Norwegian Royal couple visits Krakow

His Royal Highness King Harald V of Norway arrived in Poland accompanied by three government ministers as well as top diplomats and businessmen. The Royal couple spent the first two days of their visit in Warsaw.

At a diplomatic breakfast hosted by the Voyvod of the Małopolska Region the municipality was represented by First Deputy Mayor of the City of Krakow Tadeusz Trzmiel.

During the one day trip in Krakow the Royal couple of Norway had a chance to sense the unique atmosphere and visit most important historic monuments of the former seat of Polish kings. However, the main reason for the visit was the fact that at noon, together with the Polish Presidential couple, King Harald V and Sonja met with students of the Jagiellonian University and inaugurated a new Polish-Norwegian research program and scholarship, funded by a grant from Norway, which, though not a member of the EU is part of the European Economic Area.

King Harald V, who is turning 75 this year, succeeded to the throne of Norway upon the death of his father Olaf V on 17 January 1991. A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, originally from Northern Germany, Harald became the first Norwegian-born prince since Olaf IV, who was born in 1370.

An avid sailor, Harald represented Norway in the yachting events of Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964.  With his sailing crew he won World Championship bronze, silver and gold medals, in 1988, 1982 and 1987, respectively. In July 2005, the King and his crew aboard the royal sailboat Fram XV won the gold medal at the European Championships in Sweden. In the 2007 World Championship the King obtained a sixth place. His wife – Queen Sonja – is interested in arts and sports. They have both received the Order of the White Eagle: King Harald V in 1995 presented to him by President Lech Wałęsa whereas Queen Sonja in 2003 from President Aleksander Kwaśniewski.