Earlier this week Royal Central reported that King Harald and Queen Sonja’s special confirmation gift to Princess Ingrid Alexandra was a Norwegian national costume, also called a “bunad”. The costume is a reconstructed women’s bunad from the 1880s. The Princess has chosen elements for the costume, and Her Majesty the Queen has taken an active part in the project.
Today, the Norwegian government announced their gift to their Princess. Norway’s government’s confirmation gift to Princess Ingrid Alexandra is to rename Hengsåsen nature reserve at Bygdøy in Oslo to “Prinsesseåsen” nature reserve. “Prinsesseåsen” can be directly translated to “The Princess’s hill”.
The Princess is also to receive in the gift the oil painting “My moment with Lilac”, painted by the Norwegian artist Tyra Tingleff. Tingleff lives and works in Berlin, is educated at the art academies in Bergen, Copenhagen and London, and has exhibited in galleries in Berlin, London, New York, Venice and Basel.
“I would like to congratulate Princess Ingrid Alexandra on her confirmation. Confirmation is an anniversary in the lives of young people, and I wish the Princess a great day and good luck with the future”, said Prime Minister Erna Solberg in a press release.
The government wants to give the Princess a gift that links her name to a nature reserve. The choice fell on Hengsåsen nature reserve, which is in close proximity to Dronningberget (Translated to “The Queens Hill”) and Kongeskogen (Translated the “The King`s forest”) at Bygdøy in Oslo. The Princess Nature Reserve is also part of Bygdøy Kongsgård. The change of name was approved by the entire Cabinet on 30 August.
The former Hengsåsen nature reserve has a long royal history. The area was purchased by King Oscar II in 1883 and was added to Bygdøy royal estate the same year as additional land to the manor.
