Today, Tuesday 21 January, Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway turns 16-years-old. To celebrate the occasion, we have compiled 16 facts about the Princess which you might not have known before:
- Following Princess Ingrid Alexandra’s birth, Germany’s leader had to go out and ask German magazines to stop spreading various rumours about the Princess and her origins.
- The Princess was going to have another name. Crown Princess Mette-Marit said in 2018 that had she been born today, she would have had another name. The Crown Princess said: “We actually intended to call Ingrid Alexandra, Tyra Eufemia, but we thought it was so special that we did not dare to do it”.
- The baptismal dress the Princess used was sewn by the Princess’s great-grandmother, Princess Ingeborg of Sweden.
- Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit broke with the royal tradition when Mette-Marit’s mother, Marit Tjessem, was announced as a godmother. She was a woman of the people. This had never happened in the history of the Norwegian Royal Family until then.
- According to the Royal Court, the Princess has many activities she likes to do. This includes skiing and kickboxing. Like the rest of the Crown Prince Family, she also enjoys surfing.
- The Princess has a cake named after her. This was the cake that was made for her baptism, composed by the palace’s own chefs. The cake was called ‘Raspberry-tart Princess Ingrid Alexandra’ and was made of a classic pie crust covered with a thick layer of vanilla cream, topped with fresh raspberries, glazed with a special sauternes gel.
- The Princess went to a state school kindergarten as a child. At not even two-years-old, on 2 January 2006, the Princess took her first trip to the local kindergarten in Asker.
- Princess Ingrid Alexandra belonged to the green group in her kindergarten.
- During an interview in 2012, the Princess was asked if she had many servants. The Princess said no. Her father, Crown Prince Haakon, added that they had many nice people who have helped them. Then, the Princess added that at those people became very angry if she called them servants. A slightly overwhelmed Crown Prince asked his daughter if she had ever called the helpers ‘servants’ at any time. She confirmed that she had but would not do again.
- Maths, as well as arts and crafts, were Princess Ingrid Alexandra’s favourite subjects at school.
- In 2010, Princess Ingrid Alexandra was a bridesmaid in her godmother, Crown Princess Victoria’s wedding.
- In 2012, the Princess said that the most boring thing about being royal was the taking of pictures.
- Princess Ingrid Alexandra has a very special part of the Palace Park named after her, “The Princess Ingrid Alexandra Sculpture Park”.
- “When I was younger, I didn’t even know I was a princess,” said Ingrid Alexandra during an interview in 2012.
- 22 years after her father, Crown Prince Haakon, Princess Ingrid Alexandra followed his footsteps with a very special Olympic role. Over 13,000 were present at the opening of the Youth Olympics in Lillehammer, and it was the young Princess who lit the Olympic flame.
- Princess Ingrid Alexandra, like her father, is very concerned about climate. When the Princess was confirmed in August 2019, all the guests received a gift from the teen, a special “seed sheet”. On the sheet was a greeting from the Princess: “As this paper is laid in the soil, over time, various colourful summer flowers will emerge. I hope it can be a reminder that we are the only one who can take care of our earth. “
The Royal Court also shared a new photo of the Princess to celebrate her Sweet 16. It was taken by Ann Cathrin Buchardt.
