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Norway

King Harald: “Hope will carry us all into 2021”

King Harald of Norway has delivered his New Year’s Eve speech telling Norwegians that hope will get them through.

The King’s address was televised on NRK from the Royal Palace in Oslo and focused on the pandemic and the impact it has had on all Norwegians. He remarked about how much he and Queen Sonja miss hugging their children and grandchildren and also touched on what the future holds post-pandemic.

The King stressed: “We have to take care of each other,” before mentioning his concern for the young people – especially those who are vulnerable – and how they shouldn’t feel afraid to reach out to others. He also mentioned how “every day is precious” for the elderly and how the world will learn something from the pandemic that can be carried on after things get better.

His Majesty stressed that people are stronger than they think and how the pandemic has shown that.

“We have also learned something else important: We tolerate more than we think. It provides inner security and strength – both as individuals and as a nation. We will keep this in mind when the next strength test comes,” he said.  

While he admitted that he could not say that things would be like they were before, the King said that the pandemic “will pass,” and that one day we will look back in wonder at how we fought through it. This led to his message of hope.

He likened the hope the world needs now to the hope that was needed at other times in history. King Harald said: “We must know with ourselves that we got through because we never gave up hope.”

The King went on to add: “For hope is a way of life. Hope is will, hope is action. Hope is to fix our eyes on something that makes sense to us – and follow it.

“The hope will carry us all into 2021.”

His full speech can be read here.

About author

Brittani is from Tennessee, USA. She is a political scientist and historian after graduating with a degree in the topics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in December 2014. She also holds a master's degree from Northeastern University. She enjoys reading and researching all things regarding the royals of the world. She's been researching, reading, and writing on royalty for over a decade. She became Europe Editor in October 2016, and then Deputy Editor in January 2019, and has been featured on several podcasts, radio shows, news broadcasts and websites including Global News Canada, ABC News Australia, WION India and BBC World News.