Princess Märtha of Sweden
Encyclopedia
Princess Märtha of Sweden (28 March 1901 – 5 April 1954), full name Märtha Sofia Lovisa Dagmar Thyra was the granddaughter of King Oscar II of Sweden
Oscar II of Sweden
Oscar II , baptised Oscar Fredrik was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death and King of Norway from 1872 until 1905. The third son of King Oscar I of Sweden and Josephine of Leuchtenberg, he was a descendant of Gustav I of Sweden through his mother.-Early life:At his birth in Stockholm, Oscar...
and the consort of Crown Prince Olav
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...
of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
(later King Olav V). She was the first Crown Princess of Norway in modern times who was not also Crown Princess of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
or Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. She was also a Princess of Norway from her birth in 1901 to the dissolution of the personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
between Sweden and Norway in 1905.
Marriage and Royal Life
Princess Märtha was born in StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
the daughter of Prince Carl of Sweden and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark
Princess Ingeborg of Denmark
Princess Ingeborg of Denmark was a Danish princess and a Swedish princess consort...
, Princess of Sweden. Following a year-long engagement, she was married to her cousin, The Crown Prince of Norway in Oslo Cathedral on 21 March 1929, and in doing so she became Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess of Norway and assumed precedence alongside her husband and behind his parents King Haakon VII
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...
and Queen Maud
Maud of Wales
Princess Maud of Wales was Queen of Norway as spouse of King Haakon VII. She was a member of the British Royal Family as the youngest daughter of Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark and granddaughter of Queen Victoria and also of Christian IX of Denmark. She was the younger sister of George V...
of Norway. Märtha's was the first royal wedding in Norway in 340 years.
The marriage, which is widely believed to have been a success due in large part to their genuine love and affection for one another, produced three children: Ragnhild
Princess Ragnhild of Norway
Princess Ragnhild of Norway, Mrs. Lorentzen, is the eldest daughter of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. She is the older sister of His Majesty King Harald V of Norway and of Princess Astrid of Norway.Princess Ragnhild married Erling S...
(1930); Astrid
Princess Astrid of Norway
Princess Astrid of Norway, Mrs. Ferner, is the second daughter of King Olav V of Norway and his wife, Princess Märtha of Sweden...
(1932); and the much awaited heir, Harald
Harald V of Norway
Harald V is the king of Norway. He succeeded to the throne of Norway upon the death of his father Olav V on 17 January 1991...
(1937).
The Crown Princess was quickly taken into the hearts of the Norwegian people due to her easy-going, yet serene manner. Rather than indulge in the excesses of her lofty position, The Crown Princess was immensely humble, light-hearted and generous. One such example of this is shown in her desire to put into practice her skills as seamstress, sewing clothes for herself and her children. In 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the Crown Prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
and Princess
Princess
Princess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
made a highly popular visit to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The couple befriended President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Franklin Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
. During this visit, the couple conducted an extensive tour of the Upper Midwest
Upper Midwest
The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the midwest. Although there are no uniformly agreed-upon boundaries, the region is most commonly used to refer to the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and...
, where many Norwegian immigrants had settled.
During the tour, Crown Princess Märtha was honored with initiation into the Delta Zeta
Delta Zeta
Delta Zeta is an international college sorority founded on October 24, 1902, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Today, Delta Zeta has 158 collegiate chapters in the United States and over 200 alumnae chapters in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada...
sorority
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
. She and her lady-in-waiting were pinned during the initiation ceremony at the University of North Dakota
University of North Dakota
The University of North Dakota is a public university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA. Established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota, UND is the oldest and largest university in the state and enrolls over 14,000 students. ...
, by Delta Zeta national president, Myrtle Graeter Malott.
World War II
Crown Princess Märtha, who contributed greatly in the mobilization work for Norway's self-protection, made a public announcement on 26 January 1940 in which she encouraged Norwegian women to take part in the mobilization work. When Germany invaded NorwayNorwegian Campaign
The Norwegian Campaign was a military campaign that was fought in Norway during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany, after the latter's invasion of the country. In April 1940, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force...
in April 1940, The Crown Princess and her children fled first to her native Sweden, however, she was not well-received. Many Swedes felt she had put Sweden's neutrality
Sweden during World War II
Sweden during World War II maintained a policy of neutrality. When the Second World War began on September 1, 1939, the fate of Sweden was unclear...
at jeopardy. Some even suggested she should accept the suggestion by the Germans, and return her three-year-old son, Prince Harald, to Norway so he could be proclaimed King by the Germans. This was never seen as an option for Princess Märtha. Following an invitation by President Roosevelt, she went to the United States on the USS American Legion, via the then Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
port city of Petsamo
Pechengsky District
Pechengsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the five in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It is located to the northwest of the Kola Peninsula on the coast of the Barents Sea and borders with Finland in the south and southwest and with Norway in the west, northwest, and north...
. In the U.S., she and her children initially took up residence in the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
.
Crown Prince Olav, however, had gone with his father, The King, to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, where he worked with the Norwegian government-in-exile. Thus, The Crown Couple, as were many couples during the time, were separated for much of the war.
In August 1941, Crown Princess Märtha traveled with President Roosevelt aboard the presidential yacht, USS Potomac (AG-25)
USS Potomac (AG-25)
USS Potomac , formerly the USCGC Electra, was Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s presidential yacht from 1936 until his death in 1945. It is one of only three still existing presidential yachts. On August 3, 1941, she played a decoy role while Roosevelt held a secret conference to develop the Atlantic...
, and sailed to Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
and Atlantic Charter
Atlantic Charter
The Atlantic Charter was a pivotal policy statement first issued in August 1941 that early in World War II defined the Allied goals for the post-war world. It was drafted by Britain and the United States, and later agreed to by all the Allies...
with Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
.
The friendship that The Crown Couple had cultivated with the Roosevelts was further developed during the war years. In 1942, the U.S. presented the Norwegian forces with the gift of a U-boat, which was received by Crown Princess Märtha, who in her reply gave a speech in support of the Norwegian liberation Her impressive work to assist the American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
and on behalf of Norwegian interests greatly impressed Roosevelt and influenced his "Look to Norway
Look to Norway
The "Look to Norway" speech by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was given during the handover ceremony of the Royal Norwegian Navy ship HNoMS King Haakon VII at the Washington Navy Yard on 16 September 1942...
" speech in 1942.
Controversially, novelist and essayist Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
later asserted that Crown Princess Märtha was "the last love" of Roosevelt.
Princess Märtha spent much of World War II in the United States, where she worked tirelessly to keep up support for Norway among the American public and government. In 1942, she visited London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to take part in the birthday celebration for her father-in-law. When she returned to Norway following the war in 1945, she received a hero's welcome and was referred to as "Mother of the Nation". She wholly embraced her role as The Crown Princess of Norway and made tremendous efforts towards ensuring the stability and well-being of all Norwegians.
Death
Following a lengthy period of ill-health, Märtha died of cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in Oslo
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...
. Her death came little more than three years before her husband ascended the throne as King.
Legacy
A 970,000 km² area in Antarctica is named Princess Martha CoastPrincess Martha Coast
Princess Martha Coast is that portion of the coast of Queen Maud Land lying between 05° E and the terminus of Stancomb-Wills Glacier, at 20° W. The entire coastline is bounded by ice shelves with ice cliffs 20 to 35 m high....
in her honor.
A statue of the princess was erected outside the Norwegian embassy in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in 2005. In 2007, a replica of the statue was erected in the courtyard of the Royal Palace in Oslo.
Crown Princess Märtha’s Memorial Fund is a charitable trust administered by the Norwegian Crown. The Crown Princess's youngest daughter, Princess Astrid, serves as chairperson. Initially established as Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Märtha’s Fund on 1 April 1929, the fund "is to provide financial support to social and humanitarian initiatives carried out by non-governmental organizations." In 2005, the Fund had assets of approximately 28 million Norwegian krone
Norwegian krone
The krone is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. The plural form is kroner . It is subdivided into 100 øre. The ISO 4217 code is NOK, although the common local abbreviation is kr. The name translates into English as "crown"...
(NOK), and issued grants totaling about 1.5 million NOK for roughly 300 recipients.
Titles from birth to death
Below is a list of the styles carried by Crown Princess Märtha from birth to death, in chronological order:- Her Royal Highness Princess Märtha of Sweden and Norway (1901–1905)
- Her Royal Highness Princess Märtha of Sweden (1905–1929)
- Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess of Norway (1929–1954)