Monday marks International Woman’s Day – a global day of celebration for women around the world. In a new interview with the Norwegian newspaper Vårt Land, Crown Prince Haakon pays tribute to his mother, Queen Sonja. The Crown Prince gave the interview in connection with International Women’s Day. Norway’s Crown Prince and acting regent met a reporter from Norway’s largest Christian newspaper at the Skaugum estate in Asker, where he lives with the Crown Princess and their two children.
In the interview, the Crown Prince says that he is a women’s rights activist, and thanks the women who have taken the plunge over the years. The Crown Prince also talked candidly about his mother, Queen Sonja’s, struggle for a greater role in the royal court.
His Royal Highness says: “I remember it very well from childhood. This was something she was very involved in, and which she thought a lot about. It would have been much easier for her to go straight into the role that she was supposed to take on when she joined the family. The Royal House is a type of institution that is a bit conservative by nature.”
The Crown Prince continues: “The fact that she did not choose the path of least resistance, but fought, it has impressed me. Among other things, she worked for a more balanced program for the king and queen. She made such adjustments that she could talk about business; it did not just have to be my dad who did it. In addition, that it was just as natural for my father to follow up on the cultural field, not just her. This is something we have tried to continue in our work, Mette and I.”
In July last year, Queen Sonja turned 83 years old. In 1968, she married the then Crown Prince Harald and thus became Crown Princess of Norway. Since then, Queen Sonja has been one of Norway’s most famous and most talked about women, and when King Harald took over the throne in 1991, she became Norway’s first queen in 53 years.
