King Charles has a close bond with Norway’s royals that led to an unusual link with the family and its much loved patriarch, King Harald. For according to the one telling of the story, Charles got his name from another King of Norway.
The links between the House of Windsor and the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg are almost as long as the surname belonging to Norway’s royals. In the late 19th century, a daughter of the soon to be King Edward VII married a Danish prince and that’s how it all began.
Maud, youngest child of Edward and his long suffering wife, Alexandra married Prince Carl of Denmark on July 22 1896 in the Private Chapel at Buckingham Palace. The bride and groom were cousins; Carl’s father, Frederik, was a brother of Maud’s mother, Alexandra. The newlyweds lived in Copenhagen, where Carl was working with Denmark’s navy, and in Norfolk, in a house given to Maud by her doting father so she could still spend time with him.
In fact, Maud much preferred life in the English countryside and Carl didn’t seem to mind it too much either. They passed many happy times at that gifted home, Appleton House, nestled in the Sandringham estate. It was there in 1903 that their only child was born and they raised the little prince, Alexander, there for a couple of years before history came calling.
In 1905, the union between Norway and Sweden was dissolved. Oscar II had ruled both countries but he abdicated as King of Norway and suddenly Oslo had a vacancy at the royal palace. As was more usual than you might think in the 19th and early 20th centuries, politicians began looking for suitable princes (not princesses, thank you, this is not the 21st century) to take the new throne. And they settled on Carl.
Carl had been born third in line to the throne of Denmark but never seriously expected to rule. And rather than jump at the chance of a throne to make himself honours even with his older brother, Christian, Carl said the decision lay with the people of Norway. He asked for a referendum to be held and when that showed that a majority of the Norwegian people wanted him as king, he headed off to Oslo with Maud and Alexander. He arrived as Prince Carl of Denmark and within hours, he was King Haakon VII of Norway. His wife became Queen Maud and their son was given the name of Crown Prince Olav.
However, their links with their English relations remained strong and the family visited often. In fact, Queen Maud died in England during a visit in 1938. In 1940, the bonds were tightened further when, after strong resistance, King Haakon was forced to flee from the Nazis who were occupying Norway. Along with Olav, now in his thirties, he set up base in England and spent much of World War Two in the country where his already strong friendship with King George VI and his family grew ever deeper.
Following the Allied victory in World War Two, Haakon returned to Oslo with Olav, returning to London when George’s daughter, Princess Elizabeth, married Philip, former Prince of Greece and Denmark, at Westminster Abbey. A year later, the newly married couple welcomed a son and surprised many with their choice of name. After a string of Georges and Edwards, not to mention Alberts, the royal baby who would inherit a throne was named Charles.
If you’ve been following, you’ll have guessed why. King Haakon was always known as Carl to his friends and family and that’s what his British relations had always called him. In fact, the future Queen Elizabeth II is said to have always called him Uncle Charlie. The Norwegian legend is that the longest reigning monarch in British history chose the name of an unexpected King of Norway when deciding what to call her own future king.
The baby in question is now King Charles III and he maintains a strong friendship with King Harald of Norway and his relations. The affection between them was clear to see during the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II when Harald V and his wife, Queen Sonja, were seen singing ‘God Save The King’ as it rang out around Westminster Abbey for Charles.
It was a sweet nod to a much loved cousin from a dear friend. The bond between King Charles and King Harald remains strong, over a century after a prince called Carl married a princess who would help him change history.
