Martha of Sweden

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Crown Princess Märtha of Norway

Crown Princess Märtha of Norway (born March 28, 1901 in Stockholm as Princess Märtha Sofia Lovisa Dagmar Thyra of Sweden , † April 5, 1954 in Oslo ) was the wife of the Norwegian Crown Prince and later King Olav V. She came from the Swedish royal house and Bernadotte was a native princess of Sweden.

Life

Early life

Princess Märtha (far right) with her sisters and mother, 1910

Princess Märtha was born in Stockholm on March 28, 1901, the second of four children to her parents Prince Carl of Sweden , Duke of Västergötland and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark and belonged to the Bernadotte family . She was the sister of Astrid of Sweden , who later became Queen of the Belgians .

Together with her siblings, Märtha had a happy childhood and adolescence, which was, however, characterized by simplicity. From the living style to the clothes, everything was kept as simple as possible. Especially her mother Ingeborg, daughter of King Friedrich VIII of Denmark , taught her virtues and helpfulness at an early age.

Family life was very intimate, and we often did something together. Princess Märtha received a school education that was awarded to a young woman of the time. This included learning German, English and French, history and religion classes, riding, dancing and drawing. She also learned practical things like cooking on a real stove and gardening. In her youth she was considered a particularly self-confident and open-minded girl. Her nature was very much like her mother Ingeborg and was considered her favorite daughter.

Marriage and life as a Crown Princess

The Crown Prince couple on their wedding day, 1929

On March 21, 1929, she married her cousin, Crown Prince Olav of Norway , son of King Haakon VII and Queen Maud , daughter of Edward VII of Great Britain . The couple's marriage was received very positively in Norway. Despite the appropriate dynastic relationship, marriage was considered loving and full of affection. Finally, the Crown Prince couple had three children:

As Crown Princess, Märtha quickly won the hearts of Norwegians. That was certainly also due to her calm and relaxed manner. Instead of indulging in an aristocratic lifestyle, she was considered to be extremely modest and carefree. An example of this was when she once expressed a desire to show her sewing skills and to sew clothes for herself and her children.

Märtha with her husband Olav and their eldest daughter Ragnhild, 1931

In the interwar period, Märtha lived with her husband and three children on the Skaugum property , which was first private property of Baron Fritz Wedel Jarlsberg and which became the property of the royal family after the marriage of Olav and Märtha. The royal family lived on the upper floor, while the rooms on the lower floor were used for representative purposes.

In 1938 Märtha's mother-in-law Queen Maud died of a weak heart. After her death, she took over the position of first lady and accompanied the king to official appointments and occasions.

In 1939 Märtha and her husband traveled to the United States . They also had the opportunity to meet the presidential couple, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt . During the visit, the Crown Prince couple undertook an extensive sightseeing tour of the Upper Midwest Region, where many Norwegian immigrants had settled.

Second World War

Shortly after the trip to the USA, the Second World War broke out in Europe . On April 9, 1940, Germany attacked Norway without warning. Crown Princess Märtha first fled to exile in Sweden with her three children . However, she did not feel that she was in good hands in her old homeland, as many citizens saw Sweden's neutrality in danger. At the invitation of President Roosevelt, she and the children went to the United States. On the USS American Legion they drove to America via the Finnish port city of Petsamo (now Pechenga , Russia). The White House in Washington, DC became her permanent home during the war.

Märtha and Olav, their children and King Haakon wave to the crowds from aboard HMS Norfolk , June 1945

Despite the difficult times and the separation from the Crown Prince, she worked harder for the Red Cross and supported President Roosevelt. So Märtha accompanied him on board the presidential yacht USS Potomac in August 1941 . They sailed to Newfoundland for the Atlantic Charter with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill . The friendship that Martha forged with the Roosevelts grew stronger over the course of the war.

Your impressive help to the Red Cross and the representation of Norwegian interests, influenced Roosevelt to his speech " Look to Norway ", which he gave in September 1942.

Märtha worked tirelessly to get support for Norway from the American public and the government. In 1942 she traveled to London on the occasion of the birthday party of her father-in-law King Haakon VIII. Thus she met at least a small part of her family again. Crown Prince Olav had lived in Britain since the beginning of the war and rarely saw his wife and children.

In 1945 she returned to Norway. She was received and celebrated by the population like a heroine. Märtha was called the "mother of the nation".

Post War and Death

The Crown Prince couple in 1950

After the war, King Haakon's health deteriorated, so that Märtha and Olav increasingly took on a growing number of official obligations. The Crown Princess performed many official duties and even gave the annual New Year's Eve speeches of 1946 and 1950. However, her health has deteriorated noticeably since the early 1950s.

Crown Princess Märtha fell ill with cancer and died of the consequences on April 5, 1954 in Oslo . She was buried in the crypt of Akershus Fortress . Only three years after her death, her husband became King of Norway as Olav V. Olav survived her by 37 years and was buried next to her after his death.

Honors and monuments

Crown Princess Martha statue in front of the Norwegian Embassy in Washington DC

In the Antarctic , the Princess Martha Coast was named after her.

A monument to the Crown Princess has stood at the Norwegian Embassy in Washington DC since 2005

On February 21, 2007, her son King Harald V unveiled a bronze statue of Crown Princess Märtha in the palace gardens of Oslo. It is the gift of the Norwegian people to him on his 70th birthday.

The popular Swedish Prinsesstårta (German: Prinzessinnentorte ) was created for her and her sisters in the 1930s and has been known around the world ever since.

Her granddaughter Princess Märtha Louise of Norway (* 1971), daughter of King Harald, was named after her.

Web links

Commons : Princess Märtha of Sweden  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Who was Princess Märtha of Sweden? - History of Royal Women . In: History of Royal Women . March 28, 2017 ( historyofroyalwomen.com [accessed July 2, 2018]).
  2. ^ Crown Princess Märtha (1901-1954). Retrieved July 2, 2018 (Norwegian).
  3. ↑ Who was Princess Märtha of Sweden? - History of Royal Women . In: History of Royal Women . March 28, 2017 ( historyofroyalwomen.com [accessed July 2, 2018]).
  4. ^ Crown Princess Märtha (1901-1954). Retrieved July 2, 2018 (Norwegian).
  5. ^ Crown Princess Märtha (1901-1954). Retrieved July 2, 2018 (Norwegian).
  6. ↑ a b c Women of Substance: Princess Martha of Norway (English)
  7. ↑ Who was Princess Märtha of Sweden? - History of Royal Women . In: History of Royal Women . March 28, 2017 ( historyofroyalwomen.com [accessed July 2, 2018]).
  8. ^ Crown Princess Märtha (1901-1954). Retrieved July 2, 2018 (Norwegian).
personal data
SURNAME Martha of Sweden
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Märtha Sofia Lovisa Dagmar Thyra Bernadotte
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Norwegian noblewoman, Crown Princess of Norway
DATE OF BIRTH March 28, 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH Stockholm
DATE OF DEATH April 5th 1954
Place of death Oslo