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Norway

King Harald of Norway breaks decades old tradition

The Norwegian Royal Court has confirmed that King Harald will not visit the ski World Championship in Slovenia this winter. Likewise, no member of the Norwegian Royal Family will visit the Alpine resort of Plancia, something that has been a staple of the royal diary for many decades.

It has become something of a tradition for King Harald to greet the Norwegian gold medal winners during the ski world championship at the valley.

However, this year, neither The King or any members of his family will make the journey to watch the Ski World Championship Planica, which is held from 22 February to 5 March.

A royal spokesperson said: “It is not planned for His Majesty the King to visit the skiing World Championship in Planica, it is not planned for anyone from the Royal Family to be present in Planica.”

King Harald also decided not attending the skiing World Championship in Oberstdorf in 2021. However, this championship took place in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, so it came as no surprise.

In the Seefeld World Championship in 2019, King Harald and Queen Sonja enjoyed dinner with the Norwegian World Championship skiers, and were present during large parts of the event.

At the time, Norwegian ski jumper Maren Lundby, who sat next to The King during the dinner, said: “I have always perceived him as interested in ski jumping. He said that the furthest he has jumped is 20 metres.”

King Harald has a long history of attending skiing events. The sport has always held a special place in The Royal Family’s heritage. King Olav was an active ski jumper himself.

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.