King Harald and Queen Sonja will celebrate Christmas at the King’s cabin together with the Crown Prince family this year. Princess Martha Louise and the children will celebrate at Ari Behn’s together with his family.
King Harald and Queen Sonja will follow tradition and not have any special celebration for their 25th Christmas as a royal couple.
– We will have the usual Christmas celebration this year with the Crown Prince family, at the King’s Cabin. Together they will attend the church service at Holmenkollen Chapel on Christmas Day, says Communications Manager Marianne Hagen at the Royal Palace, to the news agency NTB.
Princess Martha Louise and the children will celebrate first with Ari Behn, and his family, and then together with the royal couple.
Outdoor Photograph
For decades, the royal family have posed for their annual Christmas photo, usually during their traditional Christmas activities, such as baking, decorating the tree or dressed in their best Christmas attire. This year, they will be outdoors, at the gazebo in Dronningparken.
This is where the family will gather to eat gingerbread and drink mulled wine from cups that Princess Astrid has painted.
In recent years, the royal family has sought to be more open to the public, including more activity on social media and greater transparency. The area around the castle has become an increasingly important arena for activities where people can meet the royal family.
There has been an open air library with read aloud sessions, trees planted and interviews conducted. This year there was an outdoor cinema, celebrations and the opening of “Princess Ingrid Alexandra’s sculpture park.”
Pre-Christmas visit
Another tradition which is continued by Queen Sonja is her pre-Christmas visit to an institution or an organization that does not normally receive royal guests. This year she will visit Marcus Thrane’s house in Oslo on December 22nd.
– These Christmas visits have become a valuable tradition for her, says Hagen.
The Crown Prince couple seem to have started with the same tradition. This year, they handed out food to the homeless at the Church City Mission and visited the Christmas workshop at Haug school and resource center.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
