Hoel family grave.
Stoltenberg family grave.
All photos: © 2016 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth.
Showing posts with label Ulrichsen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ulrichsen. Show all posts
25 March 2017
Vestre gravlund (Western Cemetery), Oslo, Norway, Part III
I decided to continue my Vestre gravlund (Western Cemetery) series today, even though it is not «Tombstone Tuesday». For earlier parts about the cemetery, go here and here.
Ulricsen family grave. Johan Christian Ulrichsen (1861–1950) and Berntine Marie «Maja» Ulrichsen, née Hansen (1868–1958) were the grandparents of Queen Sonja of Norway.
Grave of editor (among other titles) Kåre Valebrokk (1940–2013).
One of several Aubert graves at Vestre gravlund. Aubert is listed in the Danish Book of Nobility (Danmarks Adels Aarbog).
Ingstad and Trætteberg family grave. Hallvard Trætteberg (1898–1987) worked at the National Archives of Norway and was a well-known heraldic artist and expert. He was married to Gunvor Ingstad Trætteberg (1897–1975), a sister of the Norwegian explorer Helge Ingstad (1899–2001).
Grave of Knut Frydenlund (1927–1987), Norwegian Foreign Minister 1973–1976, 1976–1981, 1981 and 1986–1987 under three different prime ministers (including Trygve Bratteli, see below).
Grave of Trygve Bratteli (1910–1984), prime minister of Norway 1971–1972 and 1973–1976, and his wife Randi Bratteli, née Larssen (1924–2002).
Lange family grave. Hallvard Lange (1902–1970), Norwegian Foreign Minister 1946–1963 and 1963–1965).
Castberg family grave. Johan Castberg (1862–1926) was a Norwegian politician. He was a member of Parliament for many years, Minister of Justice 1908–1910, Minister of Trade 1913 and Minister of Social affairs 1913–1914 as well as an outspoken republican during the monarchy debate in 1905. His son Frede Castberg (1893–1977) was a jurist and professor of law.
All photos: © 2016 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth.
All photos: © 2016 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth.
28 February 2017
Vestre gravlund (Western Cemetery), Oslo, Norway, Part II (Tombstone Tuesday)
Yet another Tombstone Tuesday, and today I have decided to continue my Vestre gravlund (Western Cemetery) series. Part I was published in September 2015, but I have published other photos from the cemetery earlier, for instance here, here and here. As I said in part I, Vestre gravlund was inaugurated in 1902 and is the largest cemetery in Norway (243 decares, close to 61 acres).
Grave of the cardiologist Monika Maria Semb Bernadzikiewicz (1966–2014).
Grave of the opera singer Jon Bratt Otnes (1919–2004), who claimed to be the pater familias of the medieval noble family of Bratt and a descendant of the old Norwegian kings. The claim has repeatedly been refuted by leading Norwegian genealogists, including the late Tore Vigerust.
Grave of the artist Severin Grande (1869–1934) and his wife Sara Svensson, née Edlund (1896–1976). (The name Svensson was from her second marriage.)
Grave of the art historian and factory owner Harry Fett (1875–1962) and his family. For information (in Norwegian) and photos of his property Christinedal at Bryn in Oslo, go here.
Grave of the Bull and Wyller families. Henrik Johan Bull (1844–1930) initated the first Norwegian hunting/fishing expedition to Antarctica 1893–95.
Engelstad grave. Berna Engelstad, née Ulrichsen (1894–1993) was an aunt of Queen Sonja of Norway.
Grave of instrument maker Jakob Jakobsen (1828–1916) and his family.
All photos: © 2016 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth.
Langaard family grave.
Godager shipping family.
The Collett family grave,
All photos: © 2016 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth.
20 December 2015
Fødselsmelding for dronning Sonja (birth report for Queen Sonja)
Forleden dag fikk jeg en tekstmelding fra en person som har valgt å være anonym – tekstmeldingen var ikke signert, og mobilnummeret står ikke i noe offentlig register – om at fødselsmeldingen var funnet i en boks merket «Utenbys». Jeg var rask med å kontakte byarkivet, og seksjonsleder Cecilie Lintoft kunne bekrefte i en e-post 16. desember 2015 at «vi for noen år har noen bokser merket «utenbys» i fødselsmeldingene for Oslo, og sikkert for Aker også». Med andre ord må man ha dette i mente når man leter etter fødselsmeldinger sendt inn til enten Aker eller Oslo helseråd i Oslo byarkiv.
Så kan man jo selvsagt begynne å gruble over hvorfor fødselsmeldingen havnet i boksen merket «Utenbys» og ikke i den vanlige Aker-boksen for 1937. Familien Haraldsen bodde vitterlig i Tuengen allé 1 B, som det også fremkommer av fødselsmeldingen. Det kan være at familien hadde midlertidig adresse Berget, Medø ved Røssesund i Tjøme kommune – Haraldsen fikk oppført hytta «på midten av 1930-tallet», ifølge Dagbladet i 1997.
Men familien må ha oppholdt seg på Vinderen i begynnelsen av juli, for følgende står skrevet i Randi Bratteli/Sissel Lange-Nielsens bok Sonja. Norges Kronprinsesse (Oslo: Aschehough, 1983), s.18:
«Den 4. juli 1937 om eftermiddagen kom de første veene. Det var en stekende varm dag, pappa Haraldsen var på stranden med de to eldste barna. Han kom tilbake i halv-seks-tiden og kjørte sin kone til Røde Kors Klinikk. Det var første gang hun skulle føde på sykehus. De andre barna ble født hjemme, det vanligste på den tiden.Uansett hvordan man definerer «eftermiddagen», er det lite sannsynlig at Karl August, Haakon og Gry kjørte hele veien fra Tjøme til Vinderen og var fremme kl. 17.30. De ville vel heller ikke oppholde seg så langt fra klinikken så nære den forestående fødselen. Så dette med «Utenbys» kan man fortsette å gruble over. Eventuelt ta opp spørsmålet med Slottet ved leilighet.
Den lille gutten som døde [Karl Herman], hadde vært søndagsbarn, og nå var det søndag igjen. Dagny Haraldsen ble så ivrig. Hun ønsket inderlig at det nye barnet også skulle rekke å bli søndagsbarn.
«Det må vi se å greie,» sa jordmoren.
Og klokken halv ni kom en liten pike.»
Fødselsmeldingen for Sonja Haraldsen bekrefter det meste som er kjent fra før av. Hun ble født 4. juli 1937 kl. 20.30 på Røde Kors Klinikk i Frederik Stangs gate 11/13 i Oslo med foreldre kjøpmann Karl August Haraldsen, f. 5. april 1889 og hustru Dagny, f. 25. november 1898. Bostedsadressen var Tuengen allé 1 B på Vinderen. Sonjas mor hadde født 3 barn tidligere (Haakon, Gry og Karl Herman). Muligens mindre kjent er navnet på jordmoren, Ragnhild Roø.* Hun har jeg foreløbig ikke lykkes med å finne ut noe mer om. Etternavnet har i hvert fall eksistert, jf. et søk på DIS-Norges gravminner og i Aftenposten Arkiv, men noe treff på navnet «Ragnhild Roø» (med forbehold om at jeg har tolket skriften riktig) har jeg ikke fått. Hun kan jo ha vært født etter folketellingen 1910 og så giftet seg etter 4. juli 1937.
Summary in English
In a blog article I wrote in April 2015 about birth reports to Oslo or Aker Health Council, I commented that the birth report for the then Sonja Haraldsen was missing. It has now been found in a separate box labelled «Out of town».
Litteratur
- Brantenberg, Gerd. «Sonja, 57 år, dronning», i Berggren, Arne/Brantenberg, Gerd/Dahle, Gro/Siegert, Herdis Maria/Tønnessen, Christine. Stemmer ved verdens ende. 86 Tjøme-portretter, Tønsberg : Færder forl., 1999, s. 9–14. [Boken er kun tilgjengelig for de med norske IP-adresser.]
- Randi Bratteli/Sissel Lange-Nielsens bok Sonja. Norges Kronprinsesse, Oslo: Aschehough, 1983.
Updated on 21 December 2015 (postscript added, typos corrected); 29 December 2015 at 18:45 (typo corrected).
7 June 2011
75 years since the death of Queen Sonja’s brother Karl Herman
Today, 7 June 2011, it is 75 years since Queen Sonja of Norway’s brother Karl Herman Haraldsen died in a tragic sailboat explosion in the Oslofjord. The accident can be said to have had a more direct impact on the history of the Norwegian royal house than we have perhaps realized earlier.
The death announcement was published in Aftenposten’s morning edition 9 June 1936 No. 283, and repeated on the 10th and 11th. «Vår lille elskede Karl Herman omkom igår ved ulykkestilfelle, 7 år gammel. / Oslo, 7. juni 1936. / Dagny og Karl A. Haraldsen / Håkon og Gry» («Our little beloved Karl Herman died yesterday by an accident, 7 years old. / Oslo, / 7 June 1936. / Dagny and Karl A. Haraldsen / Håkon and Gry»). The text is somewhat misleading, but obviously delivered to the newspaper on 8 June, hence «yesterday», but the announcement was first published on the 9th. The name of Queen Sonja’s brother Haakon was misspelt in all the announcements.
Photo of the sailboat taken and published in Aftenposten on 8 June 1936 (evening edition). The headlines: «Eksplosjonsulykken i Seilbråten. / Sokning i hele natt uten resultat. / Hadde forgasseren hengt sig op.» («The explosion accident in Seilbråten. / Dragging [for the body] throughout the night without result. / Did the carburettor get stuck [?].»)
Photo caption: «Seilbåten fotografert i formiddag ved Akershusbryggen.» («The sailboat photographed this morning at the Akershus wharf.»)
Queen Sonja of Norway, née Haraldsen, b. Oslo 4 July 1937, was the fourth and youngest child of Karl August Haraldsen (1889–1959) and his wife Dagny, née Ulrichsen (1898–1994). Sonja's father Karl was an avid sailor and had won several cups in sailing competitions. As told by the more or less authorized biography «Sonja: Norges Kronprinsesse» by Randi Bratteli/Sissel Lange-Nielsen (Oslo: Aschehoug, 1983), many of Karl’s friends owned a sailboat, too, and on 7 June 1936 he was helping his friend to take home a boat which had been stored for the winter at Drøbak. Karl August’s youngest son, the 7 years old Karl Herman, joined him and his friends. Tragically on the trip home, just before 5 p.m., the boat exploded, due to some petrol on the deck. Little Karl Herman and his father were thrown overboard. Karl August damaged his head. They never found the boy... Dagny Haraldsen later said that she never cared for looking after graves because her son never got one. The only comfort she found then and in all the years that followed was the thought that she could have lost them both. Eventually also her husband died at an early age, but that was 23 years later.
The accident was covered by the national newspapers. Aftenposten even put the accident on the front page in the evening edition on 8 June. It had not got all the facts right. The newspaper claimed, as did Morgenbladet (which also brought the story on tis front page), that the sailboat (with an engine) was owned by Haraldsen himself, but here I have more faith in the information from the biography.
The press reports disagree about the exact place of the boat explosion. But it seems that the accident took place approximately in the middle of the fjord east of Gåsøya (spelt Gåsøen then) and somewhere between the archipelago Steilene and the rock of Ildjernsflu (see draft). The press reports also disagree about the number of passengers – 4, 5 or 6. But only 4 people were named – Karl August Haraldsen, his son Karl Herman, (company) manager Gundersen and manager Gunnar Winther. I don’t know if there was ever drawn a conclusion about the cause of the accident, but Morgenbladet’s hypothesis – which although more detailed, corresponds with Dagny Haraldsen’s version – that a leakage from one of the petrol tanks had lead to the development of gas and together with some petrol on the deck had been ignited by the flame of the primus used to make coffee. As already mentioned, the Haraldsens were thrown overboard, and little Karl Herman’s body was never found. Karl August got a minor head injury as well as a burn on his back, while Winther damaged his face. Another boat owned by retailer Matheson came to their rescue and brought them into Ingierstrand. A cargo boat named Viking took care of the burning boat. After the fire was put out, it was taken to Akershus wharf in Oslo.
Little has been published about little Karl Herman other than that he died in an accident 7 years old. It is therefore little to be said about the little boy’s short life and his personality. In Bratteli and Lange-Nielsen’s biography of the then Crown Princess Sonja, he was described as an «attpåklatt», an «afterthought», as he was born 5 years after the last of his two elder siblings. He was probably like most small boys – happy about new adventures – he was for instance described as being very thrilled about the prospect of the sailboat trip from Drøbak to Oslo. He was said to be «a dear little thing» and very attached to his mother. Maybe he was a «mummy’s boy» (in the better sense of the expression)?
A few facts can be added to the story: Both the birth register as well as the Bratteli/Lange-Nielsen biography tell that Karl Herman was born at Josefinesgate 29, third floor, on 31 March 1929 as the third child of the retailer (shopkeeper) Karl August Haraldsen and his wife Dagny, née Ulrichsen. Also his two older siblings Haakon (b. 1921) and Gry (b. 1924, d. 1970) were born in their parents’ apartment in Josefinesgate 29, situated in Homansbyen not far from the Royal Palace. The birth of Karl Herman was officially registered on 23 April 1929 following the written declaration by the child’s father. The birth was also registered by Helserådet (the Health Council). The record of his christening is not available, but it most likely took place at Uranienborg kirke (church). According to the records of the Aker skifte- og auksjonsforvalterembete (Aker Probate Court and Commissioner of public sales), «Karl Herman Haraldsen, b. 31 March 1929 in Oslo, living at Tuengen allé 1b by his parents, died in a boat accident in the fjord outside Gåsøen. Not found.» In the commentary column it is added that the deceased left behind 2 Norske Liv gift (insurance) policies worth 5000 NOK each. A death certificate was not produced. The death was reported on 12 June 1936 by Mrs. Engelstad, Bogstadveien 52. Mrs. Engelstad was Dagny Haraldsen’s sister Berna «Mimi» (1894–1993), married to agent Einar Andreas Engelstad (1888–1961).
The biography about Sonja doesn’t say anything about the Haraldsen and Ulrichsen families’ relationship with the church, but it tells that following the accident, Mrs. Haraldsen found a deep and personal faith, «talking to the Lord as to her best friend».
Dagny and Karl Haraldsen decided that the only way to help them getting on with life again was to have another child. The labour started in the afternoon on Sunday 4 July 1937 and Karl, who had been at the beach with Haakon and Gry – it was a very warm July day – returned home around five thirty and drove his wife to the Red Cross Clinic in Frederik Stangs gate. The little boy who died had been a Sunday child (and had died on a Sunday as well, which was not commented on in the biography, though) and now it was Sunday once more. Dagny really wanted that the new child to become a Sunday child as well. The midwife thought she would make it. At 8.30 p.m. a baby girl was born. «People around me were moaning about the heat,» Mrs. Haraldsen recalled, «but I was in Heaven. I was there with the little girl. A Sunday child is supposed to be lucky, it is something especially bright with a Sunday child.» The little girl resembled her late brother. Dagny Haraldsen thought everything was meant to be.
The story about the tragic accident and Dagny Haraldsen’s words are interesting. As the biography suggests, she and her husband were not planning to have any more children after Karl Herman was born. When he died, they thought the best way to move on was to have another child. The future Queen of Norway was born around 13 months after the tragedy struck. How different Norwegian royal history would have become if it had not been for the tragic death of a 7 years old boy...
Sources
The death announcement was published in Aftenposten’s morning edition 9 June 1936 No. 283, and repeated on the 10th and 11th. «Vår lille elskede Karl Herman omkom igår ved ulykkestilfelle, 7 år gammel. / Oslo, 7. juni 1936. / Dagny og Karl A. Haraldsen / Håkon og Gry» («Our little beloved Karl Herman died yesterday by an accident, 7 years old. / Oslo, / 7 June 1936. / Dagny and Karl A. Haraldsen / Håkon and Gry»). The text is somewhat misleading, but obviously delivered to the newspaper on 8 June, hence «yesterday», but the announcement was first published on the 9th. The name of Queen Sonja’s brother Haakon was misspelt in all the announcements.
Photo of the sailboat taken and published in Aftenposten on 8 June 1936 (evening edition). The headlines: «Eksplosjonsulykken i Seilbråten. / Sokning i hele natt uten resultat. / Hadde forgasseren hengt sig op.» («The explosion accident in Seilbråten. / Dragging [for the body] throughout the night without result. / Did the carburettor get stuck [?].»)Photo caption: «Seilbåten fotografert i formiddag ved Akershusbryggen.» («The sailboat photographed this morning at the Akershus wharf.»)
Queen Sonja of Norway, née Haraldsen, b. Oslo 4 July 1937, was the fourth and youngest child of Karl August Haraldsen (1889–1959) and his wife Dagny, née Ulrichsen (1898–1994). Sonja's father Karl was an avid sailor and had won several cups in sailing competitions. As told by the more or less authorized biography «Sonja: Norges Kronprinsesse» by Randi Bratteli/Sissel Lange-Nielsen (Oslo: Aschehoug, 1983), many of Karl’s friends owned a sailboat, too, and on 7 June 1936 he was helping his friend to take home a boat which had been stored for the winter at Drøbak. Karl August’s youngest son, the 7 years old Karl Herman, joined him and his friends. Tragically on the trip home, just before 5 p.m., the boat exploded, due to some petrol on the deck. Little Karl Herman and his father were thrown overboard. Karl August damaged his head. They never found the boy... Dagny Haraldsen later said that she never cared for looking after graves because her son never got one. The only comfort she found then and in all the years that followed was the thought that she could have lost them both. Eventually also her husband died at an early age, but that was 23 years later.
The accident was covered by the national newspapers. Aftenposten even put the accident on the front page in the evening edition on 8 June. It had not got all the facts right. The newspaper claimed, as did Morgenbladet (which also brought the story on tis front page), that the sailboat (with an engine) was owned by Haraldsen himself, but here I have more faith in the information from the biography.
The press reports disagree about the exact place of the boat explosion. But it seems that the accident took place approximately in the middle of the fjord east of Gåsøya (spelt Gåsøen then) and somewhere between the archipelago Steilene and the rock of Ildjernsflu (see draft). The press reports also disagree about the number of passengers – 4, 5 or 6. But only 4 people were named – Karl August Haraldsen, his son Karl Herman, (company) manager Gundersen and manager Gunnar Winther. I don’t know if there was ever drawn a conclusion about the cause of the accident, but Morgenbladet’s hypothesis – which although more detailed, corresponds with Dagny Haraldsen’s version – that a leakage from one of the petrol tanks had lead to the development of gas and together with some petrol on the deck had been ignited by the flame of the primus used to make coffee. As already mentioned, the Haraldsens were thrown overboard, and little Karl Herman’s body was never found. Karl August got a minor head injury as well as a burn on his back, while Winther damaged his face. Another boat owned by retailer Matheson came to their rescue and brought them into Ingierstrand. A cargo boat named Viking took care of the burning boat. After the fire was put out, it was taken to Akershus wharf in Oslo.
Little has been published about little Karl Herman other than that he died in an accident 7 years old. It is therefore little to be said about the little boy’s short life and his personality. In Bratteli and Lange-Nielsen’s biography of the then Crown Princess Sonja, he was described as an «attpåklatt», an «afterthought», as he was born 5 years after the last of his two elder siblings. He was probably like most small boys – happy about new adventures – he was for instance described as being very thrilled about the prospect of the sailboat trip from Drøbak to Oslo. He was said to be «a dear little thing» and very attached to his mother. Maybe he was a «mummy’s boy» (in the better sense of the expression)?
A few facts can be added to the story: Both the birth register as well as the Bratteli/Lange-Nielsen biography tell that Karl Herman was born at Josefinesgate 29, third floor, on 31 March 1929 as the third child of the retailer (shopkeeper) Karl August Haraldsen and his wife Dagny, née Ulrichsen. Also his two older siblings Haakon (b. 1921) and Gry (b. 1924, d. 1970) were born in their parents’ apartment in Josefinesgate 29, situated in Homansbyen not far from the Royal Palace. The birth of Karl Herman was officially registered on 23 April 1929 following the written declaration by the child’s father. The birth was also registered by Helserådet (the Health Council). The record of his christening is not available, but it most likely took place at Uranienborg kirke (church). According to the records of the Aker skifte- og auksjonsforvalterembete (Aker Probate Court and Commissioner of public sales), «Karl Herman Haraldsen, b. 31 March 1929 in Oslo, living at Tuengen allé 1b by his parents, died in a boat accident in the fjord outside Gåsøen. Not found.» In the commentary column it is added that the deceased left behind 2 Norske Liv gift (insurance) policies worth 5000 NOK each. A death certificate was not produced. The death was reported on 12 June 1936 by Mrs. Engelstad, Bogstadveien 52. Mrs. Engelstad was Dagny Haraldsen’s sister Berna «Mimi» (1894–1993), married to agent Einar Andreas Engelstad (1888–1961).
The biography about Sonja doesn’t say anything about the Haraldsen and Ulrichsen families’ relationship with the church, but it tells that following the accident, Mrs. Haraldsen found a deep and personal faith, «talking to the Lord as to her best friend».
Dagny and Karl Haraldsen decided that the only way to help them getting on with life again was to have another child. The labour started in the afternoon on Sunday 4 July 1937 and Karl, who had been at the beach with Haakon and Gry – it was a very warm July day – returned home around five thirty and drove his wife to the Red Cross Clinic in Frederik Stangs gate. The little boy who died had been a Sunday child (and had died on a Sunday as well, which was not commented on in the biography, though) and now it was Sunday once more. Dagny really wanted that the new child to become a Sunday child as well. The midwife thought she would make it. At 8.30 p.m. a baby girl was born. «People around me were moaning about the heat,» Mrs. Haraldsen recalled, «but I was in Heaven. I was there with the little girl. A Sunday child is supposed to be lucky, it is something especially bright with a Sunday child.» The little girl resembled her late brother. Dagny Haraldsen thought everything was meant to be.
The story about the tragic accident and Dagny Haraldsen’s words are interesting. As the biography suggests, she and her husband were not planning to have any more children after Karl Herman was born. When he died, they thought the best way to move on was to have another child. The future Queen of Norway was born around 13 months after the tragedy struck. How different Norwegian royal history would have become if it had not been for the tragic death of a 7 years old boy...
Sources
- Aftenposten 8 June 1936 No. 280 (morning edition, at present not available at Aftenposten’s online archives)
- Aftenposten 8 June 1936 No. 281 (evening edition)
- Aftenposten 9 June 1936 No. 283
- Aftenposten 10 June 1936 No. 284
- Aftenposten 11 June 1936 No. 286
- Bratteli, Randi/Lange-Nielsen, Sissel. Sonja: Norges Kronprinsesse, Oslo: Aschehoug, 1983
- Morgenbladet 8 June 1936 No. 157
- Morgenbladet 9 June 1936 No. 158
- Vestre Akers lensmannsdistrikt (Aker kriminaldommer, skifte- og auksjonsforvalterembete, Vestre Aker, Hba 0006 18.05.1935–16.04.1937)
19 February 2011
Best men at Norwegian Crown Prince weddings
It did not come as a big surprise when the news arrived a few days ago (see Telegraph.co.uk 14 February 2011) that Prince William of Wales had asked his brother Prince Henry ("Harry") to act as his best man at the royal wedding on 29 April 2011. Kate Middleton's maid of honour will be her sister Philippa.
Also in Norway it has been the tradition that close family members have acted as best man, as we have seen at the 3 Crown Prince weddings that have taken place since Norway chose a new royal dynasty in 1905. It is no big news that the then Crown Prince Olav's first cousin - the then Duke of York, later King George VI - acted as his best man when he married Princess Märtha of Sweden in 1929. The Duke of York did his duty in Vår Frelsers kirke (Our Saviour's Church, today Oslo domkirke/Oslo Cathedral) on 21 March 1929. But formally it was Crown Prince Olav's aide-de-camp, Captain Nikolai Ramm Østgaard, who was the Crown Prince' "forlover" ("sponsor", as the banns records 1929 states.
The marriage act 1918 (as the present 1991 act also does) required that "Each of the parties to the marriage shall provide a sponsor who shall solemnly declare that he or she knows the said party well, and shall inform whether the said party has previously contracted a marriage and whether the parties to the marriage are related to each other" (as described otherwise in the said act). Each sponsor had to sign a declaration in this regard. Of course it was more practical that the aide-de-camp signed the papers. Just a formality, of course, and the Duke of York should still be referred to as Crown Prince Olav's best man in the history books. But Captain Østgaard's role is perhaps worth a footnote, or at least a blog article? :-)
Princess Märtha's "forlover" (sponsor) was her father Prince Carl's Kammarherre (Chamberlain) Friherre (Baron) Nils Fredrik Stiernstedt.
When then Crown Prince Harald, today King Harald V, married Sonja Haraldsen on 29 August 1968, he had chosen his first cousin Count Flemming of Rosenborg (formerly Prince Flemming of Denmark) as his best man. But the person who signed the sponsor declaration was his aide-de-camp, Stein Evju, as the banns records 1968 shows (no. 21). Ilmi Riddervold was Sonja Haraldsen's maid of honour, and she also signed the declaration herself. Much easier when you live in the city.
When Crown Prince Haakon married Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby in 2001, his best man was his third cousin, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark. Reading the banns in church was not compulsory by law then, and the "forlovererklæring" (sponsor declaration) is not (yet) a public record, so at present we do not know if Crown Prince Frederik actually signed the declaration himself, or if someone at the court did in his place.
The arrangements described above was not unusual for commoners as well. When Queen Sonja's uncle Rolf Ulrichsen (1892-1967) married Isborg Dahl in 1926, his friend Viggo Seaward acted as his best man (see Skien parish register copy no. 10 Marriage records 1926, p. 288 (no. 48), while his brother-in-law (?) Halvor Dahl had signed the declaration (banns records 1926 (no. 39)). The couple later divorced, by the way, and Rolf later remarried (a woman named Sonja!).
Banns records for the marriages of Princess Ragnhild and Erling Lorentzen in 1953 and Princess Astrid and Johan Martin Ferner in 1961 - both couples got married in Asker - don't seem to be available at The Digital Archives.
Also in Norway it has been the tradition that close family members have acted as best man, as we have seen at the 3 Crown Prince weddings that have taken place since Norway chose a new royal dynasty in 1905. It is no big news that the then Crown Prince Olav's first cousin - the then Duke of York, later King George VI - acted as his best man when he married Princess Märtha of Sweden in 1929. The Duke of York did his duty in Vår Frelsers kirke (Our Saviour's Church, today Oslo domkirke/Oslo Cathedral) on 21 March 1929. But formally it was Crown Prince Olav's aide-de-camp, Captain Nikolai Ramm Østgaard, who was the Crown Prince' "forlover" ("sponsor", as the banns records 1929 states.
The marriage act 1918 (as the present 1991 act also does) required that "Each of the parties to the marriage shall provide a sponsor who shall solemnly declare that he or she knows the said party well, and shall inform whether the said party has previously contracted a marriage and whether the parties to the marriage are related to each other" (as described otherwise in the said act). Each sponsor had to sign a declaration in this regard. Of course it was more practical that the aide-de-camp signed the papers. Just a formality, of course, and the Duke of York should still be referred to as Crown Prince Olav's best man in the history books. But Captain Østgaard's role is perhaps worth a footnote, or at least a blog article? :-)
Princess Märtha's "forlover" (sponsor) was her father Prince Carl's Kammarherre (Chamberlain) Friherre (Baron) Nils Fredrik Stiernstedt.
When then Crown Prince Harald, today King Harald V, married Sonja Haraldsen on 29 August 1968, he had chosen his first cousin Count Flemming of Rosenborg (formerly Prince Flemming of Denmark) as his best man. But the person who signed the sponsor declaration was his aide-de-camp, Stein Evju, as the banns records 1968 shows (no. 21). Ilmi Riddervold was Sonja Haraldsen's maid of honour, and she also signed the declaration herself. Much easier when you live in the city.
When Crown Prince Haakon married Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby in 2001, his best man was his third cousin, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark. Reading the banns in church was not compulsory by law then, and the "forlovererklæring" (sponsor declaration) is not (yet) a public record, so at present we do not know if Crown Prince Frederik actually signed the declaration himself, or if someone at the court did in his place.
The arrangements described above was not unusual for commoners as well. When Queen Sonja's uncle Rolf Ulrichsen (1892-1967) married Isborg Dahl in 1926, his friend Viggo Seaward acted as his best man (see Skien parish register copy no. 10 Marriage records 1926, p. 288 (no. 48), while his brother-in-law (?) Halvor Dahl had signed the declaration (banns records 1926 (no. 39)). The couple later divorced, by the way, and Rolf later remarried (a woman named Sonja!).
Banns records for the marriages of Princess Ragnhild and Erling Lorentzen in 1953 and Princess Astrid and Johan Martin Ferner in 1961 - both couples got married in Asker - don't seem to be available at The Digital Archives.
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