Tonight, King Harald and Queen Sonja welcomed the representatives of the Storting to dinner at the Palace. It happens after a year which has so far been characterized by both the king’s illness in Malaysia, the controversies surrounding Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett’s wedding and the case related to Marius Borg Høiby. In his speech, King Harald commented for the first time on the demanding situation the royal house and family are now in. – The royal house is a team that works well together. And then we are a family, with the joys and challenges that we all know can come with it. – In both good and difficult times, we try to stand together and support each other, said the king. – Sending an extra warm thought to everyone who is in pain. He went on to thank people for their support and consideration. – We are grateful for all the warmth and consideration that has been shown to us throughout this special and demanding year, right from when I had to be taken home on an airlift, said King Harald. – Sometimes life is simply very difficult. It’s something everyone can experience – including our family, he said. – When people we are happy with are not well, it hurts those around them. We try our best to take care of each other. And tonight we send an extra warm thought to everyone who is in pain. Joke about sarcophagus The representatives of the Storting are tonight gathered at the Palace for the Storting dinner for the 106th time. Close to 200 guests are gathered around the tables in the main dining room. On the menu is smoked halibut, shellfish soup, moose and plums from the royal farm for dessert. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB The king’s speech is the highlight of the traditional dinner. This year, too, the speech was characterized not only by seriousness, but also by joking. King Harald caused great laughter when he began the evening’s speech with one word: Sarcophagus. King Haakon and Queen Maud are laid to rest in a white marble sarcophagus in the Royal Mausoleum at Akershus Castle in Oslo. King Olav and Crown Princess Märtha are also buried there in a green bronze sarcophagus. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB When the proposal for the state budget for 2025 was presented earlier this month, it became clear that the government will allocate NOK 20 million for a sarcophagus for the king and queen. – I thank the authorities for their consideration in the hereafter, said King Harald in his speech this evening. – I hope that it will be well padded, so that the stay will be comfortable. We are going to lie there for a while, said the king, and the guests burst out laughing. – We will probably have to hold on for a while until the King, however, announced in his speech that the royal couple have no plans to step aside or disappear anytime soon. – We try to get around and visit all the municipalities in our country. The county and municipal mergers of recent years have helped us a little along the way. But since some merged municipalities have been resurrected, we will probably have to hold on for quite a while longer. There were both smiles and laughter during the king’s speech. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB – Fortunately, this is also completely in line with the perspective message’s ambition for more elderly people to stay in work longer, added King Harald. The royal couple have visited 346 of Norway’s total of 357 municipalities and thus only need an official visit to 11 municipalities before they can cross them all off the list. See which municipalities remain: Published 24.10.2024, at 20.22 Updated 24.10.2024, at 20.40
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– Sometimes life is very difficult – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
