Sonja (1937—)

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Sonja (1937—)

Queen of Norway. Name variations: Sonja Haraldsen. Born Sonja Haraldsen on July 4, 1937, in Oslo, Norway; daughter of Dagny (Ulrichsen) Haraldsen and Carl August Haraldsen (a clothing shop proprietor); studied dressmaking and tailoring at the Oslo Vocational School, 1954–55; attended the Swiss Ecole Professionelle des Jeunes Filles, a women's college in Lausanne, Switzerland; University of Oslo, B.A., 1971; studied English at Cambridge University, England; married Prince Harald of Norway, later Harald V, king of Norway (r. 1991—), on August 29, 1968; children: Martha Oldenburg (b. 1971); crown prince Haakon Oldenburg (b. 1973).

Sonja, queen of Norway, is now well regarded for her intelligence, elegance, and many works of goodwill. It was not always so. Born Sonja Haraldsen in Oslo in 1937, the daughter of Dagny Ulrichsen Haraldsen and Carl August Haraldsen, she worked as a sales clerk in her father's clothing shop. Sonja met Prince Harald (later Harald V) at an officers' ball and a romance developed. The prince's father King Olav V did not approve of the match because Sonja was a commoner. Olav had already allowed his daughter, Princess Ragnhild Oldenburg , to marry a commoner, and there was concern among many Norwegians that the monarchy would become middle class. The Haraldsens decided to send their daughter to France with the hope that Sonja would change her mind about her feelings for the prince. While there, she worked as an au pair in Corrèze. However, Sonja and Prince Harald wrote to each other the entire time she was gone, and upon her return the two met in secret at every opportunity for ten years. King Olav tried to dissuade his son from marrying Sonja, but Harald was willing to renounce his right to the throne for her. After seeking advice from members of Parliament, the government, and the heads of the different political parties, King Olav announced his son's engagement to Sonja. Since her father had died in 1959, King Olav escorted Sonja down the aisle at the wedding on August 29, 1968, to show his support of the marriage.

Sonja may not have been of royal lineage, but she had the qualities necessary for the position of first lady of the kingdom. The finishing school she had attended in Lausanne, Switzerland, had prepared her for running a large household. She was fluent in both French and English, the latter of which she studied at Cambridge University in England. Since Olav's wife Martha of Sweden had died in 1954, Sonja accompanied King Olav to official royal ceremonies so he could instruct her on the details of her new position. The Norwegian people immediately accepted Sonja as the crown princess, and she was well liked for her charm, grace, and expert skiing ability.

Sonja also devoted a great deal of time to charitable causes. Her calendar filled quickly with her visits to day-care centers and hospitals and her volunteer work with disabled children. In 1972, she set up the HRH Princess Märtha Louise Fund, named for her daughter, to offer aid to Norway's disabled children. Her commitment to helping children, combined with her leadership abilities, made her a natural fit for the presidency of the Norwegian Red Cross' children's aid division, a role which expanded to include

the vice-presidency of the larger organization in 1987.

Another cause dear to Sonja's heart was the plight of refugees. Although she functioned primarily in a fund-raising capacity, she also visited refugee camps to gain a better understanding of the difficulties unique to those in exile. The United Nations' High Commissioner for Refugees honored her work by awarding her the Nansen Medal in 1982. She used the award money, totaling $50,000, to build schools for refugees in Tanzania. Sonja became queen of Norway in 1991 upon the death of King Olav. When Harald took his oath of allegiance to the Constitution in front of the Storting (the national assembly), Sonja accompanied him. It had been 69 years since a queen (Maud ) had last entered the national assembly.