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Issue 5, February 4, 2004:
Norway’s New Princess Named
After months of speculation,
Norwegians were informed that the new-born princess and future heir to
the throne will be named Ingrid Alexandra.
By IRINA LEE
Rather than leave the honor
to a professional photographer, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway snapped
the first-ever pictures of his newborn baby, capturing day-old Princess
Ingrid Alexandra in her royal debut.
The proud father is obviously determined to be a hands-on dad. He even
cut the umbilical cord after his little princess came into the world on
Wednesday. Ingrid Alexandra seemed happy to oblige her familiar photographer,
looking picture perfect in the candid shots.
Norse Name
Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik announced that the daughter of
Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit will be called Ingrid
Alexandra.
"Ingrid is a well-known Norwegian girl’s name, at the same time
it is a Norse name and a royal name in the Bernadotte family, from among
others, Queen Ingrid, mother of Denmark’s Queen Margrethe, originally
a Swedish princess," Bondevik said. He made the official public announcement
after an extraordinary meeting of Norway’s cabinet ministers on Thursday.
"The name Ingrid is also used in the crown princess’ family,
and is therefore a fine combination of the two families," Bondevik
added.Norway’s constitution was amended in 1990, allowing both males
and females to accede the throne. The new law has pawed the way for Ingrid
Alexandra to be second in line to the throne after her father Haakon,
30.
First Queen in 600 years
The new-born could likely be Norway’s first reigning queen since
1388 when Margrete, who also ruled over Denmark and Sweden, acceded to
the throne.
"It is exciting that there will be a new generation of female reigning
monarchs in Europe – if the world wants it that way," Norway’s
Queen Sonja told NRK, pointing to newly born princesses in Belgium and
the Netherlands.
In Norway’s neighbor Sweden, Crown Princess Victoria is heir to her
father, King Carl XVI Gustaf, thanks to a change in the law of succession
in 1977. In Monaco, Princess Caroline is heir to her father’s principality.
Popular Backing
The birth of Ingrid, a great great great great granddaughter of Britain’s
Queen Victoria, means the numbers two, three and four in line to the Norwegian
throne are women. Haakon’s sister Märtha, 32, is third and her
baby Maud Angelica is fourth.
A poll by Opinion in the daily Aftenposten, taken just after Ingrid Alexandra
was born, showed her birth had lifted popular backing for Norway’s
modern monarchy. 75 percent of Norwegians supported the monarchy, up from
68 percent a week ago. Backing for a republic fell to 17 percent from
25 percent.
Common Name
Ingrid (pronounced "ing-gree") was the ninth most common
name in Norway in 2003. According to Statistics Norway (SSB), almost 25,000
share the first name with the newborn princess.
Alexandra, on the other hand, is a rare first name in Norway, and only
two others have the combination of Ingrid and Alexandra in their first
name. But, the name Alexandra has a long tradition among European royalty.
King Olav, the newborn princess’ great-grandfather, was also originally
named Alexander.
The royal palace has not announced the date for the christening.
Previous Stories:
• Issue 4, January
28, 2004
Helga's Historic Walk
Across America
• Issue 3, January
21, 2004
Arne Næss Jr. Dies
Climbing in South Africa
• Issue 2, January
14, 2004
Norway's Kurt Ready
To Conquer the World
• Issue 1, January
7, 2004
Dragsten Honors Sons of
Norway's Founding Fathers
