While The Crown has stolen the spotlight for the last decade as the royal period drama, another love story is taking centre stage in a brand new period drama!
King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway are now well loved in their country and have just marked thirty four years on the throne. They continue to carry out royal engagements even in their late eighties. However, their future together was in jeopardy for nearly a decade.
Harald og Sonja, airing in English speaking countries as The Commoner, follows their tumultuous relationship as they forged a new path for the Norwegian monarchy.
The four episode mini-series begins in 1959 when Crown Prince Harald of Norway meets commoner Sonja Haraldsen.
The two began seeing each other privately while several different European princesses were linked with Harald in the press. When news of their relationship broke, both the government and public questioned Sonja’s suitability as a future queen of Norway.
However, the romantic Crown Prince told his father, King Olav, that if he could not marry Sonja he would not marry at all. As Harald was the sole heir, this outcome would have effectively ended the Norwegian monarchy. After nine years, public opinion changed, and King Olav consented to the marriage.
Crown Prince Harald married Sonja Haraldsen on 29 August 1968 at Oslo Cathedral. King Olav hosted a lavish reception for the newlyweds at the Royal Palace in Oslo that evening.
All four episodes of The Commoner are now streaming on Amazon Prime in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.
