King Harald and Queen Sonja 80 years' anniversary: Jubilee book published

King Harald turned 80 years old on 21 February, while Queen Sonja will be 80 on 4 July. Next week the official celebrations will take place with royal guests expected from all corners of Europe. in connection with the anniversary Aller Forlag has published a jubilee book titled Sonja & Harald. En kjærlighetshistorie («Sonja & Harald. A Love Story») (2017; ISBN: 9788232503223, softcover, 115 pages). The book costs NOK 149 (USD 17,19/Euro 15,68/GBP 13,28). The editor is Caroline Vagle, who is a royal reporter for the bi-weekly magazine Se og Hør.

The jubilee book covers Their Majesties' life before they met and their life together as Crown Prince and Crown Princess and later King and Queen. The contents:

• Page 10: En prins er født («A Prince is born»)
• Page 22: Borgerjenta («The commoner girl»)
• Page 32: Sonja eller ingen («Sonja or no-one»)
• Page 48: To blir fire («Two becomes four»)
• Page 82: De eventyrlige reisene («The adventurous travels»)
• Page 112: 80 ting du ikke vet («80 things you don't know»)

First of all it is a «table book» filled with great photos from a long public life together. I will report back if I come across any other similar jubilee books.

Norway: New yearbook published: Året med Kongefamilien 2012

The weekly magazine Her og Nå, published by Egmont Hjemmet Mortensen, is behind the recently released Året med Kongefamilien 2012 ("The Year with the Royal Family 2012"), which as the title suggests covers the main events of the Norwegian royal family in 2012. The price is NOK 89, ISBN 978-82-7227-097-0. It can be bought in most kiosks and supermarkets in Norway as well as from the publisher's webshop.

"Yearbook" might be somewhat misleading, as the publication is not a book, but a "special magazine" and has the same format and style as the ordinary weekly magazine. But for the sake of a suitable tag I will stick with "yearbook". After all, it deals with the royal family throughout the year.

This issue opens with the Christmas celebrations in 2011 and ends with the  Grand-Ducal wedding in Luxembourg in October 2012. We learn from the headline that Crown Princess Mette-Marit was the queen of the evening. Oh well, I am sure the equivalent publications in Sweden and Denmark will say the same about Crown Princess Victoria and Crown Princess Mary! Other articles include the opening of the exhibition The Royal Journey, the visit from the Prince of Wales in connection with Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee, the public celebrations of King Harald and Queen Sonja's 75th birthdays, Their Majesties' state visit to Poland, the official county tours, the first anniversary of the 22 July terror acts, the London Olympic Games, Marius Borg Høiby's confirmation, Princess Ragnhild Mrs. Lorentzen's funeral and many private events as well. Lots and lots of photos (unfortunately some of them paparazzi) and short introductions (in Norwegian only) to each topic.

I am not sure if there will be any other yearbooks covering the Norwegian Royal Family this year. Last year Juritzen Forlag published Kongefamiliens årbok 2011 ("The Royal Family's Yearbook 2011"), but as of today I can't find any information at the publisher's website about a yearbook also in 2012.

Postscript 17 November 2012 at 23:10: If you don't get past the Norwegian order form, you can always send an e-mail to kundeservice [at] artisti.no.

Postscript 23 November 2012 at 11:00: It appears that the webshop doesn't post items to foreign addresses...

Postscript 27 November 2012 at 00:10: The publisher (Juritzen Forlag) confirmed in an e-mail on 23 November 2012 that it would not publish a yearbook in 2010.

The article was updated on 17 November 2012 at 23:10, last time on 27 November 2012 at 00.10.

New book for King Harald of Norway's 75th birthday: "Idrettskongen" ("The Sports King")

Dag Erik Pedersen's book Idrettskongen ("The Sports King") is to be launched in connection with King Harald V's 75th birthday on 21 February next year, Dagbladet.no revealed in the article Kongen håndplukket Dag Erik til bokprosjekt ("The king hand-picked Dag Erik for [the] book project") yesterday.

The book is meant to cover King Harald's commitment to and great interest in sports, both as an athlete, spectator and as a protector. The king is the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF)'s protector and is still an active yachtsman. In 1987 King Harald and his crew won the World Championships with his one-tonne yacht, the Fram X, and in 2005 they won the European Championships with the Fram XV. The King remains an avid yachtsman, participating in national and international regattas each year, cf. his biography at Kongehuset.no.

The king has on several times been described by his wife as a "sportsidiot" ("mad on sports", "sports crazy"), so even if there might be some sports that he finds more interesting than others, his frequent attendance at sports events in Norway and abroad is certainly not because of duty. His knowledge about Norwegian and international sports is said to be impressive. - You can interview any Norwegian athlete, and everyone will tell you that the king was present at the greatest moment of their career, the author says to Dagbladet.no.

Dag Erik Pedersen works as a sports journalist for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) and is a former professional cyclist. In 1999 he produced a TV documentary with the same title as the book, Idrettskongen. According to VG.no 10 December 2011, Pedersen asked the king if he would be interested in contributing to the book during the Olympic Winter Games in Torino in 2006. Dagbladet.no on the other hand claims that it was the king who wanted Pedersen to write the authorised book.

The book will be sold in the book stores as well as by the athletic clubs, which will get some of the profit.

The publisher is Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. ISBN: 9788205422803
(820542280X). Price: NOK 399. Expected to be on sale from 14 February 2012.

Updated on Tuesday 13 December 2011 at 22.00 (paragraph about the publishers added).

Norway: Kongefamiliens årbok 2011 - The Royal Family's Yearbok 2011

We are getting closer to yet another Christmas celebration, and as usual a bunch of new and interesting book titles has reached the market. The fifth volume of Tor Bomann-Larsen's biography about King Haakon VII and Queen Maud of Norway, Æresordet (Cappelen Damm, 2011, ISBN 978-82-02-30374-7) has created several headlines in the newspapers and is expected to sell well (I hope to get it for Christmas!). But it might get some competition in Juritzen forlag's publication Kongefamiliens årbok 2011 ("The Royal Family's Yearbook 2011"), which has recently arrived in the bookstores (it was delivered from the printers on 8 November 2011, cf. the blog Passion&Prose bokdesign). As the title suggests, the book, edited by Arve Juritzen, covers the main royal events of 2011, and according to its publisher, consists of about 350 pages with more than 400 photos (the BibSys entry, however, gives the number of pages to be 317). The publisher's presentation mentions the Crown Prince family's trip to the Middle East and Asia, the Oslo and Utøya terror acts and the British Royal Wedding as some of the events that will be covered by the yearbook.

The book costs NOK 399, but is priced at NOK 349 in some of the Internet bookstores (see for instance Norli). ISBN: 978-82-8205-168-2.

New books in connection with the Norwegian Crown Prince couple's 10th anniversary

Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, née Høiby, will celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary on 25 August 2011. The occasion will be marked by a church service in Oslo Domkirke (Oslo Cathedral) on Thursday 25 August at 3 p.m.

I have so far noted 3 books that have been or will be published in connection with the anniversary. The first one is titled Mette-Marit. Prinsesse av folket ("Mette-Marit. The people's princess") and is published by Kagge Forlag. It is described as "an illustrated celebration of Norway's Crown Prince couple", with photographs by Aasta Børte, while the Hjemmet journalist Monica Aafløy Hansen has written the texts. The book is originally priced at NOK 399, but Libris sells it for NOK 349. No mentioning of the title at the publisher's own website, though (I just made a search). ISBN: 9788248911074.

Aller Media AS has recently published 10 år med Kronprinsparet. Jubileumsbok ("10 years with the Crown Prince couple. An anniversary book"). I can't find any BibSys registration, but according to the publiser's website the 140 pages' long book is priced at NOK 149 for those who subscribe to one of Aller Media's periodicals. It can also be purchased in one of the Narvesen kiosks (price NOK 179).

The Aftenposten journalist and former court reporter Liv Berit Tjessem has written the book Haakon og Mette-Marit i 10 år ("10 years with Haakon and Mette-Marit"). It is published by Schibsted Forlag and will be available for purchase on 25 August 2011.

According to the Norli bookstore it is priced at NOK 199, while BibSys operates with the price NOK 299 (and even with a slightly different book title, Kronprinsparet gjennom 10 år!). No information at the publisher's website so far, but the ISBN is 9788251656306.


It should be added that I have not read any of the (photo) books yet, but had a very short look into Børte/Hansen's illustrated celebration book and it looked rather nice.

Postscript 7 August 2011: Liv Berit Tessem's book Haakon og Mette-Marit i 10 år is now available in the bookstores (and the supermarkets). At Norli's website I was earlier told that the book would first hit the market on the wedding day, 25 August, but this information has now been changed. The price is NOK 199. Again, I have not read the book, but it looked nice!

Updated on Monday 1 August 2011 at 08:25 (minor text additions), last time on Sunday 7 August 2011 at 08.00 (postscript).

Drawings of Norwegian Seals from 1591 and 1610

Photo: © 2010 Carsten Berg Høgenhoff, NSF.

The publication Segltegninger fra hyllingene i Norge 1591 og 1610 ("Drawings of Norwegian Seals from 1591 and 1610") finally came on the market this week. The long-awaited book is published by Slektshistorisk Forlag AS, which is owned by Norsk Slektshistorisk Forening (NSF; The Norwegian Genealogical Society). The editor of the work is Anders Bjønnes, while the other members of the editorial committee are Svein Becken and Håvard Blom, all active members of the NSF. Contributions by Halvard Bjørkvik, Reidar Kjellberg, Anders Bjønnes, Hans Cappelen and Terje Gudbrandson. ISBN: 978-82-998428-0-8, price NOK 499 + P&P. 449 p., + name and place register.
On the back of the cover the following is written in English about the book:

At Akershus Castle Christian IV was sworn allegiance to as King of Norway in 1591. His oldest son, "the chosen prince" Christian, was honored with the same ceremony in 1610. Representatives from the cathedral chapters, local clergymen, burghers in the towns and peasantry brought with them sealed authorisation letters. The nobility attended in person and issued their own documents of allegiance - the one from 1591 is preserved.
The seals on these documents, published in this book, are an interesting source of material in many respects. Several articles on relevant themes are also included. This publication by The Norwegian Genealogical Society should therefore be of great interest also to researchers outside Norway.

As stated in the foreword of the book, the seals are "an interesting source of historical material seen from a genealogical point of view and they are primary sources of information relating to the history of personal names, art history and heraldry." The book is written in Norwegian, but there is an English summary at the end of each chapter.
The work on this publication was commenced in connection with the 75th anniversary of The Norwegian Genealogical Society in 2001, but obviously the task of completing it has been demanding. An inheritance from the late Margit Louise and Svein Holger Syvertsen has helped to fund the completion of the publication, and "Drawings of Norwegian Seals from 1591 and 1610" is therefore dedicated to their memory.
I have been a deputy member of the committee of The Norwegian Genealogical Society since May 2009, but I have not been involved in this project at all, except for giving a hand in the packing and distribution of the book after it arrived from the printers (see photos from the packing last weekend here). As I am first of all an "post-Napoleon historian" and certainly not an expert on heraldry, I am not going to review the book, so I will limit myself to the short presentation above.
The book looks great, though, and I am looking forward to studying it more closely.
If you are interested in the book (only the hardback is now for sale), please see NSF's website for more information. A subpage entirely dedicated to the publication - http://www.genealogi.no/segl - will soon be available.

Updated on Thursday 3 January 2013 at 10:20 (typo corrected).

Bernadotteättlingar - The Bernadotte Descendants

Last Saturday, 21 August 2010, it was 200 years since Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte was elected Crown Prince of Sweden. In connection with the Bernadotte bicentenary Ted Rosvall has published an updated edition of Bernadotteättlingar (The Bernadotte Descendants). As the title suggests, the book gives a survey of all the descendants of King Carl XIV Johan, but it also has some information about the ancestry of those who have married into the Bernadotte family.

The last edition of Bernadotteättlingar was published in 1992. I really look forward to receiving my copy (I ordered it tonight!), and will come back with a review as soon as possible.

The new book, which costs SEK 295,-, can be ordered from Rosvall Royal Books by contacting Ted Rosvall at royalbooks [at] telia.com.

See also my later blog article of 11 September 2010 concerning the same subject.

Updated on Wednesday 25 August 2010 at 11.25, last time on Tuesday 14 September 2010 at 16.00.

The Prisoner of Durazzo

I was a bit surprised when I returned home yesterday evening and found a letter from Zenda Press of Tennessee, USA in my mailbox. Did I know anyone in Zenda Press, or in Tennessee for that matter? And how did the publishers get hold of my postal address - correctly spelt, even!

Enclosed was an information sheet about Robert A. Lanier's book The Prisoner of Durazzo, which was published in May 2010. The book covers the short reign of Prince Wilhelm of Wied (1876-1945), who was Mbret of Albania from March to September 1914. A chaotic reign, but a very interesting story, and the book looks quite interesting. Whoever got hold of my postal address or tipped off the publishers must have known how interested I am in Balkan history and especially Balkan royal history.

The Prisoner of Durazzo is available among others from Amazon.com. No Kindle version, though. The price is USD 29,95 + P&P. ISBN: 978-0615325231.

If any of my blog followers have read the book, please post your thoughts about it!

Daniel Westling's ancestry (Part II)

Last month I wrote a short blog article about Björn Engström's book Daniel Westlings anor från Svartnäs. Med kulturhistoriska utblickar i byar och miljöer under 700 år, which deals with a part of Prince Daniel of Sweden's ancestry. I ordered the book from Ord & Bok and it arrived shortly after the royal wedding. You can also order it directly from the author (send me an e-mail and I will forward his e-mail address).

The book starts with Prince Daniel's farmors morfar (paternal grandmother's maternal grandfather) Johan Båt (1853-1947): Daniel Westling --> Olle Westling --> Frida Borg --> Anna Båt --> Johan Båt. Then it takes you back through the many centuries and ends with Johan Båt's ancestor no. 32196, Jöns Svinhuvud, who died after 1386. Along the way you not only get a lot of genealogical details, but also a presentation of the society the ancestors lived in, included a great number of pictures of farms, churches, graves etc. as well as a most useful map of Faluns kommun (Falun municipality), which borders to among others Ockelbo, Daniel's home town.

Among the sources are church books, other primary sources as well as various genealogical works published either in print and/or on the internet. The author only makes a short list of the sources used, but if you contact the author you can get more details.

As the book only deals with a part of Prince Daniel's ancestry, there is plenty of work left for other genealogists. Hopefully more details will be published later. The Swedish Riksarkivet (The Swedish National Archives) have already published family trees starting with his grandparents (March 2009).

(Thanks to blogger Trond Norén Isaksen for providing the links.]

Daniel Westling's ancestry

The genealogist Björn Engström tells in his book Daniel Westlings anor från Svartnäs - Med kulturhistoriska utblickar i byar och miljöer under 700 år, which was released earlier this week, that the commoner Daniel Westling, who is going to marry HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden on 19 June this year, has aristocratic roots:

• Daniel Westlings anor från Svartnäs (book release information 7 June 2010)
  
• Smeder och adel i Westlings släkt (DN.se 7 June 2010)
  
• Daniel descended from aristocracy: new book (The Local 8 June 2010)
• Commoner marrying Swedish Crown Princess 'has aristocratic roots' (Telegraph.co.uk 9 June 2010)
• Book details at Boksson or Ord & Bok.
  

The author is himself an 8th cousin of Daniel's father Olle. See also HD.se's article Daniel Westling och hans släkt from 17 May this year (in Swedish).

Farewell, Norway

The publisher and former journalist Sverre Mørkhagen has recently finished his first volume on the Norwegian emigration to America, «Far vel Norge. Utvandringen til Norge 1825-1975» («Farewell, Norway. The Norwegian emigration to America 1825-1975»). It is the first larger work on the Norwegian emigration in 30 years. In the book Mørkhagen claims among others that the numbers of emigration from Norway to America were much higher than earlier estimated, perhaps as many as a million Norwegians are believed to have left their homeland between 1825 and 1875. The book, which is published by Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, is 660 pages long and is priced at NOK 449.

In connection with the new book the Norwegian National Library has opened an exhibition about the Norwegian emigration history and all the literature that has been published about the topic. Norsk-amerikansk samling - «Norwegian-American Collection» has the most complete collection of Norwegian emigration literature in the country, covering both fictional and non-fictional works.

Earlier major works on the Norwegian emigration to America were written by Ingrid Semmingsen («Veien mot vest», 2 vol., 1941-1950), Theodore C. Blegen («Norwegian migration to America 1825-1860») and Odd Lovoll.

References

• «Utvandringens historie skal skrives på nytt» (Aftenposten.no 26 April 2006)
• «Én million kan ha dratt til Amerika» (Aftenposten.no 13 October 2009)
• «New book adds new drama to Norwegian emigration» (Views and News from Norway 13 October 2009)

Updated Tuesday 27 October 2009 at 08:25.

«The Prince and the Nanny»

I obviously missed the news of the book «The Prince and the Nanny. The Life of Prince Harald, now King of Norway, as told in Historical Context and through the Journal of his Nurse, Inga Berg» when it was published by Skandisk Inc. in Minnesota in 2008. But today I got hold of a copy of the second edition published this year.

As the title suggests, the book tells the life of King Harald so far, but also gives many details about Inga Berg (1896-1983), who served as a pediatric nurse for the then Prince Harald for the first year and a half of his life. The book is built on the diary that she wrote during her time at Skaugum, the Crown Prince family’s estate in Asker outside Oslo, and gives nice glimpses of the first months of Prince Harald’s life.

As the author, Odell M. Bjerkness, writes in his preface, the book is organized in four sections:
- Part I provides background information about the life of Inga Berg and the royal family
- Part II is Inga Berg’s journal from her 18 months as the royal residence at Skaugum, with translations and explanations by the author
- Part III, the epilogue, completes the story of Prince Harald and Inga Berg, tracing some of the activities of the two families until the present.
- The final part contains endnotes, a bibliography and appendices.

The book is richly illustrated and especially enjoyable are the appendices, with among others the letter of recommendation written by Crown Prince Olav’s ADC, Nikolai Ramm Østgaard (1885-1958), information on vacation time compensation, Inga Berg’s personal invitation to the wedding of Crown Prince Harald and Miss Sonja Haraldsen in 1968 and «Excerpts of weight and milk charts, February 23-April 23, 1937»!

It might have been told before in other books about King Harald, but now we know that he weighed 3170 grams at birth (about 7 pounds) and 4900 grams on 4 May 1937!

The author, Odell M. Bjerkness of Edina, Minnesota, Professor Emeritus of Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota, is the son of Marie Berg Bjerkness, the elder sister of Inga Berg. He received the St. Olav medal by King Olav V in 1982 for his work in promoting Norwegian-American relations.

Book details