very much forward to the conference and hope to see as many old (and new) friends and acquaintances as possible. Go here for more details about the conference. 

The shocking abdication of Queen Margrethe II in January this year is the topic of Ted Rosvall's  Editor's Corner. He gives examples of abdications in other European countries and writes that "[...] in the Nordic countries, Margrethe's decision may be seen as an innovation, even though there was in fact a precedence. In 1654, Queen Christina of Sweden, actually did the same." That is absolutely correct. What Rosvall didn''t mention, was the abdication of the Danish King Erik III Lam in 1146. We are of course only talking about voluntary abdications. In Norway there were abdications in 1814 (King Christian Frederik) and in 1905 (King Oscar II), and neither had much choice in the matter. I only hope that Queen Margrethe's choice will not be followed up in the other Nordic monarchies.

The historian Oliver Defrance, with the colloboration of Joseph van Loon and Damien Bilteryst, has written about Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma (1870–1899), the first wife of of Prince and later King Ferdinand of the Bulgarians (1861–1948). The writers tell that they among others have based their article among others on an archive which has been little used until now : "[...] we have reread the existing works – old and new – on the Court of Bulgaria. We have gone trhough the press of the period, often rich with information, and we have made small surveys in an archive which has been little used until now: the Fonds Coburg, kept in the State Archives in Vienna". The result is a good and detailed biographical sketch of Princess Marie Louise, and I am already looking forward to part II.

I have often commented on the choices Coryne Hall has made for her column Little-Known ROYALS. I wonder if Princess Alexandria Victoria of Glücksburg (1887–1957) would also have been a good candidate. Of course my question marks some times tell as much about my own knowledge level. More important is that Martijn Arts has written an informative and amusing article about Princess Alexandria Victoria, the second eldest daughter of Duke Friedrich Ferdinand of (Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-)Glücksburg (1855–1934) and Princess Caroline Mathilde of (Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-)Augustenburg (1860–1932, the latter a niece of Empress Augusta Victoria, wife of Empreror Wilhelm II, while the former was a cousin of KIng Frederik VIII of Denmark. Princess Alexandria Victoria married Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia (1887–1949) in 1908 and divorced him in 1920. They had one child, Prince Alexander Ferdinand (1912–1985). The princess then married Arnold Rümann (1884–1951) in 1922, but also this marriage ended in divorce. She had a long career as an artist and for some time traveled around in the USA in a caravan. She lost all her paintings when Russia occupied the area where they were stored during WW2. I wonder how talented she really was and how much one would have to pay for any paintings that still exist? I note that one of her works was put on auction last year.

Royalty Digest Quarterly has covered all the all the still existing reigning and non-reigning royal and princely houses of Europe in the article series A Family Album and now it seems that houses that for various reasons have died out will also be covered. In this issue we learn more about The Margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach. Somewhat confusing is the fact that the principality was also referred to as a margraviate and that the head was a margrave. There might be some historical details here that I have missed. Anyway, the last reigning Prince and Margrave (!), Karl Alexander (1736–1806), who was also sovereign of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, sold his principalities to King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia in 1791. The childless margrave then moved to England with his second wife. As usual the family album gives a short introduction as well as quite a few photos/paintings – 55 in all (if a photo of  the Royal Family of Great Britain containing as many as 9 portraits should be counted as 9, and not just 1) – of various family members, palaces and tombs. The most famous descendant was Margravine Karoline of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1683–1737), who in 1705 married Georg Augustus of Hannover, who became King George II  of Great Britain and Ireland in 1727. One page 35 there is a select family tree of the house of Brandenburg-Ansbach.

The expert on German palaces, Susan Symons, then follows up with the article The Last Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach. The article, however, also gives many details about the above-mentioned Karoline/Caroline and even about Kaspar Hauser, who claimed to be a lost prince and the rightful ruler of Baden, because there is a memorial to him in the gardens of Ansbach Palace. When the former margrave moved to England after he had sold his principalities, he bought Brandenburgh House at Fulham, London as well as Benham Park near Newbury in Berkshire. It was at the latter country home that the margrave died in 1806. According to the Wikipedia article, "a memorial in St Mary's Church in Speen, simply records "In Memory of the Margrave of Anspach, who died at Benham 5th January 1806", but it doesn't say exactly where he is buried. Same thing could be asked about his wife Elizabeth, Princess Berkeley (b. London 1850–d. Naples, Italy 1828), née Lady Elizabeth Berkeley and formerly married to the 6th Baron Craven. The Wikipedia article about her, however, state that she was buried in the English cemetery in Naples. As for Brandenburgh House, it was demolished some time after the property was sold in 1822, and today the property, called Fulham Reach, consists of several buildings with luxury apartments. Not the worst place to live, I guess.

The Royal Mausoleum in Charlottenburg Palace Park, Berlin. © 2008 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth.

Grave of Queen Louise of Prussia, née Princess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1776–1810). © 2008 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth.

Grave of Friedrich der Grosse/Frederick the Great at Sanssouci, Potsdam. © 2011 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth.

The reason for including the grave photos above is of course due to Ove Mogensen's very informative article Tombs, Graves and Monuments in Prussia. Is there any royal burial place he has not been to?  I visited Charlottenburg Palace and the royal mausoleum (Luisenmausoleum) in February 2008. As far as I remember the main hall with the sarcophaguses was closed at the time due to renovation, so I could only visit the crypt, but that was of course where the royals were actually buried. I would have to return one day to see more of Berlin and Potsdam as well as the many burial places. I visited the crypt in Berlin Cathedral in 2011, so I might return with a blog article from that visit another time.

There are so many interesting articles in this issue, but I choose not to comment on all of them. But I have enjoyed reading them all, and cannot recommend a subscription enough! Information about Royalty Digest Quarterly can be found at its editor's website Royalbooks.se. See earlier presentations of RDQ here. See also its Facebook page. 

The Norwegian Royal Court. Annual Report 2023

The Norwegian Royal Court's annual report for 2023 was published on 18 April 2024. As the Royal Court writes on its website, the report "provides an account of the official activities of the Royal Family and the operation of the Court during the previous year" and "is intended to provide better information about and increase understanding of the activities of the Royal House of Norway and the Royal Court". As I write almost every year when I comment on the annual report, the publication 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, and  in addition you get lots of great pictures and statistics.

The Royal Court has provided the following summary of the report:

Annual report for 2023

The activities of the Royal House of Norway over the course of the year are closely aligned with the current situation in the country. The visits by the members of the Royal Family to 47 municipalities, official visits to five European countries, participation in a wide array of events together with the Norwegian Armed Forces and a focus on national security and preparedness both show what is essential for Norway and demonstrate the commitment of the Royal Family.

In 2023, members of the Royal Family continued to meet people throughout Norway – at schools, at new start-ups and traditional industrial companies, in museums and churches, at primary industry businesses, at music and drama festivals, at sporting events. They also visited with many of the people who experienced the devastation of Storm Hans in August.

Activities in 2023 were framed by the security situation in Europe. The King and the Crown Prince carried out a number of activities and visits with the Norwegian Armed Forces. The visit of the US aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to Oslo in May, and of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Palace in December, both point to the serious events taking place in the world at large, and the importance of constructive cooperation with trusted allies. Internationally, the Royal Family represented Norway in Denmark, the UK, France, Sweden and Germany. Topics highlighted during these visits included the green transition, defence and industrial development and cooperation in the cultural sphere.

The year also held milestone events for the Royal Family. In 2023 the Crown Prince and Crown Princess both celebrated their 50th birthdays. They wanted to mark the occasion by celebrating Norway and the Norwegian sense of community by acknowledging the many people who help to make Norway what it is. They spent the year travelling to different places in Norway and in August they invited 370 guest from across the country to a party in the Courtyard of the Royal Palace.

Annual accounts

The accounts for the Civil List showed a calculated deficit of NOK 54.3 million in relation to the 2023 allocation. This deficit will be covered by previously allocated funds. The result is in keeping with the anticipated charges to expenses projected in the annual report for 2022. 

The deficit has its origin in the lag between allocations to and disbursements from the Palace security project. In 2023, the project accounts showed a calculated deficit of NOK 70.9 million (cf. the corresponding surplus of NOK 92.7 million for 2022). Commissioned in 2016, the security project was by and large concluded in 2023. Security enhancement of the perimeter of the Palace and Palace Park was completed, and the logistics building, which ensures safe handling of mail, goods and waste, was opened. A few minor tasks that remain under the project will soon be concluded.

The management accounts for the Royal Court show a surplus of NOK 16.5 million. This surplus is largely due to vacant posts and postponement of projects as a result of an ongoing organisational development process. The accounts show that a significant proportion of the ordinary appropriations are used for operation and maintenance of the Palace and other Royal residences, as well as the cultural and historical assets these encompass.

The annual report and accounts of the Royal Court for 2023 have been submitted to the Presidium of the Storting, the Ministry of Digitalisation and Public Governance, and the Office of the Auditor General of Norway.

18.04.2024

Every year when the report is being published the Norwegian media tend to focus on the budget and nothing else. When the report this year showed a calculated ("planned") deficit of NOK 54,3 million, the media omitted the word "calculated" in the headlines, hoping that the readers wouldn't care to read the article, or the report itself, to get the details. It happens every year when there is a deficit. Then people will get the impression that the royal court – or the royal family – is out of control.

The report showed that the members of the royal family had 756 engagements ("oppdrag") in 2023, while the number was 769 in 2023, 635 in 2021 and 381 in 2020. The two last-mentioned years was of course dominated by the pandemic. In 2019 the number of engagements was 723. In other words, the number of engagements have not changed much, but considering the fact that the king will scale down his activities due to his age, that the queen is also of old age and the crown princess has chronical health issues, the number might fall a bit in 2024. Obviously the crown prince will not be able to cover all the things the king has normally taken care of. Fellow historian Trond Norén Isaksen has done some calculations and found out that King Harald in 2023 had 55 engagements outside the Royal Palace, as compared to 92 in 2013. Obviously his health and age are the reasons for this.

The report also tells that the members of the royal family visited 9 counties (out of 11, from 2024 the number of counties have gone up to 15), 47 municipalities, they have made official visits to Denmark, France, Greece, Jordan, United Kingdom, Sweden and Germany and have hosted as many as 2 735 guests.

But what about the orders and medals? 12 people were awarded the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 2023, as compared to 17 in 2022 and 2021. Among the 12 were Prince Sverre Magnus and the then Prince Christian of Denmark, who both received the Grand Cross. The order is conferred as "a reward for distinguished services rendered to Norway and mankind".

53 people received  the Royal Norwegian order of Merit in 2023, all classes combined, compared to 34 people in 2022, 56 in 2021, 89 in 2020 and 57 in 2019. Not sure what to read into the increase. It varies a bit from one year to another. According to the official website, the Order of Merit is conferred on foreign and Norwegian nationals as "a reward for their outstanding service in the interest of Norway". Most of the recipients are diplomats, mostly ambassadors and honorary consuls. Bishop and Preses of the Bishops' Conference of the Church of Norway, Olav Fykse Tveit, who became a commander, was one of the exceptions.

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 2023 only one person, farmer Ole P. Gamme from Gran, county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland), received the medal, compared to two people in 2022. Gamme is known for his impressive efforts through many years of promoting knowledge of Norway in the Norwegian-American communities in the USA, and to establishing contact between emigrant Norwegians in the USA and their relatives in Norway. He has among others also built a very impressive database of emigrants from Hadeland and in this way helped a lot of Americans finding their roots at Hadeland.

The King's Medal of Merit is conferred as "a reward for service in the fields of art, science and industry and for outstanding public service". 68 people redeived the medal in 2023, as compared to 53 in 2022, 47 in 2021 and 46 in 2020. Among the 68 were the artist Finn Kalvik, rose painter Hjørdis Emilie Juvik and several teachers.

The King's Commemorative Medal "is conferred for particularly meritorious service to His Majesty the King", but "may also be conferred on foreign nationals in connection with state visits and visits of the King abroad, on those who have served at a Norwegian foreign service mission, and on others in recognition for special services". The medal is conferred in silver or gold. In 2023, 7 people got the medal in gold, while 23 people were awarded the medal in silver. In 2022 the numbers were much lower - 3 gold medals and 6 silver medals. Several people connected to the king's staff received the medal in 2023 and 2022.

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

• 2022 (published 23 April 2023)
• 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)

I started the blog in 2009. The first annual report was published by the court in 2005. Previously all there were links to all the reports here, but now only the reports from 2020 to 2023 are available. You may, however, contact the court and ask for earlier reports if you are interested.

Front cover: © 2023 (?) Eskil Wie Furunes/NRK.

UK: New appointments to various Orders of Chivalry announced

Yesterday Buckingham Palace announced appointments to various Orders of Chivalry:

New appointments to various Orders of Chivalry announced

Published 23 April 2024

A number of new appointments to Orders of the Garter, the Bath, the British Empire and the Companions of Honour become effective immediately.

The Order of the Garter

His Majesty The King has been graciously pleased to appoint four new Companions to the Order of the Garter. The Companions are:

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester, GCVO, DStJ, CD, to be a Royal Lady Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.

Air Chief Marshal the Lord Peach, GBE, KCB, DL, to be a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.

The Right Honourable the Lord Kakkar, KBE, to be a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.

The Lord Lloyd-Webber to be a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.

Background

The Order of the Garter is the oldest and most senior Order of Chivalry in Britain. Each year, it is celebrated with a procession and service in the grounds of Windsor Castle.

The appointment of the Knights and Ladies of the Garter is in The King’s gift (i.e. without Prime Ministerial advice). Appointments to the Order of the Garter are therefore in the same category as the Order of the Thistle, the Order of Merit and the Royal Victorian Order which are also in The King’s gift.

Today's announcement brings the number of Companions to 21 (out of a maximum of 24).

This year’s Garter Service will take place this Summer at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. 

THE MOST HONOURABLE ORDER OF THE BATH

His Majesty The King has been graciously pleased to appoint His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, K.G., K.T., A.D.C., to be Great Master of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath. 

Previous Great Masters have included: His Majesty The King as The Prince of Wales (1974-2022), His Royal Highness Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1942-1974) and His Royal Highness Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (1901-1942). 

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath was established by King George I in 1725 although it is believed to originally date back as far as the eighth century. It is awarded to members of the military or civil service for exemplary service.

THE MOST EXCELLENT ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE

His Majesty The King has been graciously pleased to appoint Her Majesty The Queen to be Grand Master and First or Principal Dame Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. 

Previous Grand Masters have included: His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1953-2021), Her Majesty Queen Mary (1936-1953) and His Majesty King George VI as The Duke of York (1917-1936). 

The Order of the British Empire was established by King George V in 1917 to honour a broader cross section of society, both military and civilian.

THE ORDER OF THE COMPANIONS OF HONOUR   

His Majesty The King has been graciously pleased to appoint Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, GCVO, to be Royal Companion of The Order of the Companions of Honour. 

This is a new appointment.

The Order of the Companions of Honour was founded by King George V in 1917 to recognise outstanding achievements in the Arts, Sciences, Medicine and Public Service. 

The appointments are effective from 23rd April 2024.

I am not the only one who is pleased to note that the Duchess of Gloucester this way is being recognized for all her work on behalf of the crown for so many years, usually without getting the public and media attention that she has deserved. 

It is also wonderful that Queen Camilla has been appointed as Grand Master of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. However, I am still a bit surprised that the mistake about King George VI has not been corrected yet. The appointmemnts were after all published yesterday. King George VI was not the Grand Master as Duke of York from 1917 to 1936, but his elder brother, who became King Edward VIII in January 1936 (and then abdicated  in December the same year), was. 

Norway: King Harald back at work, but the number of engagements will be reduced

King Harald today resumed his duties after his long absence due to having fallen ill during his vacation in Malaysia in late February. Upon his return to Norway on 3 March he was admitted to the National Hospital and had an permanent pacemaker implanted on 12 March. He was discharged from hospital two days later, but has been on sick leave until today in order to rest and recuperate. In the meantime his son Crown Prince Haakon has acted as Regent.

Today the king granted audiences to The Chief of Defence, General Eirik Kristoffersen, Brigadier Terje Bruøygard, Head of Brigade Nord (the Northern Brigade) as well as to Rear Admiral Bjørn-Erik Marthinsen, second in command of the the Defence Staff. The king will grant more audiences on Thursday 25 April and preside over the Council of State at the Royal Palace on Friday 26 April. 

The Norwegian Royal Court announced today the king was going to continue his constitutional duties, including conducting meetings and audiences at the Palace and making official visits in Norway. However, due to his age the number of engagements and scope of activities will from now on be scaled down.

The news doesn't come as a surprise due to his age and health situation, and the number of engagements have been reduced in later years as well, as for instance fellow historian Trond Norén Isaksen has pointed out, but obviously now the changes become more permanent.