Having taken a look at some Norwegian words forfamiliemedlemmer(family members), the Norwegian ”First Family” stands in line. I suppose you’ve already seen the no. 1 ofkongefamilien(the Royal Family) –kongen selv(the King himself). On every Norwegian 10 or 20 Kroner coin, the profile ofkong Haraldis looking towards the edge. (No, he isn’t completely bald, if you look closer, you’ll see that he’s only got amåne(bald spot, literally ’moon’). On a wholly different note, you should notice how the wordkonge, ’king’, looses its final ’-e’ when used as a title in front of a name.)
Harald is known as a peaceful monarch, who thoughtfully delivers his annual, televisednyttårstale(New Year Speech), and takes his time to answer letters sent to him byskolebarn(school children). I should probably add that Norway’s a constitutional monarchy; the king has no real power, but serves as a public symbol of the nation (much like the English Queen Elizabeth).
The king lives together withDronning Sonja(Queen Sonja, pronounce ’Sonya’) atSlottet– ’The Castle’ in central Oslo. They are both very popular among Norwegians, and spend a lot of timetravellingat home and abroad as representatives of Norway. They’ve got two children:prinsesse Märtha Louise[MARE-tah loo-EES] (born in 1971) andkronprins Haakon[HAWK-on] (born in 1973). Even though Haakon is the youngest one, he’s thekronprins(crown prince) who’s one day going to take over the throne. (Yes, that’s just because he’s a man… Fulllikestilling, equality between the sexes, hasn’t reached the Norwegian monarchy yet.)
Haakon becameverdensberømt(world famous) in 2001, when he marriedMette-Marit, analenemor(single-mom) from Kristiansand. A few years ago, such a relationship would have been unheard of in a royal family. Mette-Marit had a son from a former relationship, Marius, and together with Haakon she has got the daughter Ingrid Alexandra and the son Sverre Magnus. They live at the royal residence at Skaugum.
Harald and Sonja once again showed how modern and acceptingforeldre(parents) they were in 2002, when they gave their blessings to Märtha Louise’s marriage to Ari Behn, a dandy-likeforfatter(author) who had his breakthrough with a collection of short-stories calledTrist som faen(Sad as h@ll). They’ve since got three daughters: Maud Angelica, Leah Isadora, Emma Tallulah. Märtha Louise’s interests have been the subject of controversies, especially after she went public about her belief inengler(angels).
每一个17. mai, the Norwegian Royal Family gathers onSlottsbalkongen(the Castle Balcony) to greet the people.
