The King died in Oslo, 1957 a powerful symbol of nationhood and continuity. His only child, Olav, succeeded him as Norway's monarch. Last year, a book by Tor Bomann-Larsen (Folket, 2004) questioning the paternity of King Olav was published, suggesting that Olav may actually have been the progeny of Queen Maud and her physician Sir Francis Laking,. A statement was issued by the present King, Olav's son Harald, that though he was personally not aware of any information supporting that theory and had not read the book, he would allow people to draw their own conclusions.
Regardless of speculations about genetic relation, the continuity of the kingdom survives. The name so meaningfully selected by the once Prince Carl now lives on with Haakon VIII, son of Harald and Sonja. Haakon VIII (born 1973) is presently the next in line for succession.
Resources
Bomann-Larsen, Tor. (2004). Folket. Oslo: J.W. Cappelens Forlag.
Eriksen, Thomas Hylland. (1997). The nation as a human being - a metaphor in a mid-life crisis? Notes on the imminent collapse of Norwegian national identity. In Kirsten Hastrup and Karen Fog Olwig, eds., Siting Culture-, Routledge 1997 http://folk.uio.no/geirthe/Collapse.html
Pettersson, Carin. (2004). Question of Paternity: Author raises questions of King Olav's real father. Nettavisen. http://pub.tv2.no/nettavisen/english/art...
Ryne, Linn. Fridtjog Nansen: Man of Many Facets. Nytt fra Norge. http://www.mnc.net/norway/Nansen.htm
Stokker, K. (1995). Folklore Fights the Nazis: Humor in Occupied Norway (1940-1945). Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
Go To Page: 1 2
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Valerie Borey's Norway topic, please visit the Discussions page.