His Majesty King Harald and Her Majesty Queen Sonja watched Thursday afternoon His Majesty the King’s Guard perform in the Palace Square from the Palace Balcony at Royal Palace in Oslo. Over a thousand people had met up to see the show lasting for 30 minutes.
The heat wave in Norway is now over and temperatures are back to normal. Earlier this summer southern Norway was unusually warm. A heat wave hit the country and has lasted almost two months with temperatures of 30-32 degrees Celsius during the daytime. This heat wave has also affected the Norwegian Royal Guard. Now, measures have been taken to ensure that none of the King’s soldiers will suffer or are hurt during the remaining heat wave.
Queen Sonja & King Harald. Photo: Oskar Aanmoen / Royal Central
The Royal Guards, who stand outside the Royal Palace, do so in a black uniform made of wool. So then, the General of the Royal Guard ordered the time spent at their post to be shorter, and the soldiers to be served water all the time while they were on duty.
The Royal Guard has an armed guard presence at the royal residences in all of Norway and is a part of the permanent defence of Oslo each day of the year. Two of the guards received a special honour during the inspection. The King awarded “The King’s Clock” to the best guard of the year, who has excellent skills in field discipline, guard and attitude. For the first time in history, it was awarded to a female guard.
The King and Queen were very pleased that so many participated. Photo: Oskar Aanmoen / Royal Central
The changing of the guard in front of the Royal Palace by the Royal Guard takes place daily at 13:00 hours. In the summer, the changing of the guard is also often expanded with music in the form of parades, and sometimes even with a drill show. The places that the royal guards have a permanent guard service is at the Royal Palace, Skaugum, Bygdø royal estate when in use, Akershus Fortress and Huseby military camp.
His Majesty the King’s Guard is the Norwegian King’s lifeguard and the largest department in the Royal Norwegian Army. The Royal Guard is also a part of the city defence of Oslo and is prepared to support the police in crises. After the bombing of the government quarter in 2011, more than 700 guards were in armed action to support the police in the protections of the Government Quarter and other important buildings in Oslo.
