Meghan Markle loves to say that she and Prince Harry have a great “love story.” What if we told you that are better royal love stories than the Sussexes? In this post, we will be three royal romances that have survived the test of time. These couples include:
- King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway
- Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway
- Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden
Before we begin, we want to thank Brittany of Royal News Network for giving us the idea. She recently posted an introduction video to the Norwegian royal family. Some of the information we already knew, but there was a lot we didn’t, like how Harald chose Sonja to be his Queen.
Also, if this post performs well, we’ll do another of these.
1. King Harald V And Queen Sonja Of Norway
The first of our three royal love stories is about King Harald V and his wife, Queen Sonja of Norway. Looking at this fabulous royal couple, it is obvious they are Norway’s answer to England’s Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. However, there are a couple of subtle differences.
Harald and Sonja are the same age, and the Queen of Norway was a commoner and not royalty like Prince Philip was. Prince Philip was also five years older than Queen Elizabeth.
When Harald was Crown Prince of Norway, his widowed father, King Olav, wanted to marry Sonja. However, it was a questionable match because Sonja was not a blood royal. As a result, the couple dated for nine years. All the while, women were thrown at Harald, dubbed “better matches.” At this time, commoners marrying royalty was a big no-no.
Harald, not wanting to give up Sonja, gave his father an ultimatum; he marries Sonja or doesn’t marry at all. King Olav eventually relented, and on August 29 1968, the pair married. They had two children together; Princess Märtha Louise (1971) and Crown Prince Haakon (1973). During their children’s births, the Norwegian royal family saw male heirs as higher than female ones. However, in 1990, this was changed to the firstborn, regardless of gender.
Despite Märtha Louise being older, she was not named heir as a rule dictates that heirs born after 1990 are in consideration. As a result, Crown Prince Haakon’s daughter, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, is her father’s heir over her younger brother, Prince Sverre Magnus.
Crown Prince Haakon And Crown Princess Mette-Marit
Keeping to Norway and the second of our royal love stories is Harald and Sonja’s son, Crown Prince Haakon and his wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit.
Haakon’s romance with Mette-Marit was controversial for a couple of reasons. The first was that she loved to party and dealt with illegal drugs. She was also a single mother to a toddler son when they met, and she had little education, which is believed to be the reason why she was deemed controversial.
The relationship was not well-liked by the Norwegian people. However, Haakon and Mette-Marit married in 2001 and in 2004, they welcomed their first child, Princess Ingrid Alexandra. In 2005, they welcomed their son, Prince Sverre Magnus.
Mette-Marit has done some questionable things during her marriage too. She was once briefly associated with Jeffrey Epstein and helped a couple with links to the royal family employ the services of a surrogate in India. Surrogacy is illegal in Norway. It is also still questioned by the people as to how much the Crown Princess works. Though, it has been revealed in the last few years that she has a rare lung disease that makes breathing hard.
Crown Princess Victoria And Prince Daniel Of Sweden
The last of our royal love stories is Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden. The couple, who married in 2010, had dated for eight years before they chose to marry. However, their bid to get to the altar proved difficult.
Regarding royal marriages in Sweden, the monarch (in this case, Victoria’s father, King Carl Gustaf) and the government must sign off on the engagement. If a couple marries without this consent, the royal loses their title.
What’s fascinating about Victoria and Daniel’s marriage is that Daniel, the non-royal, was given a title. This is unheard of in other royal families. However, this might become new, as other future Queens will likely marry commoners. Victoria and Daniel have two children, Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar. Princess Estelle, like her mother, is a future Queen of Sweden.
Victoria is also known as the Godmother of Europe as she is the godmother of 18 children, several of them are heirs to other monarchies, which include:
- Prince Christian of Denmark
- Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway
- Princess Catherina-Amalia, Princess of Orange
- Princess Leonore of Sweden (Victoria’s niece via her sister, Princess Madeleine)
- Prince Alexander of Sweden (Victoria’s nephew via her brother, Prince Carl Philip)
Another fun fact about Victoria is that Dyslexia runs in her family. She, her father and her brother all have it. Carl Philip has attended functions with Princess Beatrice, who suffers from the disorder.
