The Norwegian Palace Park in Oslo was vandalised last Thursday, according to a gardener’s facebook post. They posted about the incident: “It is so sad when things like this happen.”
A Japanese cherry tree in Crown Princess Märtha’s Garden has been broken in two, and the royal gardeners have removed the tree, and they will plant a new one as soon as possible. Crown Princess Märtha’s Garden is part of the castle park which is quite close to the royal castle guarded by the king’s royal guard. It is unknown whether any of the guards saw what happened to the tree. In this part of the park, a beautiful area has been created with trees and flowers that encircle a statue of King Harald’s mother, Crown Princess Märtha.
The Statue of Crown Princess Martha. Photo: Palickap via Wikimedia Commons.
Many Norwegians have commented on the picture on Facebook and expressed their regret about the vandalism and have offered their support for the gardeners, who work to create Oslo’s most beautiful park. One person wrote on Facebook: “So sad that this fine tree could not stand in peace, there are many who are looking forward to walking in the beautiful castle park. I am so angry and sorry that someone can do a thing like this.”
Oslo Palace Park is a public park in the centre of Oslo, Norway, surrounding the Royal Palace. The park was built during the 1840s and is 22 hectares large. The statue of Crown Princess Märtha was sculpted by Kirsten Kokkin, who also sculpted the statue of Queen Sonja who stands behind the castle. The statue of Crown Princess Martha was unveiled on 21 February 2007 by King Harald, on the King’s own birthday. The statue was a gift from the Norwegian Parliament on the occasion of the King’s 70th birthday.
