The Royal Family in place on the Palace balcony – Updated

Palace Balcony 17th may may 17thKing Harald, Queen Sonja, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Crown Prince Haakon, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus waves to the children’s parade from the Balcony, May 17th. Photo: Vegard Wivestad Grøtt / NTB scanpix

True to tradition are the Royal Family in place on the Palace balcony

Exactly at 10.30 the Royal Family appeared on the Palace balcony to wave to a children’s parade. A record number of schools participates.

 

True to tradition, schools that celebrate an anniversary is leading the way in the parade. This year it is the Kjelsås School who has the honour. The school turns 100 years old this year.

Just behind Kjelsås came the Klemetsrud School, which celebrates 150 years, followed by Sørkedalen, which celebrates 175 years.

Record number of schools

A record number of 121 schools are participating in this year’s parade on what it as an overcast National Day in Oslo.

It was raining lightly when the parade started, but according to yr.no it should remain dry for the rest of the day. There is, alas, probably little chance of seeing the sun.

Old tradition

It was King Haakon and Queen Maud who instituted the custom of greeting the parade in Oslo from the Palace balcony. The custom was established in 1906 has been kept alive ever since.

The only exceptions were in 1910 when Queen Maud’s father, the English King Edward died, and during the Nazi occupation from 1940-1944.

Royal Guard and ice cream

As usual, the Royal Guard’s music corps was at the vanguard of the children’s parade and played the hymn to the Fatherland. This happened at 13.45.

At that time the royal family had stood for three hours on the balcony waving. Quite a test of strength.

After a while, the two youngest members of the Royal Family took a break, perhaps to get some ice and a soda. They were back again after a short while.

Sun in the west, cold at Svalbard

While it was gray in the capital, the sun was shining in Bergen, where Prime Minister Erna Solberg celebrated the day to participate in the procession and to make a speech.

– I’ll talk about the need to preserve the values of the constitution.

– It is about participating in elections, to use your vote and participate in our democracy, Solberg told NRK as she walked in the main procession through her hometown.

According Meteorological Institute are the weather winners on May 17 Western Norway and Trøndelag.

Even further north – in Tromsø – May 17 started in a brilliant manner. The Sun celebrated the Constitution Day from a clear blue sky, writes Nordlys.  Rain is however expected in the afternoon.

According to yr.no, the sun is also shining in Longyearbyen, but both mitts and hats were necessary during the celebration of the National Day there with temperatures down to minus four degrees Celsius.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today