by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019
King Harald V of Norway (born 1937)
(All photos credits – Wikipedia unless otherwise noted)
King Harald V of Norway was born on February 21, 1937, at Skaugum, the residence of the Crown Prince, in Asker, Norway. His parents were Crown Prince Olav of Norway (later King Olav V) and Princess Märtha of Sweden, who died before her husband became king. His paternal grandparents, who were first cousins, were King Haakon VII of Norway (born Prince Carl of Denmark, son of King Frederik VIII of Denmark) and Princess Maud of Wales, daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Alexandra of Denmark.
Harald’s mother Princess Märtha of Sweden was the second daughter of Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland, and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark. Märtha’s paternal grandparents were King Oscar II of Sweden and Sofia of Nassau. Her maternal grandparents were King Frederick VIII of Denmark and Louise of Sweden. Harald married Sonja Haraldsen and had one son and one daughter.
King Harald is closely related to several European monarchs: Former King Albert II of Belgium is his first cousin, King Philippe of Belgium and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg are his first cousins once removed, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark are his second cousins, and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is his second cousin once removed.
King Harald has no paternal first cousins because his father was an only child. He has six maternal first cousins. Harald shares his first cousins with his siblings Princess Ragnhild, Mrs. Lorentzen and Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner.
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Maternal Aunts and Uncles of King Harald V: Children of Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark
- Princess Margaretha of Sweden, Princess of Denmark (1899–1977), married her cousin Prince Axel of Denmark, had two sons
- Princess Astrid of Sweden, Queen of the Belgians (1905–1935), married Leopold III of King of the Bekgians, had two sons and one daughter
- Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Östergötland, later Prince Carl Bernadotte (1911–2003), married (1) Countess Elsa von Rosen, lost his royal status upon marriage, had one daughter, divorced; (2) Ann Margareta Larsson, no children, divorced; (3) Kristine Rivelsrud, no children
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MATERNAL FIRST COUSINS
Maternal First Cousins: Children of Princess Margarethe of Sweden and Prince Axel of Denmark
Prince George Valdemar of Denmark (1920 – 1986)
Prince George Valdemar was the second husband of Anne Bowes-Lyon, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. The couple had no children. Because the prince received permission from King Frederik IX of Denmark to marry, he remained in the line of succession. However, he lost his place in the line of succession three years later because the Danish Act of Succession of 1953 restricted the throne to those descended from King Christian X of Denmark.
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Count Flemming Valdemar of Rosenborg (1922 – 2002)
Born His Highness Prince Flemming Valdemar of Denmark, he lost his place in the succession when he married Ruth Nielsen without the permission of King Frederik IX of Denmark. The couple had three sons and one daughter.
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Maternal First Cousins: Children of Princess Astrid of Sweden and Leopold III, King of the Belgians
Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (1927 – 2005)
Princess Joséphine-Charlotte married Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg and had five children including Grand Duke Henri who succeeded his father upon his abdication in 2000. Joséphine-Charlotte worked extensively with organizations focused on children and families as well as the arts. She served as honorary president of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, and president of the Luxembourg Red Cross, and oversaw the five-year restoration of the Grand Ducal Palace from 1991-1996.
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Baudouin, King of the Belgians (1930 – 1993)
Baudouin, King of the Belgians reigned from July 1951, when his father abdicated, until July 1993, making him the longest-reigning Belgian monarch. He married Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragón. Fabiola was from an aristocratic family in Spain and had a close relationship with the Spanish royal family. Despite several pregnancies, the couple never had any children, which greatly affected both of them.
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Albert II, King of the Belgians (born 1934)
Albert was the heir presumptive throughout the long reign of his childless brother King Baudouin. Upon his brother’s death in 1993, he succeeded to the Belgian throne. Albert married Paola Ruffo di Calabria who came from an Italian noble family. The couple had two sons and one daughter. In early July 2013, King Albert announced his intention to abdicate, citing health reasons. On July 21, 2013, Belgium’s National Day, he signed the formal document of abdication and was succeeded by his elder son King Philippe.
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Maternal First Cousins: Children of Prince Carl Bernadotte, born Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Östergötland, and Countess Elsa von Rosen
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Countess Madeleine Bernadotte, Mrs. Kogevinas (born 1938)
Madeleine first married Charles Ullens, Count de Schooten-Whetnall. The couple had three daughters and one son before they divorced after 18 years of marriage. Madeleine married again to Nicos Eletherios Kogevinas and they had one daughter.
The Peerage: Madeleine Ingerborg Ella Astra Elsa Bernadotte, Countess Bernadotte
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Works Cited
- Lundy, D. (2019). Main Page. [online] Thepeerage.com. Available at: http://www.thepeerage.com/. (for genealogy information)
- Unofficial Royalty. (2019). Unofficial Royalty. [online] Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com. (for biographical and genealogy information)
- Wikipedia. (2019) Main Page. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/. (for biographical and genealogy information)