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Norway

King Harald and Queen Sonja’s car attacked by protesters in Chile

King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway’s final day of their state visit to Chile took a dramatic turn on Sunday after their car was attacked by protesters.

After concluding their state visit, the King and Queen were in the small town of Puerto Williams when Their Majesties’ car was attacked by anti-salmon production protesters.

Around 30-40 protesters surrounded the car before they started knocking on the roof, shouting slogans against the Norwegian fishing industry.

The protesters were quickly removed by the Chilean police and The Royal Family’s Norwegian bodyguards. The King and Queen were transported safely to the house of the city’s mayor. Their Majesties’ itinerary will go ahead as normal for the rest of the day during the state visit.

The Norweigan state visit has been heavily marked with Chilean protesters who want to expand into the Chilean fish-marked. The royal couple has previously been met by demonstrators both in the capital Santiago and the city of Punta Arenas.

During the protest in Punta Arenas on Saturday, chaos erupted when protesters blocked the royal couple in a square. Queen Sonja responded by entering into a dialogue with the protesters. One of the messages read “Welcome King Harald, but not your salmon”.

Queen Sonja and King Harald said to TV 2: “We both experienced the conversation as important, and dialogue is a prerequisite for understanding the views of others. We thought it was an interesting meeting, and we got more knowledge about their case. In addition, it is good to see that democracy works.”

About author

Senior Europe Correspondent Oskar Aanmoen has a master in military and political history of the Nordic countries. He has written six books on historical subjects and more than 1.500 articles for Royal Central. He has also interview both Serbian and Norwegian royals. Aanmoen is based in Oslo, Norway.