The Norwegian Royal Family has revealed its plans for the summer. A spokesperson for the Royal Court told the state run Norwegian TV channel, NRK, that the family will spend their holidays in Norway because of the coronavirus pandemic. King Harald and Queen Sonja will be at their country house on Mågerø, while Crown Prince Haakon and his family will be vacationing in the southern part of the country. The Royal Family will also spend time aboard the Royal Yacht.
The Crown Prince and his family will probably stay at the villa “Vogt”. It became known in April that the municipality of Kristiansand, where Crown Princess Mette-Marit grew up, has unanimously agreed to rent out the villa and the surrounding area to the Crown Prince couple for another five new years.
The family has already rented the villa for the past ten years and used the property sporadically, mainly in the summer. As a tenant, the Crown Prince couple has paid each year just over NOK 200,000, about USD 20,000, to rent the property, which includes both a villa, two boat-places and a 22-acre site.
King Harald and Queen Sonja will have the opportunity to visit their son, daughter in law and grandchildren there this summer. However, they will also be on their property at Mågerø. The Villa Mågerø is King Harald’s private summer resort, south of the city of Tønsberg. The modern villa was completed in 1993. The property is close to a Norwegian military base guarding the property as an honorary assignment. The property ensures the royal family’s privacy as it is completely inaccessible to ordinary people and the press. Several royal birthdays have been celebrated here.
Queen Sonja has already used the royal yacht this summer, but the yacht will be used more this summer. The Norwegian monarch has had a royal yacht since the Viking ages. The current yacht is “KS Norge”.
The Norwegian Royal Yacht is one of the world’s two remaining royal yachts. The other is the Danish Royal Yacht Dannebrog. The Royal Yacht was a gift from the people of Norway to King Haakon VII in 1947, purchased in the wake of a nationwide collection effort. The ship is owned by His Majesty The King but is manned and maintained by the Royal Norwegian Navy.
