Odd Grønvold was a Norwegian royal

Norwegian Royal Family

The Royal Family of Norway is the family of King Harald V of Norway. In Norway there is a distinction between the Royal House and the Royal Family. The Royal House includes only the King and his spouse, the Queen, the King's eldest son with spouse, being the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, and the...

 servant.

He was born in Kristiania

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

, and was a grandnephew of the former private secretary to King Haakon VII of Norway

Haakon VII of Norway

Haakon VII , known as Prince Carl of Denmark until 1905, was the first king of Norway after the 1905 dissolution of the personal union with Sweden. He was a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg...

, Hans Aimar Mow Grønvold

Hans Aimar Mow Grønvold

Hans Aimar Mow Grønvold was a Norwegian civil servant and music writer.He was born in Saude as a son of vicar Bernt Olaus Grønvold . He was a third cousin of painters Bernt and Marcus Grønvold and educator Didrik Grønvold, and a granduncle of Odd Grønvold.He graduated with the cand.jur...

. He was hired as secretary to Crown Prince Olav of Norway

Olav V of Norway

Olav V was the king of Norway from 1957 until his death. A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Olav was born in the United Kingdom as the son of King Haakon VII of Norway and Queen Maud of Norway...

 in 1954, and when Olav ascended the monarch's throne in 1957, Grønvold was hired as court marshal. In this position he assisted lord chamberlain

Lord Chamberlain of Norway

The Lord Chamberlain of Norway is a traditional officer of the Royal Household of Norway. The title was introduced in 1866...

 Ingvald Smith-Kielland

Ingvald Smith-Kielland

Ingvald Marillus Emil Smith-Kielland was a Norwegian military officer, diplomat, sports official and royal servant....

, who had left the marshal office in 1955. Grønvold was later promoted to lord chamberlain, serving from 1966 to 1985. He was decorated with the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav in 1982.

He was married to Ellinor Grønvold, who served as lady-in-waiting

Lady-in-waiting

A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...

 since 1956. In 1958 the entire Court of the Norwegian Royal Family comprised as little as seven people; Smith-Kielland, Odd and Ellinor Grønvold, Richard Andvord

Richard Andvord (born 1886)

Richard Andvord was a Norwegian cavalry officer, diplomat and aide-de-camp for the Norwegian Royal Family.-Early life and career:...

, Else Werring

Else Werring

Else Werring, née Wilhelmsen was a Norwegian royal servant.She was a daughter of ship-owner Halfdan Wilhelmsen and Ragnhild Oppen . She was a granddaughter of the founder of Wilh. Wilhelmsen Wilhelm Wilhelmsen , an aunt of Tom Wilhelmsen and a niece of businessmen Finn, Axel and Wilhelm Wilhelmsen...

, Ingeborg von Hanno and Vincent Bommen.