Princess Ingrid Alexandra received a special gift from Bardu and Målselv Municipality, a first for the Norwegian Royal Family.
As a symbol of her time spent in Bardu and Målselv, the future queen of Norway received their bunad, the traditional costume of their municipality. This marks the first time a Norwegian royal has received a bunad from northern Norway.
The future queen was presented with the special gift in a ceremony at Målselv’s municipal building, just as her time in the military—having spent the past 15 months with the Engineer Battalion in Skjold—comes to an end.
“After many wonderful months here, I have grown to love Bardu and Målselv,” Princess Ingrid Alexandra said. “I have met so many wonderful people and have enjoyed the nature here very much, through trips in the mountains, both on skis and on military exercises.”
She added that bunads symbolise belonging, and “I’m glad that I belong here a little bit, having lived here since January last year. I’m really looking forward to wearing it.”
After the bunad presentation, Princess Ingrid Alexandra watched a cultural presentation that included a song and a musical performance of the bridal waltz that Målselv municipality presented to Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit for their 2001 wedding.
According to Norwegian media, Princess Ingrid Alexandra was allowed to choose the colour of her bunad, as Bardu and Målselv features four colours (black, blue, navy, and green). The bunad is based on the clothing that the first settlers to the area wore back in the late 1700s.
This is Princess Ingrid Alexandra’s fourth known bunad. She received a specially-designed one from her grandmother, Queen Sonja, for her confirmation in 2019, based on the Aust-Telemark bunad; for her 18th birthday in 2022, she received a bunad from her maternal grandmother based on that from Rogaland, and one from the Nore og Uvdal municipality.
As Princess Ingrid Alexandra wraps up her military service, she has yet to announce any future plans. Next week she’ll participate in her first State Visit when the President of Finland arrives in Oslo.
