On April the 14th, 1940 the King was finally able to send a message out to the Norwegian people:
Our country has been exposed to a lightning attack from a nation with which we have always maintained friendly relations....In the situation today I cannot report to you the whereabouts in Norway of myself, the Crown Prince, and the Government. The German forces have in fact engaged in a violent attack on us, while we were staying in a little place which was unfortified and undefended."(p.139).
Throughout the month of April, the King and Crown Prince continued to seek safety by shifting positions across Norway, first westward and later northward to Tromsø, always conscious of the danger their presence brought to the towns and those people they visited. Threats from overhead aircraft were frequent, such that by the end of the month the 68 year old King professed to be sick and tired of "letting Hitler decide when I should be ready in the morning, so I decided that from today we should get up at 6, coffee at 7. In the wood from 8 to 6" (p. 142).
The King and Crown Prince took up residence in a borrowed cabin outside of Tromsø through the beginning of June. From there, they were able to lead the resistance efforts under the rather naively chosen code names of "Chief" and "Sub-Chief" (p. 144).
On June 3rd, King Håkon and Crown Prince Olav met with the Cabinet, where it was determined that the two posed a greater risk to Norway on Norwegian soil than they would in England. In Norway, they would either be killed or captured. From England, however, they could fight alongside the Allies by leading the resistance efforts in Norway.
The two royals and members of the government departed on the Devonshire on June 7th. From Gourock on the Clyde, they were taken by train to London where they were met at Euston station by King George VI, King Håkon's nephew by marriage. Despite the warm welcome, the king wrote:
Here I am actually back at Buckingham Palace but I cannot help but say that it is with a feeling of sadness, as I cannot help feeling of rather having left my country in the hands of the enemy" (p. 147).
The King was perhaps not alone in this sentiment; during the war, Britain served as a refuge for several exiled monarchs and governmental leaders of Europe, including Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, King Peter of Yugoslavia, King George 11 of Greece, President Benes of Czechoslovakia, Charles de Gaulle of France, Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, Prime Minister Pierlot of Belgium.
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