King Olav V and Crown Princess Märtha of Norway

Crown Prince Olav of Norway

Prince Alexander of Denmark was the only child of Prince Charles of Denmark (1872–1957) and Princess Maud of the United Kingdom (1868–1938), the youngest daughter of King Edward VII and a sister of the future King George V. In 1905, Norway gained independence from Sweden and elected Charles as king in a national referendum. Charles adopted a Norwegian name and reigned as King Haakon VII. The new king changed his son’s name to Olav in honour of St. Olav, King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Crown Prince Olav received his elementary education at home then completed secondary school at the Halling School in Oslo in 1921. Olav graduated from Norwegian military academy in 1924 then attended Balliol College, Oxford for two years, studying political science, history and economics. Olav competed in ski jumping competitions in Norway and received a gold medal at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam as part of the Norwegian sailing team.

Princess Märtha of Sweden

Princess Märtha of Sweden was the second eldest of the four children of Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Vastergotland (1861–1951) and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark (1878–1958). Prince Carl was the third son of King Oscar II of Sweden and a younger brother of King Gustaf V Adolf, who succeeded to the Swedish throne in 1907. Märtha was educated at home with her two sisters, Princess Margaretha and Princess Astrid (who later married King Leopold III of Belgium), and completed courses in childcare and first aid.

Marriage and Children

Crown Prince Olav of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden were married at Oslo Cathedral on 21 March 1929. They had three children: Princess Ragnhild (1930–2012), Princess Astrid (1932–) and Prince Harald (1937–), who succeeded to the throne as King Harald V of Norway in 1991.

Nazi Invasion of Norway

On 9 April 1940, Nazi Germany invaded Norway, occupying the country until the surrender of German forces in Europe on 8 May 1945. King Haakon refused to surrender, telling his cabinet, “For my part I cannot accept the German demands. It would conflict with all that I have considered to be my duty as King of Norway since I came to this country nearly thirty-five years ago.” The royal family fled to the north of Norway with members of the government. King Haakon and Crown Prince Olav were brought to the United Kingdom aboard a British warship. Olav lived first at Buckingham Palace as a guest of his cousin King George VI and then at Foliejon House near Windsor Castle. Crown Princess Märtha and her three children fled to her native Sweden and then to Finland, where they were evacuated to the United States aboard the US army transport American Legion.

Visits to Canada During the Second World War

Although Olav lived in England and Märtha lived in the United States throughout much of the war, they made frequent visits to Canada to advocate for the liberation of Norway and meet with members of the Norwegian resistance. In January 1941, Olav and Märtha visited Toronto, inspecting the Little Norway Air Force base and watching flying manoeuvres by Norwegian student pilots at Toronto Island airport. Olav also gave an address to a joint meeting of the Canadian and Empire clubs. In February 1941, Olav and Märtha visited Camp Norway in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, meeting with officers and men of the Norwegian naval service as well as Norwegian civilians who had taken refuge in Canada. In August 1941, Märtha travelled to Newfoundland aboard the USS Potomac with American President Franklin Roosevelt. There, she met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during the Atlantic Charter meetings.

On 20 January 1942, Olav and Märtha visited Little Norway to open the “Radio City” Wireless Operators school that trained pilots and navigators. The radio operators included future Kon-Tiki expedition leader Thor Heyerdahl, who reminisced in his memoirs about taking the Norwegian royal children canoeing near the Vesle Skaugum training camp in Muskoka while Crown Princess Märtha crocheted on shore. Olav and Märtha opened the Little Norway Norwegian Air Force training base in Muskoka in 1942 after the base was relocated from Toronto; they also attended the closing ceremonies in Gravenhurst in 1945. Märtha was a godmother of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, who was born in Ottawa in 1943.

Return to Norway

Crown Prince Olav returned to a liberated Norway with Norwegian government ministers on 13 May 1945. King Haakon VII, Crown Princess Märtha and her three children returned to Norway aboard a British naval vessel, HMS Norfolk, on 7 June 1945. Olav and Märtha’s schedule of public engagements increased during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Märtha’s health declined, however, following her return to Norway, and she died of leukemia in 1954. Olav never remarried and succeeded to the throne as a widower.

The Reign of King Olav V

Olav became King of Norway upon the death of his father King Haakon VII in 1957. Thirty years later, he again visited Canada. From 17 to 30 November 1987, eighty-four-year-old King Olav made a state visit to Canada hosted by Governor General Jeanne Sauvé; it was his first visit to Canada since the closing of Little Norway in 1945. King Olav visited Calgary (where he opened an exhibition of Norwegian art), Canmore (where he visited the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympic Village), Toronto (where he was welcomed by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander and opened Little Norway park), Ottawa (where he laid a wreath at the National War Memorial) and Montreal (where he attended a Montreal Canadiens hockey game and visited the Norwegian seaman’s church). In a speech at the opening of Little Norway park in Toronto before an audience of 800 people, King Olav stated, “We still remember the kindness and hospitality of the Canadian people.”

When Olav died of a heart attack in 1991, he was Europe’s oldest monarch.