Following January’s tragic passing of Norway’s King Erik V from a heart attack at the age of sixty-one, his eldest daughter Crown Princess Elizabeth Ingeborg Mary, Duchess of Løvenholm, has been crowned Queen Elizabeth I of Norway today-- the first royal coronation of the 21st century. She is the second ever Queen regnant of Norway, and the first in over two hundred years-- the last being Queen Ingeborg in 1731. The new Queen, who is 35 years old (34 at the time of her father’s death and her unofficial annunciation), has two sons with her husband Prince Gregory, Duke of Løvenholm, also 35,-- Crown Prince Dominic, 3, and Prince Magnus, 1. The young, fresh-faced family, upon appearing on the balcony of Trondheim Palace following the coronation, along with the Queen’s mother Dowager Queen Margaret and sisters, seemed to reinvigorate the Norwegian people and instill a touch of youthfulness and glamour back into the monarchy. The Queen, in a televised speech given following her father’s death, vowed: “I promise to dedicate my whole life to my country, and to remain forever in her service, a humble servant to the good people of the always majestic, honorable, and magnificent Norway, until the end of my days.”
Among the attendees--many of them future rulers of the world-- to the royalty-heavy coronation were:
Dowager Queen Margaret and her four younger daughters-
Eleanor, Princess Royal of Norway and Prince Philippos of Greece, with
Princess Evangeline and Mr. Christopher Lipton-Adams, with
Princess Allegra of Norway,
Princess Emma and Mr. Jonathan Solheim,
Crown Prince Constantine of Greece,
Crown Prince Hideyoshi of Japan, with
Crown Princess Selene and Prince Ernest of French Polynesia,
Princess Saloma of Tonga,
Crown Prince Victor and Crown Princess Helene of the United Kingdom, with
Prince Henry and Princess Louisa,
Prince Arthur and Princess Flora, and
Prince Abdullah of Brunei,
Crown Prince Paul of Sweden, with
Prince Xavier and Princess Yulia, and
Crown Prince William and Crown Princess Sarah of Denmark,
Crown Prince Joli of Bhutan,
Alfonso, the Prince of Asturias, Crown Prince of Spain, with
Prince Hussein and Princess Ameerah of Saudi Arabia,
Princess Alexandra of the Netherlands and Lord Thomas von Hugin,
Princess Samina of Jordan,
Prince Narai and Princess Jumali of Thailand, with
Marguerite, the Princess Royal of Belgique,
Hereditary Prince Rainier of Monaco, with
Crown Prince Theodore and Crown Princess Catherine of Mauritania,
Prince Hussein and Princess Fatima of Dubai,
Prince Mikhail of Hanover,
Princess Celine of Naples, and
Prince Armand of Rhine and Sicily
All of the above mentioned were also present at the funeral of King Erik, excluding Crown Prince Hideyoshi of Japan (abroad in East Congolo), Prince Henry and Princess Louisa of the United Kingdom (undertaking an official tour in Dominicana), Princess Maven of Sweden, and the Grand Duke of Luxembourg.
Over 100 countries sent representatives to the coronation.