31 August 2026

Norway: King Harald's bier has been transferred to the Palace Chapel

King Harald’s bier has been resting in Den røde salong (The Red Salon, could also translate it into The Red Drawing Room) since its transfer from Rikshospitalet (The National Hospital) last Friday. Today the bier was moved onto a catafalque and draped with Kongeflagget (The Royal Standard, could also be translated into The Royal Banner).

At 4 p.m. today the bier was moved from the Red Salon through various rooms in the Royal Palace to the Palace Chapel. The bier was carried (or rather the catafalque on wheels was pushed lightly) by the children and grandchildren of King Harald V – King Haakon VII, Prince Sverre Magnus, Maud Angelica Behn and Marius Borg Høiby (stepgrandchild) on the left side and Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Princess Märtha Louise, Leah Isadora Behn and Emma Tallulah Behn on the right side. Queen Mette-Marit and Queen Sonja walked behind the bier. The Lord Chamberlain, Olav Heian-Engdal, walked in front of the bier, carrying the Royal Crown on a cushion, while the Head of the Royal Secretariat, Gry Høeg Ulverud, carried the Sword of State. Other leading members of the court carried King Harald's foremost Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, and British orders.

Court and staff members formed an honor guard through the Palace rooms and joined the procession after King Harald’s bier had passed.

The corps of aides-de-camp took over the bier in Store festsal (The Great Banquet Hall) and brought it to the Palace Chapel. The bier was then placed on a velvet-covered catafalque, surrounded by wreaths and floral hearts from the family. The Royal Crown and the Sword of State were placed upon the bier, while the orders were placed at the foot of the bier. Afterwards followed a private memorial service for the royal family and members of the court and staff as well as the aides-de-camp.

The transfer of the bier was broadcast on TV, among others on NRK TV. After the memorial service, King Haakon, Queen Mette-Marit, Queen Sonja and Princess Märtha Louise came out to the Palace Square where they laid down roses, looked at the sea of ​​flowers, and read some of the cards. They were visibly moved by what they saw. The crowd sang the national anthem and applauded before the royals returned inside the palace. See the coverage (with photos) by VG.

As I have mentioned earlier, tomorrow 1 September from 2 p.m. until 8 September at 6 p.m. it will be possible for the public to file past the coffin in the Palace Chapel. The Royal Court has issued details about the filing (in Norwegian only) in a press relase today.


Line of succession to the Norwegian throne

I published the updated line of succession to the Norwegian throne yesterday, but if you want to know how the line of succession has changed from the royal election in 1905 until now, please visit Slektshistoriewiki (the Norwegian Genealogy Wiki administered by the Norwegian Genealogical Society):

The article is written in Norwegian, but shouldn't be so difficult to figure out. Later on, I might expand the article to include the line of succession at different times during the Bernadotte dynasty.

30 August 2026

Norway: King Harald V (1937–2026)

Photo: © The Royal Court (screenshot of the official website of the royal house 28 August 2026).

King Harald of Norway died at Oslo University Hospital, dep. The National Hospital (Oslo universitetssykehus, avd. Rikshospitalet) on Friday 28 August 2026 at 6.35 a.m.

His death was announced on the official website of the royal house around two hours later:

It is with deep sorrow that we announce that His Majesty King Harald has passed away. King Harald died peacefully at Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet Friday 28 August at 6:35 AM.

King Harald was succeeded by his son Haakon.

A crowd had already gathered at the Palace Square when the death was announced, and the crowd – and the number of flowers and cards (teddybears, flags, football shirts etc increased.) – only got larger and larger throughout the day and weekend. The nation is mourning. A beloved man and king has left us. The grief is profound. The gratitude is even greater. 


A small section of the "ocean of flowers" at the Palace Square on Friday. The ocean only got bigger and bigger during the weekend. Photos: © 2026 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth.


For the record

This has never meant to be a personal blog. I write about events and topics that I care about and often I will give my own opinion or perspective. But work and other obligations make it some times hard to publish my articles soon after an event has taken place. But I always like to record some of the events and news that have taken place even if some time has passed. 

When the news of King Harald's death reached me I was at work. I was asked to write a small article on various aspects of the succession to the throne for my employer's website before I had to focus on other tasks. The Norwegian Law Gazette, of which I am the editor, never sits still – new regulations have to be published. After work I went up to the Place Square again (I was also there on Thursday). In the evening I  watched TV and on Saturday I was out of town for most of the day. So I will try to write a few lines today instead. I will write about some of the events, but it will be impossible to comment on all the aspects.

Lowered royal banner

I can see the Royal Palace from my office window. I was too occupied to see everything with my own eyes, but when the king's death was announced, Kongeflagget (the King's banner) flying from the roof of the palace was lowered to half staff. After the extraordinary Council of State had taken place the royal banner was raised, while another royal banner, with the so-called mourning flora, was flying on half staff from the palace balcony.


The King's banner (Kongeflagget) at 8:51 a.m. Photo: © 2026 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth.


The King's banner and the balcony at 3:50 p.m. Photo: © 2026 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth.

The Government of Norway has decided that the Norwegian flag will be flying on half staff from all state buildings from Friday 28 August until the day of the funeral. Once the funeral has taken place, the flags will be hoisted to full staff again. The Government has also declared a period of national mourning to last until the day of the funeral. 

Extraordinary Council of State

The new king presided over the extraordinary Council of State at 11.30 a.m. Friday. Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra was also present. In the Council of State the king declared that he would reign under the name Haakon VIII and that his personal motto (called "valgspråk" in Norwegian would be "Alt for Norge" ("All for Norway"), the same motto also used by his father, King Harald V, his grandfather, KIng Olav V, and his great-grandfather, King Haakon VII.

Statsministerens kontor

Hans Majestet meddelte følgende:

Statsminister og statsråder,

Det er min plikt å meddele Statsrådet at min kjære far, Hans Majestet Kong Harald V, døde i dag den 28. august 2026, kl. 06.35, og at jeg i tråd med Grunnlovens bestemmelser har tiltrådt regjeringen som Norges Konge.

Jeg vil ta navnet Haakon VIII og vil videreføre det samme valgspråket som min far, bestefar og oldefar valgte: «Alt for Norge».

H.M. Kongen takket regjeringens medlemmer og det norske folk for støtte og medfølelse til Kongefamilien i denne tiden.

Statsministeren meddelte følgende:

Deres Majestet, Deres kongelige høyhet,

På vegne av regjeringen og det norske folk vil jeg uttrykke vår medfølelse ved Hans Majestet Kong Haralds død. Kong Harald var et menneske vi alle ble glad i. Vi vet at Kong Haralds bortgang er et stort tap for vår nye konge og hele kongefamilien.

Vi vil takke Kong Harald for livslang innsats for Norge og det norske folk. En hel nasjon er i sorg og står igjen i dyp takknemlighet.

Vi er trygge på at kongehusets tradisjoner vil føres videre under Deres Majestets ledelse, til det beste for folket og landet vårt.

In English:

Office of the Prime Minister

His Majesty made the following announcement:

Prime Minister and Ministers,

It is my duty to inform the Council of State that my dear father, His Majesty King Harald V, passed away today, 28 August 2026, at 06:35, and that, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, I have acceded to the throne as King of Norway.

I shall take the name Haakon VIII and will continue to use the same motto chosen by my father, grandfather, and great-grandfather: "All for Norway."

H.M. The King thanked the members of the Government and the Norwegian people for their support and sympathy shown to the Royal Family during this time.

The Prime Minister made the following announcement:

Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness,

On behalf of the Government and the Norwegian people, I wish to express our condolences upon the death of His Majesty King Harald. King Harald was a person we all loved. We know that King Harald’s passing is a great loss for our new King and the entire Royal Family.

We wish to thank King Harald for his lifelong service to Norway and the Norwegian people. An entire nation is in mourning and remains filled with deep gratitude.

We are confident that the traditions of the Royal House will be carried forward under Your Majesty’s leadership, for the good of the people and our country.

In connection with the Council of State photos of the new King and Crown Prince were taken with the members of the government, and afterwards they signed the condolence protocol. A government conference took place at 10 at the Prime Minister's office prior to the Council of State.

Salute and church bells ringing

At noon there was a mourning salute (21 shots with 30 seconds between) from the nine salute stations in Norway, including from Akershus Fortress, and the church bells were ringing for an hour, to mark the death of King Harald.

Members of the royal house and titles

When the death of King Harald was announced all the subpages of the royal website were taken down for some time to get the most relevant pages updated. When all the pages were up agai, we learnt among others the titles of the members of the royal house.

Det norske kongehuset består av Deres Majesteter Kong Haakon og Dronning Mette-Marit, Hennes Kongelige Høyhet Kronprinsesse Ingrid Alexandra og Dronning Sonja.

In English: 

The Norwegian Royal House consists of Their Majesties King Haakon and Queen Mette-Marit, Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, and Queen Sonja.

There were in other words no surprises other than that Queen Sonja has "lost" her style Majesty. I didn't expect that, and most other in the know where equally surprised. The reference to Queen Sonja without the style was also repeated in later press statements, so there is no doubt that this was not just a mistake. Although we haven't had a Queen Dowager for quite some time, it has not uncommon to have two queens (or more) in a monarchy, just look at the United Kingdom (Queen Elizabeth and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) and Belgium to take two examples. There all are or were Majesties. A Queen is always styled Majesty. Even though it is a conscious decision which should not be taken as a personal rebuff, I simply cannot understand the reasoning behind it. Considering all the work and effort Queen Sonja has done for Norway I find such a "downgrading" totally unacceptable.

Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra

The title of Crown Prince or Crown Princess is not automatic when a new monarch has succeeded to the throne, as too many seem to believe. Article 34 of the Constitution of Norway said, before the changes in 1990 when female succession (full primogeniture) was introduced:

The nearest heir to the Throne, if he is the son of the reigning King, shall bear the title of Crown Prince. The other persons entitled to succeed to the Throne shall be called Princes, and the daughters of the Royal House, Princesses.

From 29 May 1990 Article 34 says (English edition at Lovdata.no):

The King shall make provisions concerning titles for those who are entitled to succeed to the Crown.

In other words, the king has to make a formal decision on the title of the nearest heir to the throne. Everyone expected that Ingrid Alexandra would become Crown Princess, and so she did. Because of the need for for verifiability/traceability I would have preferred that the decision came in form of a press statement instead of at an undated general subpage on the members of the royal house. For other members of the royal family (Prince Sverre Magnus, Princess Märtha Louise and Princess Astrid Mrs. Ferner) there are no changes.

Speeches

The President of the Storting, the Chief Justice of the Supremie Court and the Prime Minister of the Storting all held speeches after the king's death:

Crown Prince Haakon held a memorial speech on Saturday 29 August at 7 p.m. It was a very personal speech which made a good impression. I hope that a translation of the speech will be available in English when the English pages of the official website are up and running again.

Condolences

The royal house has naturally received many messages of condolences from royal and presidential heads of state and other dignitaries. The website Gert's Royals has made a collection of condolence messages from foreign monarchs, so please go to his supbage to read them.

The public is invited to sign the condolence protocol either digitally at the official website of the Norwegian royal house or at the Norwegian embassies (please check out their websites). In Norway most churches and/or city halls will have condolence protocols available. For people living in Oslo see information from the Municipality of Oslo here

Coffin

The coffin (the bire) of King Harald was taken by car from Rikshospitalet (The National Hospital) to the Royal Palace on Friday night, 28 August. 

King Haakon, Queen Mette_Marit, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Queen Sonja, Prince Sverre Magnus and Princess Märtha Louise followed the coffin in cars behind the hearse. The transport can be viewed at NRK TV.

Memorial service

Churches all over the country held a memorial service on Sunday. Members of the Storting and Government attended the service in Oslo domkirke (Oslo Cathedral), while King Haakon, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Sverre Magnus and Queen Sonja attended the service in Asker kirke (Asker Church) close to the Skaugum estate. See photos from the latter service at Kirken.no.

Viewing of the bier

After being transported from the National Hospital to the Royal Palace, the bier of King Harald was placed in The Red Salon. King Haakon and Crown Princess Alexandra received Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre on Sunday 30 August for the viewing of King Harald's bier. The Presiding Bishop of the Church of Norway, Olav Fykse Tveit, was also present at the viewing.

Filing past the coffin

The bier (coffin) will be carried from The Red Salon to the Palace Chapel on Monday 31 August 2026. The public will be able to file past the coffin from Tuesday 1 September 2026 at 2.pm. until Tuesday 8 September 2026 at 6 p.m. 

King Haakon VII to take the oath

King Haakon VIII will take the Oath of Allegiance to the Constitution in the Storting on Tuesday 1 September at 1 p.m. The oath is worded, cf. the Constitution article 9:

I promise and swear that I will govern the Kingdom of Norway in accordance with its Constitution and Laws; so help me God, the Almighty and Omniscient.

See more details at the Storting's website.

Funeral service

The funeral service will take place in Oslo domkirke (Oslo Cathedral) on Wednesday 9 September 2026 at 1 p.m. The funeral service will be officiated by the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Norway, Olav Fykse Tveit. The Bishop of Oslo, Sunniva Gylver, Cathedral Cantor Marcus André Berg, the Oslo Cathedral Choir, and others will also participate.

The cathedral has 930 seats, but the number of foreign royals and other dignitaries as well as representatives of the official Norway will be so high that I doubt that any from the public will be able to attend.  We can expect that representatives of all the European royal and princely houses will be in attendance. So far the king and queen of Denmark and the king and queen of the Belgians have confirmed their presence. I will give more details about the people attending the funeral service when we get closer to the actual date.

Line of succession

The updated line of succession to the throne of Norway:

  1. HRH Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra (b. 2004)
  2. Prince Sverre Magnus (b. 2005)
  3. Princess Märtha Louise (b. 1971)
  4. Maud Angelica Behn (b. 2003)
  5. Leah Isadora Behn (b. 2005)
  6. Emma Tallulah Behn (b. 2008)


27 August 2026

Norway: The King's condition is very serious

The Norwegian royal court announced this morning that King Harald's health had detoriated and that his condition was serious. All official engagements had been cancelled.

Members of the royal house and other family members have spent hours at Rikshospitalet (the National Hospital) where the king was admitted last week and leading politicians and other dignitaries have either cancelled their trips abroad or are on their way home again. 

The crowd at the Royal Square, bringing flowers and well-wishes, have become larger and larger throughout the day. When I made a short stop at the Palace Square just before 5 p.m., the square was packed. The rumours were circulating, especially in social media, so many were somewhat relieved when the royal court around 5 p.m. relased another statement, informing that "The King’s condition remains unchanged. His Royal Highness The Crown Prince Regent’s visit to Færder National Park and Her Majesty The Queen’s visit to Trøndelag have been cancelled."

The situation is very serious, and people are preparing for what is bound to come, sooner or later. Even if many in Norway are republicans by principle, the majority still care about and are personally fond of the members of the royal family and especially the king. That so many people have gathered at the Royal Square today is a good example of this. Tonight a choir was singing the national anthem outside the Palace.

For updates this evening and through the night, see the official website of the royal house, NRK, VG, Dagbladet, TV2 and Nettavisen.

26 August 2026

Sweden: Graves of Princess Désirée and Silfverschiöld family members, Lagmansered church ruins, Trollhättan municipality

Grave of Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld (1938–2026).

Last Friday, while on my way to a genealogy conference (Släktforskardagarna 2026) in Borås, I made a short stop at the Lagmansered church ruins in the municipality of Trollhättan. Next to the ruins lies a small cemetery which has a seperate section for the baronial family of Silfverschiöld, whose principal seat is at Koberg Castle not far away.

Princess Désirée, an elder sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, died in January this year and was later interred at the cemetery next to her husband Baron (Friherre) Niclas Silfverschiöld (1934–2017). Her grave plate has not been put in place yet, so I will have to visit the cemetery again another time, maybe next year when I plan to attend Släktforskardagarna 2027 in Jönköping. Naturally I also took photos of the other Silfverschiöld graves before I took off again.

There used to be a stave church built at Lagmansered farm in 1465. It was burned down by the Danes in 1612. A new church was erected during the years 1639–1647, but it was destroyed by fire several times, and afte the last fire in 1929 the community decided to erect a new church at another location closer to Koberg. The new church also has a cemetery, so please have this in mind if you wish to visit the Silfverschiöld graves as they are, as already mentioned, situated in the cemetery at the ruins of the old church.


Her name has oddly enough been misspelt (it should be Désirée, not "Désireé").


Grave of Baron (Friherre) Niclas Silfverschiöld (1934–2017), husband of Princess Désirée.


Grave of Baron Otto Silfverschiöld (1871–1951), grandfather of Niclas.


Grave of Baroness Ingeborg Silfverschiöld, née vom Horn (1873–1953), wife of Otto.


Grave of Baron Carl-Otto Silfverschiöld (1899–1955), father of Niclas.


Grave of Baroness Madeleine Silfverschiöld, née Bennich (1906–1994, first wife of Carl-Otto and mother of Niclas.


Grave of Ambassador Carl Schwartz (1920–2008), who was married to Niclas' elder sister Ulla Margareta Silfverschiöld, b. 1932.


Grave of Ebba Ribbing, née Baroness Silfverschiöld (1873–1914), younger sister of Otto, b. 1871.


Grave of Tekla Johansson (1883–1969), who had the title of Kammarjungfru - I suppose that she was employed at Koberg.


The section with the Silfverschiöld graves.




The ruins of the church which was destroyed by fire in 1929.


24 August 2026

Norway: A series of press releases concerning King Harald's health situation

It was rather quiet for several days after the Norwegian royal court last Monday announced that King Harald had been admitted to hospital to be treated for the blood disorder hemolytic anemia.

But on Friday 21 August the royal court relased the following press statement concerning the King's health situation:

Hans Majestet Kongens helse

Hans Majestet Kongen blir fortsatt værende på Rikshospitalet for behandling.

21. august 2026

Hans Majestet vil ikke delta på besøket til Trøndelag. Hennes Majestet Dronningen vil gjennomføre besøket som planlagt.

Hans Kongelige Høyhet Kronprinsen er regent.

Det vil komme en ny helseoppdatering i løpet av neste uke.

In English:

His Majesty The King’s health

His Majesty The King remains at Rikshospitalet for treatment.

21 August 2026

His Majesty will not participate in the visit to Trøndelag. Her Majesty The Queen will carry out the visit as planned.

His Royal Highness The Crown Prince is acting as Regent.

A further health update will be provided next week.

King Harald and Queen Sonja were going to pay Rindal and Høylandet municipalities an official visit in early September, but as the press release says Queen Sonja will now travel alone. The core message was of course that there was not much news regarding the king's health situation since last Monday.

But the news suddenly turned more worrysome on Sunday when the royal court – earlier than expected – followed up with a new press statement:

Oppdatering om Kongens helse

Hans Majestet Kongens helsetilstand forverret seg i helgen. Kongen får antibiotika for en infeksjon med bakterier i blodet, og har respondert på denne behandlingen.

In English:

Update on the King's health

His Majesty the King’s health deteriorated over the weekend. The King is receiving antibiotics for a bacterial infection in his bloodstream and has responded to the treatment.

Today the royal court released another update:

Oppdatering om Hans Majestet Kongens helse

Det er ingen vesentlige endringer i Kongens helse, og situasjonen er fortsatt stabil.

In English:

Update on His Majesty the King’s health

There are no significant changes in the King’s health, and the situation remains stable.

The king has received lots of visits from family members during last week and today. Yes, obviously there is reason for concern, given the contents and considering the king's age, but for now I will focus on the part that says that the king's health situation is stable and hope for the best. Lets rest assured that the king is in good hands.


17 August 2026

Norway: King Harald has been admitted to hospital

The Royal Court in Oslo announced today that King Harald has been admitted to Rikshospitalet (The National Hospital) following a medical examination.

The press release says that the king in recent weeks has been treated with cortisone for the blood disorder hemolytic anemia, and that this has resulted in fluid retention requiring hospital treatment.

The King will be on sick leave for two weeks, and the crown prince will as usual serve as regent during this period. The court will soon provide further information regarding the impact on the royal house's official schedule.

UK: Name of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's daughter has been revealed

The name of Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank's daughter, who was born in Lisbon, Portugal on 3 August 2026, was today announced on Princess Eugenie's Instagram account:

2 weeks ago today we welcomed our girl to the world. And since then we've had the most special, cosy and love-filled time.

We are so happy to share Adelaide Elizabeth Annina Brooksbank. Named after three people we love and admire past and present, including her Great-Grandmother who we hold close in our hearts. Her name is part of English and Portuguese history, two places we love and call home.

Augie and Ernie are already the best big brothers.

Adelaide is no. 15 in the line of succession to the British throne.

16 August 2026

Liechtenstein's succession law has been changed

Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein, who has served as "Stellvertreter" (i.e. Deputy or Regent) of Liechtenstein since 2004, announced in a speech yesterday in connection with the principality's national day, that the house law (Hausgesetz) of 1993 has been changed to introduce absolute priomogeniture.

The changes have been restricted to the future descendants of the children of Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie, meaning that their second child and only daughter, Princess Marie Caroline (b. 1996), is still excluded from the line of succession.

The press release says, in German:

MEDIENMITTEILUNG AUS DEM FÜRSTENHAUS

Fürstliches Haus Liechtenstein stärkt langfristige Ausrichtung

15. August 2026 – Mit einer Novellierung des Hausgesetzes stärkt das Fürstliche Haus Liechtenstein seine langfristige Ausrichtung. Ein entsprechender Änderungsvorschlag wurde mit der erforderlichen Zweidrittelmehrheit aller stimmberechtigten Mitglieder angenommen. 

Neu werden alle weiblichen Nachkommen des Fürstenhauses in hausgesetzlichen Fragen mit denselben Mitwirkungsrechten ausgestattet wie die männlichen. Ausserdem wird die Thronfolge von der männlichen Primogenitur auf die absolute Primogenitur umgestellt. Das bedeutet, dass künftig das jeweils erstgeborene Kind, unabhängig vom Geschlecht, Thronfolgerin oder Thronfolger und später Fürstin oder Fürst von Liechtenstein wird. 

Die Änderung in der Thronfolge gilt ausschliesslich für die künftig geborenen Nachkommen der Kinder von S.D. Erbprinz Alois und seiner Frau I.K.H. Erbprinzessin Sophie. Bereits geborene Mitglieder des Fürstenhauses sind davon nicht betroffen. 

«Mit dieser Gesetzesänderung möchten wir sicherstellen, dass sowohl das Fürstentum Liechtenstein als auch das Fürstenhaus von derjenigen Person regiert wird, die am besten auf diese Aufgabe vorbereitet worden ist», erklärt Erbprinz Alois von Liechtenstein. «Das sind grundsätzlich die Söhne und Töchter des Regierers oder der Regiererin, die in Vaduz aufwachsen und von ihrer Jugend an mit den Besonderheiten des Fürstentums und des Fürstenhauses vertraut gemacht werden.» 

Das neue Hausgesetz enthält auch verschiedene legistische Verbesserungen sowie Anpassungen an neue Rechtsentwicklungen, die insbesondere für Verweise in das Liechtensteiner Recht relevant sind. Ausserdem wurden potenzielle Auslegungsunsicherheiten bereinigt. 

Hausgesetzliche Regelungen kennt das Fürstenhaus Liechtenstein bereits seit Jahrhunderten; seit über 400 Jahren in schriftlicher Form. Das Hausgesetz ist ein autonomes Familienstatut, das vom Fürstenhaus selbst beschlossen wurde und auf Verfassungsebene verankert ist.

In English translation (I have used Google translation, with some moderations, cf. the princely family's own website):

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE PRINCELY HOUSE

Princely House of Liechtenstein Strengthens Long-Term Focus

15 August 2026 – Through an amendment to the House Law, the Princely House of Liechtenstein is strengthening its long-term strategy. A corresponding proposal for amendment was adopted with the required two-thirds majority of all voting members.

Under the new rules, all female descendants of the Princely House are granted the same rights of participation in House Law matters as their male counterparts. Furthermore, the order of succession is shifting from male primogeniture to absolute primogeniture. This means that, in the future, the firstborn child, regardless of gender, will become the heir to the throne and subsequently the Reigning Prince or Princess of Liechtenstein.

The change in the order of succession applies exclusively to future descendants of the children of H.S.H. Hereditary Prince Alois and his wife, H.R.H. Hereditary Princess Sophie. Members of the Princely House who have already been born are not affected by this change.

"With this amendment to the law, we wish to ensure that both the Principality of Liechtenstein and the Princely House are governed by the person best prepared for this task," explains Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein. "In principle, these are the sons and daughters of the reigning monarch who grow up in Vaduz and are familiarized with the unique characteristics of the Principality and the Princely House from their youth."

The new House Law also incorporates various legislative improvements and adjustments to reflect new legal developments, particularly regarding references to Liechtenstein law. Additionally, potential ambiguities regarding interpretation have been clarified.

The Princely House of Liechtenstein has had regulations governing the House for centuries, and in written form for over 400 years. The House Law is an autonomous family statute adopted by the Princely House itself and enshrined at the constitutional level.

The new house law will soon be announced in Liechtenstein's Law Gazette (Liechtensteinisches Landesgesetzblatt).

Hereditary Prince Alois' eldest son Prince Joseph Wenzel (b. 1995) is currently no. 2 in the line of succession to the princely throne, followed by his younger brothers Prince Georg (b. 1999) and Prince Nikolaus (b. 2000).

Some links:

4 August 2026

UK: Princess Eugenie's third child is born

Buckingham Palace announced today the birth of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's third child, a girl, born at Hospital da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal, Monday 3 August 2026:

Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie and Mr Jack Brooksbank are delighted to announce the safe arrival of their daughter, born on Monday, 3rd August 2026, at 6.20pm, at a hospital in Lisbon, Portugal.

The baby was born weighing 6 pounds 9 ounces. 

Their Majesties The King and Queen and other members of The Royal Family were delighted to be informed of the news.

The pregnancy was announced in early May.

Princess Eugenie is the younger daughter of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (formerly Prince Andrew, Duke of York) and Sarah Ferguson. Eugenie married Jack Brooksbank, eldest son of George Brooksbank and Nicola Brooksbank, née Newton, on 12 October 2018. The couple's first son, August, was born on 9 February 2021, while Ernest was born on 30 May 2023.

The baby girl, whose name is not made public yet, is currently no. 15 in the line of succession to the British throne.

7 July 2026

En initial til besvær. LOs første formann Hans Jensens foreldre


Portrettfoto av Hans Jensen. Foto: Ukjent/Arbeiderbevegelsens arkiv og bibliotek.

Innimellom mine egne slektsprosjekter og redigering av og bidrag til Slektshistoriewiki, som jeg er redaktør og hovedadministrator for, hjelper jeg gjerne til med å løse mindre og større slektsgåter for andre. Jeg har blant annet bistått en kamerat og historikerkollega, Stig Rune Pedersen, med slektsopplysninger til diverse slektsartikler i Lokalhistoriewiki. Et utvalg av artikler som jeg har gitt slektsforskningsbidrag til er lagt ut i bibliografien min her.

Sist torsdag fikk jeg et spørsmål om fagforeningsmannen og den første LO-formannen Hans Jensen (1856–1922). Hva stod G-en i navnet Hans G. Jensen for og hvem var foreldrene hans? I den påbegynte artikkelen i Lokalhistoriewiki (versjon torsdag 2. juli 2026 kl. 15.30) kunne jeg blant annet lese:

Hans Jensen (født 13. mars 1856 i Hatting ved Horsens i Danmark, død 7. september 1922 i Kristiania) var skredder, fagforeningsmann og Arbeiderparti-politiker, innvandret fra Danmark i 1879. Han var Arbeiderpartiets formann 1888–1889, og var også den første formannen for Landsorganisasjonen 1899–1900.

Om familien stod det:

Hans Jensen var gift med Ragnhild (1861–1941), som var født i Eidsberg. De fikk en stor barneflokk. 

Navnet er noen ganger skrevet «Hans G. Jensen», men kildene som er benyttet i denne artikkelen forteller ikke hva bokstaven sto for.

Hans Jensen var utdannet skredder, kom til Sandefjord i 1879 og fire år senere til Christiania der han fortsatte sitt yrke som skredder, men raskt ble aktivt med i fagforeningsarbeid. Han ble Skredderforbundets første formann i 1892 og Landsorganisasjonens første formann perioden 1899–1900. I tillegg var han Arbeiderpartiets andre formann i perioden 1888–1889. Jeg tar ikke med flere biografiske opplysninger her, da temaet for denne bloggartikkelen først og fremst er genealogiske opplysninger og kildekritikk. 

Spørsmålene jeg fikk av min historikerkollega ga meg altså en liten og artig utfordring der jeg kunne kombinere mine kunnskaper og erfaring med både norske og danske kilder.

Jeg gjorde noen raske søk fredag og jobbet mer grundig med å skaffe meg kildeoversikt på lørdag før jeg kunne sende en liten «rapport» til min historikerkollega. Søk i Digitalarkivet og Nettbiblioteket (Nasjonalbiblioteket, nb.no) ga ingen indikasjon på at fagforeningsmannen Hans Jensen i sin samtid skulle ha hatt et fornavn nr. 2 eller ev. mellomnavn som startet på G. Det stod kun Hans Jensen i alle kildene jeg så på. For å ta folketellingene først:

Lokalhistoriewiki-artikkelens kilde for at han var født i Hatting var Store Norske Leksikon (Terjesen, Einar A.: Hans Jensen i Store norske leksikon på snl.no. Hentet 3. juli 2026 fra https://snl.no/Hans_Jensen).

Da Hans Jensen døde 7. september 1922 stod det i kirkebokoppføringen for begravelsen 13. september 1922 at han var født 13. mars 1856 i Dalby prgj. i Danmark. Det var jo en ny opplysing sammenlignet med tidligere. Før jeg gikk i kast med de danske kirkebøkene søkte jeg frem vielsesprotokollen for Petrus i 1889 for å få navnet på faren til Hans. Skreddersvennen Hans Jensen giftet seg med Ragnhild i Petrus kirke 14. april 1889. Han var da oppgitt som født i «Dalby (Jylland)» i 1856 og konfirmert i «Dalby Horsens» 24. april 1870. Oppgitt far var husmand Jens Hansen.

Dansk Wikipedia har som regel gode og etterrettelige oversikter over tidligere og nåværende kirkesogn og herreder. I artikkelen om Hatting Herred (versjon 18. februar 2022) står det at herredet består av 11 sogn, deriblant Store Dalby, og artikkelen er blant annet illustrert med et sognekart:


Kart ved Svend-Erik Christiansen, Wikimedia Commons, lisens: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Hatting ligger utenfor byen Horsens i Østjylland. Nå var turen endelig kommet til å gå til rigsarkivet.dk/arkivalieronline og se på de skannede kirkebøkene der. Jeg finner raskt Hans Jensen født 13. mars 1856 i Store Dalby sogn som sønn av husmand Jens Hansen og Else Frederikke Charlotte Nielsdatter (jeg skriver her navnet fullt ut, selv om det i originalen er brukt forkortelse). Navnet på gutten er kort og godt Hans Jensen. Det forandrer seg heller ikke da han ble konfirmert 24. april 1870. Jeg har for ordens skyld også gjennomgått innflyttings- og utflyttingslistene for Sandefjord og Sandar uten å finne spor av Hans Jensen, ei heller har jeg funnet ham i aviser for Sandefjord eller Vestfold i den perioden han er oppgitt å ha vært bosatt i Sandefjord. Selvsagt med forbehold om at jeg har oversett noe. Men konklusjonen er uansett at alle kilder jeg har sett på hittil (kirkebøker, folketellinger, aviser m.m.) ikke oppgir noe annet navn enn Hans Jensen i perioden han levde. Den Hans Jensen som var formann i Arbeiderpartiet og i LO hadde ikke initialen G. mellom Hans og Jensen. 


Dødsannonsen for skrædder Hans Jensen i Social-Demokraten mandag 11. september 1922 nr. 210, s. 6.

For ordens skyld tar jeg med noen opplysninger om foreldrene til Hans. De giftet seg i Store Dalby 12. oktober 1854. I folketellingen 1870 bestod familien av Jens Hansen og Else Frederikke Charlotte Nielsen og barna Hans (13), Sofia (12), Karen (10), Niels (8), Kristiane (6), Maria Kjerstine (4) og Ane (2). Jeg har også sjekket folketellingene for 1860 og 1880 (og også folketellingen 1850 for å se hvor foreldrene oppholdt seg før de giftet seg) og tror at barneflokken er komplett, men jeg har ikke kontrollert kirkeboken for å se om det kan ha vært andre barn som ikke vokste opp). Etter diverse søk i Arkivalieronline og Ancestry.com har jeg kommet frem til at Hans Jensens far Jens Hansen var født 22. juli 1827 i Hedensted sogn (foreldre Hans Clemmensen og Karen Jensdatter) og døde som enkemann, da oppgitt med yrke landemand, i Horsens Klosterkirke sogn 7. april 1916, mens moren Else Frederikke Charlotte Nielsen (Nielsdatter) var født i Hornum sogn 12. april 1828 (foreldre Niels Andersen og Sofia Kirstina Drinsdatter (?), i 1860-tellingen for øvrig oppgitt som Sophie Dinesen) og døde i Store Dalby sogn 25. november 1887. Før oppdateringen 6. juli 2026 av artikkelen om Hans Jensen i Store Norske Leksikon stod det «Ukjent» om Hans Jensens foreldre, men nå er foreldrene endelig kommet på plass som følge av et tips (ikke av meg!) etter at mine fremskaffede opplysninger ble lagt inn i Lokalhistoriewiki-artikkelen

Navnet på moren står skrevet på mange forskjellige måter i kildene og har også forskjellig rekkefølge (Else Frederikke Charlotte og Else Charlotte Frederikke. I dåpsprotokollen står det, hvis jeg leser riktig, Elisa Charlote Frider: Nielsd:. Man kan da godt argumentere for at dette er riktig navnerekkefølge, men rekkefølgen Else Frederikke Charlotte forekommer oftest i kildene (eller bare Else Frederikke), blant annet ved Hans' dåp og ved dødsfallet, så jeg har valgt å standardisere det slik. 

Hans Jensens kone Ragnhild Hansdatter ble for øvrig født i Eidsberg 22. mai 1861 med Hans Christian Jensen og Johanne Frantzdatter som foreldre og døde i Oslo 7. januar 1941.

Dødsannonsen for Ragnhild Jensen i Aftenposten 10. januar 1941 nr. 15, s. 9.

Sist fredag tok jeg også turen til Nordre gravlund for å ta bilde av graven til Hans og Ragnhild til bruk som illustrasjon. Det er ikke så ofte at graven til en som døde så tidlig som i 1922 fortsatt eksisterer, men i dette tilfellet er årsaken at ekteparet er gravlagt sammen med yngstesønnen Rolf (1904–1994) og dennes ektefelle Kirsti Marie (1905–1989). Graven er ifølge Oslo kommune Gravplassetaten (grav.no) festet til 2029.


© 2026 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth. Lisens: Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0.

Men spørsmålet om initialen G gjenstår. Når fagforeningsmannen vitterlig ikke hadde «G.» i navnet sitt tenkte jeg at det kunne være snakk om en annen skredder med navnet Hans Jensen og som hadde en G i midten. Etter litt søking i Nettbiblioteket og Digitalarkivet fant jeg en mann med navn Hans Gløersen Jensen (1847–1920) som kunne passe. Han var riktignok ikke skredder selv, men kjøpmann, men ifølge flere bøker som jeg kom over, som for eksempel Handelsregistre for Kongeriket Norge, 1891, Norges handel, sjøfart og industri i tekst og billeder, 1925, Slegten Gløersen med sidelinjer (Cato Holmsen, 1927), En slekt Tanberg-Tandberg (Elisa Tandberg, 1938) og Regimentskvartermester Thomas Jensen og hans etterkommere (Leiv Kreyberg, 1973) var han «Indehaver af Skrædder- og Ekviperingsforretning» i Kristiania (senere omdøpt Oslo), som han startet opp i 1880 og solgte i 1903 til skreddermesteren Hans O. Guthe. Sistnevnte fortsatte forretningen under navnet Hans G. Jensen i mange år før nye eiere overtok. Jeg har funnet annonser fra bedriften så sent som på 1960-tallet før den gikk inn. Selv om jeg ikke kan være 100 % sikker, så mener jeg det er meget sannsynlig at det er der sammenblandingen har skjedd.


Norsk Kundgjørelsestidende 5. februar 1903 nr. 34, s. 2.

Jeg kan ikke si med sikkerhet når sammenblandingen oppstod, men jeg finner i hvert fall Hans G. Jensen i en oversikt over Arbeiderpartiets formenn i Tidens leksikon, bind 1, A–bå, utgitt i 1975 og i Cappelens leksikon, bind 1, A–Britten, 1983. Tilsvarende feil, enten det gjelder oversikter over Arbeiderparti-formenn eller LO-formenn eller biografiske artikler, har spredt seg til andre trykte leksika og etter hvert også dagspressen og til ulike Wikipedia-versjoner i dag (norsk bokmål og nynorsk, engelsk og tysk). For ikke å snakke om Arbeiderpartiets egen biografiske artikkel:


Skjermdump av Arbeiderpartiets nettside, 7. juli 2026.

En tilsvarende feil finner man også på en underside til Arbeidernes arkiv og biblioteks nettside (arbark.no).

At fagforeningsmannen og politikeren Hans Jensen blir tillagt det feilaktige navnet Hans G. Jensen på diverse nettsider er kanskje ingen stor sak, men det er ikke bra at større forlag ikke har vist bedre kildekritikk og at feilen deretter har spredt seg til andre medier, rett og slett fordi man kun har kopiert hverandre i stedet for å gå til kilden. Selv om alt er mer tilgjengelig nå enn i 1975 burde forlag som Tiden og Cappelen ha sjekket med kilder fra Hans Jensens samtid. 

Det må legges til at man får fire treff når man søker i Arbeidernes arkiv og bibliotek på det korrekte navnet «Hans Jensen». Blant annet finner jeg Einar A. Terjesens artikkel om de første LO-formennene i Arbeiderhistorie 1989 og som absolutt er verdt å lese. 

Det er generelt lite å finne om Hans Jensen i norsk litteratur og media. Her må jeg selvsagt ta et lite forbehold fordi jeg per dags dato ikke har fullstendig oversikt over litteratur som ikke er digitalisert i Nettbiblioteket. Jeg har heller ikke sjekket om det finnes uskannet arkivmateriale om ham i Arbark og andre arkiver i Norge og Danmark. Kanskje sitter etterkommerne i Norge eller slekten i Danmark på materiale som kan gi et bedre bilde av ham? Man kan gjerne innvende at Hans Jensen bare satt som formann i Arbeiderpartiet og LO en kort periode, men som en pionér og banebryter i norsk fagforeningshistorie fortjener han etter min mening en større biografi. Et passende tema for en masteroppgave om ikke annet? Herved er oppfordringen gitt!

Mitt genealogiske bidrag er selvsagt en parentes i den store sammenhengen, men før helgen var  ikke navnene på foreldrene kjent utenom eventuelt blant nålevende etterkommere. Bidraget er i hvert fall en liten håndsrekning til de som vil gjøre flere undersøkelser om Hans Jensens liv og levnet.

Kilder

De fleste kildene er oppgitt fortløpende, men du finner mer nøyaktige henvisninger for en del av dem her:

Til slutt en stor takk til Ivar S. Ertesvåg, en veteran i Digitalarkivets fora, for hjelp med skrifttyding av navnene oppgitt ved Jens Hansens dåp i 1827.

Postskript 6. august 2026: Jeg har valgt å oppdatere Wikipedia bokmål-artikkelen selv med korrekt navn. Jeg har også sendt e-post til Arbeidernes arkiv og bibliotek samt Arbeiderpartiet med (indirekte) oppfordring til å oppdatere artiklene deres om Hans Jensen.

Sist oppdatert 6. august 2026 kl. 09:35 (postskript tilføyd).


8 June 2026

Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskrift, bind XLVII, hefte 4

Jeg mottok den siste utgaven av Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskrift (bind XLVII (47), hefte 4) i postkassen forrige mandag. Heftet kompletterer bind 47 og er altså den siste utgaven av NST i det gamle formatet. Som jeg fortalte i januar i år vil NST bli slått sammen med Genealogen. Det planlegges 3 utgaver per år – i helt ny design (men sikkert med elementer fra begge tidsskrifter) – og med flere sider per utgave. Tidsskriftet vil både ha fagfellevurderte artikler og artikler av «lettere slag» samt de vanlige medlemssidene. Are S. Gustavsen og Johan Marius Setsaas fortsetter som redaktører sammen med NSFs formann Rune Nedrud, som har vært redaktør for Genealogen siden 2011. I tillegg slutter tidligere NST-redaktør Klaus Johan Myrvoll seg til redaksjonen. Jeg både tror og håper at foreningen vil holde utgivelsestakten fremover slik at medlemmene får det de faktisk betaler for. Jeg ser frem til første utgave av «nye» NST!

Men la oss gå tilbake til herværende utgave, som kan by på følgende godbiter:

  • Fra redaksjonen, s. 221.
  • Atle Steinar Langekiehl: Olav Rød på Kråkerøy – hans slektsforbindelser og nærmeste descendenter. Gården Rød i eldre tid, s. 223–267.
  • Terje Gudbrandson – 80 år, s. 268.
  • Yngve Nedrebø: Arven etter «Nicolaus paa Vyenn», s. 269–282. 
  • Are S. Gustavsen: Bjørn Jonson Dale 1950–2026 [minneord], s. 282
  • Are S. Gustavsen: Genealogiske godbiter I: Dansk-norske forbindelser funnet via Erik Brejls nettsider, s. 283–286.
  • Norsk Slektshistorisk Forenings nye navneregister, s. 287.
I tillegg inneholder utgaven reklame for foreningens sommertur til Ringerike, som fant sted lørdag 6. juni, og som selvsagt er blitt forhåndsannonsert på foreningens nettsider tidligere, samt for Slektsforskerkonferansen 14. november 2026. Der får vi mange spennende foredrag på dagen og kan ta del i foreningens jubileumsmiddag på kvelden. NSF feirer 100 år 22. oktober 2026.

Historikeren Atle Steinar Langekiehls artikkel handler om storbonden Olav Rød (skifte 1644), den første eieren av gården Rød nordre på Kråkerøy. Vi får en oversikt over Olavs nærmeste etterkommere, noe som ikke har vært dokumentert tidligere, og slektsforbindelser for øvrig. Artikkelen kan ses på som en korreksjon og supplement til bygdebokens opplysninger om slekten på Rød fra slutten av 1500-årene til midten av 1600-årene. Et interessant underkapittel heter Hans Nielsen Hauges avstamning fra Olav Rød. Blant kildene er Danske Kanselli, Skapsaker, jordebøker, diplomer, lensregnskaper mfl. Artikkelen har 3 slektstavler.

Historikeren og tidligere statsarkivar Yngve Nedrebøs bidrag tar utgangspunkt i en dom fra 1590 som tolket arvereglene og odelsreglene i landslova og gjennom dette fordelte arven etter «Nicolaus paa Vyenn» (Nikolas på Vie, Førde) (f. ca. 1440–d. e. 1510). Saken var reist av oldebarnet Mikkel Johannisson (f. ca. 1545, n. 1590–1598) fra Nedrebø i Jølster. Leserne får detaljer fra dommen og om arvingene, som konkluderes i en slektstavle som viser linjene fra Olav til oldebarna. To av Nikolas' barnebarn hadde hver fire kjente barn etter seg og alle har stor etterslekt. Hvis man er så heldig å kunne spore egen slekt tilbake til en av disse oldebarna kan man altså komme helt tilbake til 1400-tallet. Dommen står på trykk i Det kongelige bibliotek, København, Thottske samlingar no. 1279, En  Dombog med adskillige norske Domme fra  det XVI Sec., Bergens Sager især angaaende. Domboken er også tilgjengelig i Digitalarkivet: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/db50002653200001

Redaktør Are S. Gustavsens lille artikkel tar for seg godbiter han har funnet i kildeavskriftene på Erik Brejls nettsider, https://brejl.dk/ Her kan mange norske slektsforskere finne ny viten om sine danske aner.

For ordens skyld så har jeg kun stått for siste korrektur av artiklene til Langekiehl og Nedrebø.

Short English summary: This article covers issue 4, vol. XLVII (47), of Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskrift, the periodical of the Norwegian Genealogical Society.