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