Olav V - WikiHQ

Olav V (, ; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991.

Olav was born at Sandringham House in England, the only child of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud of Wales. He became heir apparent to the Norwegian throne when his father was elected King Haakon VII of Norway in 1905. He was the first heir to the Norwegian throne to be brought up in Norway since Olav IV in the 14th century, and his parents made sure that he was given as Norwegian an upbringing as possible. In preparation for his future role, he attended both civilian and military schools. In 1929, he married his first cousin, Princess Märtha of Sweden. During World War II, his leadership was much appreciated, and he was appointed Norwegian Chief of Defence in 1944. Olav became king following the death of his father in 1957.

His considerate, down-to-earth style made Olav immensely popular, resulting in the nickname ('The People's King'). In a 2005 poll by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, Olav was voted "Norwegian of the Century".

Birth and early life

left|thumb|214x214px|The Norwegian royal family in 1921

Olav was born on 2 July 1903 as Prince Alexander Edward Christian Frederik in Appleton House on the royal Sandringham Estate, Flitcham, United Kingdom. His parents were Prince Carl, second son of Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark (later King Frederick VIII), and Princess Maud, youngest daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, who was the eldest son of Britain's Queen Victoria. In 1905, Carl was elected as Norway's first independent king in 518 years. The fact that Carl already had a son gave him an advantage over the other candidates, as it assured the continuance of the new royal line. When Carl accepted his election, he took the name Haakon VII. The king gave his two-year-old son the Norwegian name Olav after Olav Haakonsson, the last independent king of Norway before its union with Denmark. It was also chosen in honour of Saint Olaf, the first effective king of Norway and a symbol of Norwegian independence and pride.

Olav was thus the first heir to the throne since the Middle Ages to have been raised in Norway, and his parents went to considerable length to give him as Norwegian an upbringing as possible. Unlike his father, who was a naval officer, Olav chose to complete his main military education in the army. He graduated from the three-year Norwegian Military Academy in 1924, with the fourth-best score in his class. Olav then studied jurisprudence and economics for two years at Balliol College, Oxford.

During the 1930s, Crown Prince Olav was a naval cadet serving on the minelayer/cadet training ship Olav Tryggvason. Olav moved up the ranks of the Norwegian armed forces in the army from an initial rank of first lieutenant to captain in 1931 and colonel in 1936.

He was an accomplished athlete. Olav jumped from the Holmenkollen ski jump in Oslo and competed in sailing regattas. He won a gold medal in sailing at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam and remained an active sailor into old age.

On 21 March 1929 in Oslo, he married his first cousin Princess Märtha of Sweden with whom he had two daughters, Ragnhild and Astrid, and one son, Harald. As exiles during World War II, Crown Princess Märtha and the royal children lived in Washington, DC, where she struck up a close friendship with Franklin Roosevelt. She died in 1954, before her husband ascended the throne.

The British Film Institute houses an early film, made in 1913, in which a miniature car (a "baby Cadillac") commissioned by Queen Alexandra for Crown Prince Olav tows a procession of Londoners through the streets of the capital, before being delivered to a pair of "royal testers" of roughly Olav's age. The car is a battery-powered, one-third size replica on a four-foot wheelbase, and is on permanent loan to the Norsk Teknisk Museum in Oslo.

World War II

left|thumb|214x214px|King Haakon VII, Crown Prince Olav, and [[Hans Reidar Holtermann in Scotland during World War II]]

As Crown Prince, Olav had received extensive military training and had participated in most major Norwegian military exercises. That made him perhaps one of the most knowledgeable Norwegian military leaders, and he was respected by other Allied leaders for his knowledge and leadership skills. During a visit to the United States before the war, he and his wife had established a close relationship with President Roosevelt. Those factors would prove to be important for the Norwegian fight against the attacking German forces. In 1939, Crown Prince Olav was appointed an admiral of the Royal Norwegian Navy and a general of the Norwegian Army.

During World War II, Olav stood by his father's side in resisting the German occupation of Norway. During the campaign he was a valuable advisor both to civilian and military leaders. When the Norwegian government decided to go into exile, he offered to stay behind with the Norwegian people, but that was declined. He reluctantly followed his father to the United Kingdom, where he and his staff and servants and aides continued to be a key advisor to the government-in-exile and his father. One source states that Olav helped "to build and lead a free fighting force" and made radio broadcasts in England.

thumb|Olav inspecting Norwegian sailors in the United Kingdom

Olav made several visits to Norwegian and Allied troops in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. In 1944, he was appointed to the post of Norwegian Chief of Defence and after the war he led the Norwegian disarmament of the German occupying forces. On 13 May 1945, Crown Prince Olav and five government ministers returned to a liberated Norway. The arrival was documented in a newsreel by British Pathé News.

His war decorations from other nations, including the War Crosses of Norway, France, Greece and the Netherlands; the US Legion of Merit; and the French Médaille Militaire, are testament to the international recognition of his contribution to the war against Nazi Germany.

alt=|thumb|Crown Prince Olav and [[Princess Märtha of Sweden|Crown Princess Märtha with their children Princess Astrid, Princess Ragnhild and Prince Harald at their exile home, Pook's Hill, in Bethesda, Maryland ]]

Reign

thumb|224x224px|King Olav V at [[Holmenkollen National Arena|Holmenkollen in 1975]]

Haakon was injured in an accident in 1955; his son Olav served as regent until his death. Haakon died at the Royal Palace in Oslo on 21 September 1957. He was 85 years old. After his death, Olav succeeded him as Olav V.

Olav reigned as a "People's King," and became extremely popular, despite the fact that he had no queen consort (his wife, Märtha of Sweden, died in 1954). He liked to drive his own cars and would drive in the public lane even though, as king, he was allowed to drive in bus lanes. When driving was restricted during the 1973 energy crisis, King Olav wanted to lead by example even though he would have been well within his rights to drive. While going on a skiing trip, he dressed up in his skiing outfit and boarded the Holmenkollbanen suburban railway carrying his skis on his shoulder. When later asked how he dared to go out in public without bodyguards, he replied that "he had 4 million bodyguards", the population of Norway at the time.

For his athletic ability and role as King, Olav earned the Holmenkollen medal in 1968, the Medal for Outstanding Civic Achievement in 1970 and was made Name of the Year in 1975. He had a strong interest in military matters and took his role as titular Commander-in-Chief very seriously. As well as his ceremonial roles in the Norwegian Army, he also served as Colonel-in-Chief of the Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Yorkshire Regiment), the British regiment named for his grandmother Queen Alexandra.

The King represented Norway extensively abroad during his reign, conducting state visits to both neighbouring countries and more distant destinations such as Ethiopia and Iran. King Olav V opened the 14th World Scout Jamboree in July 1975 in the presence of 17,259 Scouts from 94 countries.

Although the constitution nominally vested Olav with executive power, he was not responsible for exercising it. In practice, his role was almost entirely ceremonial and representative. The National Archives have preserved all these cards.

Funeral

The state funeral of King Olav V was held on 30 January 1991. During the funeral procession from the Royal Palace to Oslo Cathedral, more than 100,000 people lined up along Karl Johans gate to pay their respects. Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland gave the eulogy at the funeral, before the casket was moved to Akershus Fortress where a private service was held.

Olav was finally laid to rest next to his wife Märtha in the green sarcophagus of the Royal Mausoleum.

Legacy

King Olav's leadership during the Second World War made him a symbol of Norwegian independence and national unity. As King Olav's wife, Princess Märtha, died of cancer, the King Olav V's Prize for Cancer Research was established in 1992.

A 2005 poll by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation named King Olav "Norwegian of the Century". Grand Master (21 September 1957)

70px Founder of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (1985)
70px Recipient of the St Olav's medal
70px Recipient of the Haakon VII Coronation Medal
70px Recipient of the War Medal
70px Recipient of the Haakon VII 70th Anniversary Medal
70px Recipient of the King Haakon VII 1905–1955 Jubilee Medal

Foreign honours

: Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Liberator General San Martin
: Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold
: Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Rose
: Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Merit of Chile
:
Knight of the Elephant (13 August 1921)
Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog (13 August 1921)
: Knight Grand cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (1965)
: Collar of the Order of the Chrysanthemum
: Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau
: Grand Cross of the Order of the Aztec Eagle
:
Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
Grand Cross of the Order of the House of Orange
Recipient of the War Cross
Recipient of the Queen Juliana Inauguration Medal (1948)
: Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun
:
Grand Cross of the Military Order of Aviz
Grand Collar of the Order of Saint James of the Sword
: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Star
: Grand Cross of the Ernestine Order (Saxony, Germany)
:
Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece
Collar of the Order of Charles III
:
Knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim (1 November 1926)
Recipient of the 70th Birthday Medal of King Gustaf V (1928)
Recipient of the 90th Birthday Medal of King Gustaf V (1948) King Gustaf V's 90th Anniversary Medal
:
Knight of the Most Illustrious Order of the Royal House of Chakri (19 September 1960)
Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao
: Grand Cross of the Order of Independence
: Collar of the Order of Pope Pius IX (1967)
:
Stranger Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter (29 May 1959)
Extra Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle
Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath
Recipient of the Royal Victorian Chain
Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Recipient of the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal
Recipient of the King George VI Coronation Medal
Recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal
:
Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit
Recipient of Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws, University of North Dakota
: Great Star of the Order of the Yugoslav Star

Other honours

– A 180 000 km<sup>2</sup> area (Prince Olav Coast) and the Prince Olav Mountains in Antarctica are named in his honour.
– Olav V Land on Svalbard is named in his honour.
– In 1961 the King was a laureate of the Nansen Refugee Award.
– In 1968 he was awarded the Holmenkollen medal.
– In 2005, Olav was proclaimed the Norwegian of the Century, with 41 percent of the tele-votes in a popular competition held by NRK.
– In 1959, Olav was granted the honorary rank of Air Chief Marshal in the Royal Air Force.
– In 1958, Olav was granted the honorary rank of Admiral in the Royal Navy, and in 1988, he was granted the honorary rank of Admiral of the Fleet.
– Honorary Freeman of Richmond
– Honorary Freedom of Newcastle upon Tyne
– Prince Olav Harbour on South Georgia is also named in his honour.

– Member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
, SR Macedonia – In 1966, Olav became an honorary citizen.

Issue

{| class="wikitable"

!Children!! Birth!! Death!!Married

!Grandchildren

!Great-grandchildren

|Princess Ragnhild of Norway||9 June 1930||16 September 2012||married 1953, Erling Lorentzen

|Haakon Lorentzen (b. 23 August 1954)

Ingeborg Lorentzen Ribeiro (b. 27 February 1957)

Ragnhild Lorentzen Long (b. 8 May 1968)

|Olav Lorentzen (b. 11 July 1985)

Christian Lorentzen (b. 23 May 1988)

Sophia Lorentzen (b. 28 Jun 1994)

Victoria Ribeiro Falcao (b. 19 December 1988)

Alexandra Long (b. 14 December 2007)

Elizabeth Long (b. 2011)

|Princess Astrid of Norway||12 February 1932||||married 1961, Johan Ferner

|Cathrine Ferner Johansen (b. 22 July 1962)

Benedikte Ferner Stange (b. 27 September 1963)

Alexander Ferner (b. 15 March 1965)

Elisabeth Ferner Beckmann (b. 30 March 1969)

Carl-Christian Ferner (b. 22 October 1972, Oslo)

|Sebastian Johansen (b. 9 March 1990)

Madeleine Johansen (b. 7 March 1993)

Edward Ferner (b. 28 March 1996)

Stella Ferner (b. 23 April 1998)

Benjamin Beckmann (b. 25 April 1999)

Fay Ferner (b. 10 July 2018)

Fam Ferner (b. 28 January 2021)

|Harald V of Norway||21 February 1937||||married 1968, Sonja Haraldsen

|Princess Märtha Louise of Norway (b. 22 September 1971)

Crown Prince Haakon Magnus (b. 20 July 1973)

|Maud Behn (b. 29 April 2003)

Leah Behn (b. 8 April 2005)

Emma Behn (b. 2008)

Princess Ingrid Alexandra (b. 21 January 2004)

Prince Sverre Magnus (b. 3 December 2005)

Ancestry

Gallery

File:Kong Haakon ankommer Norge 1905.jpg|

File:Kronprins olav 1906 av a bloch.jpg|

File:Time-magazine-cover-scandanavian-royalty-marries-1929.jpg|Märtha and Olav on the cover of Time on the occasion of their wedding

File:Kongebjorka.jpeg|

File:Martha and Olav 1950.jpg|

File:Olafofnorway.jpg|

File:Haakon VII of Norway 3775425108 c95d6db9fc o.jpg|Haakon VII of Norway, Maud of Wales and Crown Prince Olav on 17 July 1913 in Norway

File:Royal Monogram of King Olav V of Norway.svg|Royal cypher of King Olav V

File:Prince Olav, Norway Christmas seal, 1928.jpg|Prince Olav on a 1928 'National aid' Christmas seal of Norway

</gallery>

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

Official Website of the Royal House of Norway
King Olav – biography (Official Website of the Royal House of Norway)
The Royal Norwegian Order of St Olav – H.M. King Olav V the former Grand Master of the Order
Holmenkollen medalists – click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file