17 january 1991: Olav V of Norway died

On 17 January 1991, King Olav V of Norway died. He was King from 1957 till his death. In 2005, a poll organized by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation named King Olav "Norwegian of the Century." But what do we know about this popular King?

Birth

Prince Alexander Edward Christian Frederik was born in Appleton House on the Royal Sandringham Estate, Flitcham in the United Kingdom.  His parents were Prince Carl, second son of Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark (later King Frederick VIII) and Princess Maud. She was the youngest daughter of

King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, himself the eldest son of Britain's  Queen Victoria.  

The newborn Prince was a member of the House of Glücksburg. 

Early Life

In 1905, Prince Carl, Olav's father was elected King of Norway and he took the name Haakon VII. One day Haakon was crowned he gave his two-year old son the Norwegian name Olav, after Olaf Haakonsson, King of Norway and  Denmark. Olav was thus the first heir to the throne since the Middle Ages to have been raised in Norway itself. 

In the army

Olav chose to complete his main military education in the army. He graduated from the Norwegian Military Academy in 1924. Olav then studied at Balliol  College in Oxford. 

In the 1930's Olav was a naval cadet serving on the training ship Olav Tryggvason. He became first lieutenant and captain in 1931 and colonel in  1936 at the Norwegian armed forces.

Olav also was an athlete. He jumped from the Holmenkollen ski jump in Oslo and competed in sailing regattas. He won a gold medal in sailing at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. 

On 21 March 1929, in Oslo, Olav married his first cousin Princess Märtha of Sweden. She was the sister of Princess Astrid (later Queen of Belgians). Olav and Märtha had two daughters: Ragnhild and Astrid and one son, Harald. 

World War II

In 1939 Crown Prince Olav was appointed an admiral of the Royal Norwegian Navy and a general of the Norwegian Army. During World War II, Olav stood by his father's side in resisting the German

occupation of Norway. When the Norwegian government decided to go into exile, he wanted to stay

behind with the Norwegian people, but this was not allowed. He followed his father to the United Kingdom.

On 13 May 1945, Crown Prince Olav and five government ministers returned to a liberated Norway. He received war decorations from other countries inter alia: France, Greece and the Netherlands. 

Duty

On 21 September 1957, Olav became King of Norway. He reigned as a  People's King and became extremely popular. He liked to drive his own cars, and would drive in public lanes. 

The King represented Norway extensively abroad during his reign, via State Visits to both neighbouring countries and more distant destinations such as Ethiopia and Iran. 

In 1975, King Olav opened the 14th. World Scout Jamboree in the presence of 17,259 Scouts from 94 countries.  His role was mostly representative and ceremonial. Nevertheless he had a great moral authority as the symbol of the nation's unity. 

In the summer of 1990, King Olav suffered from health problems but he recovered around Christmas the same year. On 17 January 1991, he was at the Royal Lodge Kongsseteren in Oslo. There he became ill and he died in the evening. 

Olav's son Harald succeeded him as King. 

Norwegians mourned publicly for Olav, lighting hundreds of thousands of candles in the courtyard outside the Royal Palace in Oslo. 

Funeral

The state funeral of Olav V was held on 30 January 1991. Olav was laid to rest next to his wife Märtha in the green sarcophagus of the Royal Mausoleum.

Legacy

During the Second World War, Olav's leadership made him a symbol of Norwegian independence and national unity. In 1992 the King Olav V's Prize for Cancer Research was established, because his wife, Princess Märtha died of cancer in 1954.

Source pictures: Wikipedia