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to begin with, "occupyers" is a typo, secondly, and far more important, to occupy a country, you have to control that country, at this point in time the Germans were invaders
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==World War II==
==World War II==
[[Image:Kongebjorka.jpeg|thumb|right|Crown Prince Olav and his father King Haakon VII takes shelter under some trees as the German occupyers bomb [[Molde]].]]
[[Image:Kongebjorka.jpeg|thumb|right|Crown Prince Olav and his father King Haakon VII takes shelter under some trees as the German Luftwaffe bombs [[Molde]].]]
As crown prince he had received extensive military training and had participated in most major Norwegian military exercises. Because of this he was perhaps one of the most routined Norwegian military leaders. He was respected by other allied leaders for his knowledge and leadership skills. During his visit to the United States before the war he and his wife had founded a close relationship with president Roosevelt. These factors would prove to be important for the Norwegian fight against [[Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany|German occupation]].
As crown prince he had received extensive military training and had participated in most major Norwegian military exercises. Because of this he was perhaps one of the most routined Norwegian military leaders. He was respected by other allied leaders for his knowledge and leadership skills. During his visit to the United States before the war he and his wife had founded a close relationship with president Roosevelt. These factors would prove to be important for the Norwegian fight against the [[Norwegian Campaign|attacking German forces]].


During [[World War II]] Olav stood by his father's side in resisting the [[occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany]]. During the campaign he was a valuable advisor both to civillian and military leaders. When the government decided to go into exile he offered to stay behind with the Norwegian people, but this was declined. He followed his father to the [[United Kingdom]] where he continued to be a key advisor to the government in exile and his father.
During [[World War II]] Olav stood by his father's side in resisting the [[occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany]]. During the campaign he was a valuable advisor both to civillian and military leaders. When the government decided to go into exile he offered to stay behind with the Norwegian people, but this was declined. He followed his father to the [[United Kingdom]] where he continued to be a key advisor to the government in exile and his father.

Revision as of 03:50, 23 November 2007

Olav V
King of Norway
ReignSeptember 21, 1957 – January 17, 1991
CoronationJune 22, 1958[1]
PredecessorHaakon VII
SuccessorHarald V
BurialJanuary 30, 1991
Akershus Fortress, Oslo
Wife
IssuePrincess Ragnhild
Princess Astrid
Harald V
Names
Olav, né Alexander Edward Christian Frederik
HouseHouse of Oldenburg (Glücksburg branch)
FatherHaakon VII
MotherMaud of Wales

Olav V (July 2, 1903 – January 17, 1991) was the King of Norway from 1957 until his death. Olav was born in the United Kingdom as the son of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud of the United Kingdom and given the names Alexander Edward Christian Frederik. He became Crown Prince and only heir to the throne of Norway when his father was elected King in 1905. He was the first heir to the throne of Norway to be brought up in Norway since King Olav IV of Norway and his parents made sure he was given as Norwegian an upbringing as possible. In preparation for his royal duties he attended both civillian and military schools. In 1929, he married Princess Märtha of Sweden. During World War II his leadership was much appreciated and he was appointed Norwegian Chief of Defence in 1944. Succeeding to the Throne in 1957 he enjoyed a very high level of popularity and respect throughout his reign in which he was able to balance regality and approachability. Upon his death in 1991 the Norwegian public displayed a great demonstration of mourning.

Birth and early life

Born in Norfolk, United Kingdom to Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud, (daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom), he was given the names and title of Alexander Edward Christian Frederik, Prince of Denmark. He was given the name Olav when his father became King Haakon VII of Norway in 1905.

Olav was the first heir to the throne since medieval times to grow up in Norway. He graduated from the Norwegian Military Academy in 1924, and went on to study jurisprudence and economics at Balliol College, Oxford.

He was an accomplished athlete. Olav jumped from the Holmenkollen ski jump in Oslo, and also competed in sailing regattas. He won a gold medal in sailing at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam and remained an active sailor into old age.

On March 21, 1929, he married his first cousin Princess Märtha of Sweden with whom he had one son, Harald, and two daughters, Ragnhild and Astrid. As exiles during World War II, Crown Princess Märtha and the royal children lived in Washington, D.C., where she struck up a close friendship with Franklin D. Roosevelt. She died in 1954, before her husband ascended the throne.

World War II

Crown Prince Olav and his father King Haakon VII takes shelter under some trees as the German Luftwaffe bombs Molde.

As crown prince he had received extensive military training and had participated in most major Norwegian military exercises. Because of this he was perhaps one of the most routined Norwegian military leaders. He was respected by other allied leaders for his knowledge and leadership skills. During his visit to the United States before the war he and his wife had founded a close relationship with president Roosevelt. These factors would prove to be important for the Norwegian fight against the attacking German forces.

During World War II Olav stood by his father's side in resisting the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. During the campaign he was a valuable advisor both to civillian and military leaders. When the government decided to go into exile he offered to stay behind with the Norwegian people, but this was declined. He followed his father to the United Kingdom where he continued to be a key advisor to the government in exile and his father.

During the war he made numerous trips to Norwegian and Allied troops both in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. He was appointed to the post of Norwegian Chief of Defence in 1944 and led the Norwegian disarmament of German occupying forces after the war. His war decorations from different nations such as the War Crosses of Norway, France, Greece and the Netherlands, the US Legion of Merit and the French Médaille Militaire are testament to the international recognition his contribution to the war against Hitler received.

Reign

Märtha and Olav in 1950

Succeeding to the Norwegian Throne in 1957 (upon the death of Haakon VII), Olav reigned as a "People's King", and became extremely popular. He liked to drive his own cars and would drive in the regular highway lanes though he was allowed to drive in the public transportation lane. During the 1973 energy crisis Norway banned car-driving on certain weekends, but the king, not wishing to miss an opportunity to go skiing outside Oslo, took the tram. When he tried to pay for his tickets, the conductor told him that people further back had already paid for him.[2] A journalist once asked him if he was afraid to walk around unprotected, he answered, "Why should I be afraid? I have 4 million bodyguards!"—referring to the Norwegian people.[citation needed]

For his athletic ability and role as king, King Olav V earned the Holmenkollen medal in 1968. He had a strong interest in military matters and took his role as titular commander-in-chief very seriously. As well as his ceremonial roles in the Norwegian Army, he also served as Colonel-in-Chief of the Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Yorkshire Regiment).

The king represented Norway extensively abroad during his reign conducting state visits to both neighbouring countries and more distant destinations such as Ethiopia.

During the summer of 1990, the king suffered from health problems, but recovered somewhat during Christmas the same year. An interview given by king Harald V, and hints in a biography by the retired politician Jo Benkow, mentions the possibility that king Olav suffered a great trauma during the outbreak of the first Gulf War January 17, 1991. He collapsed during the day and died in the evening. His son claimed that Olav relived the events of the second World War, which he himself had experienced (the Nazi occupation of Norway), and really believed that the transmitted messages from the new war foreboded World War III. This, he could not bear.

The night after he died (at the Royal Lodge, Kongsseteren) and for several days up until the state funeral, Norway saw a great demonstration of mourning as Norwegians lit hundreds of thousands of candles in the courtyard outside the Royal Castle in Oslo, with letters and cards placed amongst them. The National Archives have preserved all these cards.

Olav's son Harald V succeeded him as King.

Honours

Olav V
Medal record
Olympic Games
Sailing
Gold medal – first place 1928 Amsterdam Sailing 6 m mixed
File:Olav-v-ks ubt.jpeg
A statue of King Olav V in Kristiansand, Norway.

[3]

A 180 000 km² area (Prince Olav Coast) and the Prince Olav Mountains in Antarctica are named in his honour. Prince Olav Harbour on South Georgia is also named for him.

In 1961 the King was a laureate of the Nansen Refugee Award.

In 1968 he was awarded the Holmenkollen medal.

In 2005, Olav was proclaimed the Norwegian of the century, with 41 percent of the tele-votes in a popular competition held by NRK.

Ancestors

Norwegian Royalty
House of Oldenburg
(Glücksburg branch)
Haakon VII
Children
Olav V
Olav V
Children
Princess Ragnhild, Mrs. Lorentzen
Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner
Harald V
Harald V
Children
Princess Märtha Louise
Crown Prince Haakon
Grandchildren
Princess Ingrid Alexandra
Prince Sverre Magnus
8. Christian IX of Denmark
4. Frederick VIII of Denmark
9. Louise of Hesse-Kassel
2. Haakon VII of Norway
10. Charles XV of Sweden
5. Lovisa of Sweden
11. Louise of the Netherlands
1. Olav V of Norway
12. Albert, Prince Consort
6. Edward VII of the United Kingdom
13. Victoria of the United Kingdom
3. Maud of Wales
14. Christian IX of Denmark ( = 8 )
7. Alexandra of Denmark
15. Louise of Hesse-Kassel ( = 9 )


Titles from birth to death

Here is a list of the styles King Olav bore from birth to death, in chronological order:

  • His Highness Prince Alexander of Denmark
  • His Royal Highness The Crown Prince of Norway
  • His Majesty The King of Norway
Styles of
King Olav V of Norway
Reference styleHis Majesty
Spoken styleYour Majesty
Alternative styleSir

References

  1. ^ Coronation discarded by constitutional amendment in 1908. Olav V instead received the benediction in the Nidaros Cathedral.
  2. ^ Article from NRK on the king Featuring a photo of the event and explanatory text Template:No icon. Retrieved 24 November 2006
  3. ^ Royal House of Norway web page on King Olav V's decorations (Norwegian) Retrieved 5 October 2007
Olav V
Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg
Born: July 2 1903 Died: January 17 1991
Political offices
Preceded by Chief of Defence of Norway
1944-1945 		Succeeded by
Regnal titles
Preceded by King of Norway
1957-1991 		Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by Holmenkollen medal
1968
with Assar Rönnlund
Gjermund Eggen
Bjørn Wirkola 		Succeeded by
Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special%3ADiff%2F173219426