King Olav V of Norway

Prince Olav became King Olav V of Norway in 1957 at the age of 54 and although the son of a Danish father and a half Danish mother, was thoroughly Norwegian and popular with his subjects, enough to earn the unofficial title as the People’s King (Folkekongen). He was born in England on 2 July 1903, as Prince Alexander of Denmark. He was named at birth Alexander Edward Christian Frederik, son of Prince Carl who later became King Haakon VII of Norway. His mother was Princess Maud, daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra who spent summers at Sandringham where Prince Alexander was born. Two years later his father, Prince Carl was crowned King Haakon VII of Norway. The king re-named his son Olav following an ancient example from the 14th century when Scandinavian King Haakon VI was succeeded by his son Olav to become King Olav II of Denmark and at the same time King Olav IV of Norway.
Crown Prince Olav was the first Norwegian heir since the 14th century to have been brought up in Norway. He was trained for 3 years at the Norwegian Military Academy until 1924, finishing 4th in his class. He then went to Balliol College Oxford to study law and economics for 2 years. He also had naval training in the 1930s and rose to the rank of army colonel in 1936. He was athletic, an accomplished skier and sailor. He was married in 1929 to Princess Martha of Sweden and they had two daughters, Ragnhild and Astrid, and a son, Harald. The family spent the war in Washington, but because Olav was so well trained he was appointed as both admiral in the Norwegian navy and general in the army. He was an advisor to both civilian as well as military leaders. When his father and the Storting (Norwegian government) were about to be evacuated, he asked to stay behind. In the end he reluctantly left Norway to go into exile in England. It became generally known that throughout the Nazi occupation of Norway, Olav never ate anything sweet. He was busy visiting Norwegian troops worldwide and was appointed Norwegian Chief of Defence. He returned to Oslo with his father in June 1945 and he led the disarmament of the German occupiers.
King Haakon VII fell ill in 1955 and Olav acted as regent. The King died in 1957 and Olav was crowned in Nidaros Cathedral on 22 June 1958. He was as democratic as his father and insisted on driving his own car in the public lanes even though the royals were permitted to travel in the bus lanes. In the 1973 energy crisis driving was banned on certain weekends so if Olav wanted to go skiing he would travel by public transport. When asked if he was worried about travelling without bodyguards he replied “I have 4 million bodyguards.” He was referring to the 4 million population of Norway. In 1990 he became ill and on 7 Jan 1991 he died at the age of 87. He was sincerely mourned by the people of Norway who held vigil for days after his death and created a sea of candles. He and his wife, who died on 5 April 1954, were buried in the Royal mausoleum in Akershus Fortress.

King Olav became Colonel-in-Chief of the Green Howards following the death of his father King Haakon VII in 1957. In this photo he is visiting the the regiment in 1959 at Richmond, North Yorkshire, and being greeted enthusiastically. He wears the blue no.1 dress uniform of the regiment and is escorted by the commanding officer.

King Olav in 1959, wearing the uniform of the Green Howards. His blue forage cap, with red piped top, clearly shows the cap badge worn by the regiment at this time. It is the badge of the Yorkshire Brigade which the regiment was ordered to wear from 1958 to 1969 instead of the distinctive Alexandra badge with Dannebrog cross. His gold shoulder cords have the rank of colonel represented by a crown and two stars even though he was a General in Norway.

King Olav inspects the Green Howards in 1989 at their Tercentenary Parade on 24 June. He presented them with new Colours on that occasion. He is accompanied by Sir Peter Inge, Colonel of the Regiment. The rank and file are wearing no.2 dress, khaki service dress. Olav was near the end of his life at this time and his health was probably not good. He fell ill the following year and died in 1991.

Regimental Details | Colonels-in-Chief