Olav V in the context of "Norwegian Royal Family"

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⭐ Core Definition: Olav V

Olav V (Norwegian: Olav den femte, Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈûːlɑːv dɛn ˈfɛ̂mtə]; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991.

Olav was born at Sandringham House in England, the only child of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud of Wales. He became heir apparent to the Norwegian throne when his father was elected King Haakon VII of Norway in 1905. He was the first heir to the Norwegian throne to be brought up in Norway since Olav IV in the 14th century, and his parents made sure that he was given as Norwegian an upbringing as possible. In preparation for his future role, he attended both civilian and military schools. In 1929, he married his first cousin, Princess Märtha of Sweden. During World War II, his leadership was much appreciated, and he was appointed Norwegian Chief of Defence in 1944. Olav became king following the death of his father in 1957.

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Olav V in the context of Harald V of Norway

Harald V (Norwegian: Harald den femte, Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈhɑ̂rːɑɫ dɛn ˈfɛ̂mtə]; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway, reigning since 1991.

A member of the House of Glücksburg, Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the line of succession at the time of his birth, behind his father. In 1940, as a result of the German occupation during World War II, the royal family went into exile. Harald spent part of his childhood in Sweden and the United States. He returned to Norway in 1945, and subsequently studied for periods at the University of Oslo, the Norwegian Military Academy, and Balliol College, Oxford. A keen sportsman, Harald represented Norway in sailing at the 1964, 1968, and 1972 Olympic Games, and later became patron of World Sailing.

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Olav V in the context of King of Norway

The monarchy of Norway is the system used in Norway by which a hereditary monarch reigns as head of state under a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingdoms which were united to form Norway; it has been in unions with both Sweden and Denmark for long periods.

The present monarch is King Harald V, who has reigned since 17 January 1991, succeeding his father, Olav V. The heir apparent is his only son, Crown Prince Haakon. The crown prince undertakes various public ceremonial functions, as does the king's wife, Queen Sonja. The crown prince also acts as regent in the king's absence. There are several other members of the royal family, including the king's daughter, grandchildren and sister. Since the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden and the subsequent election of a Danish prince as King Haakon VII in 1905, the reigning royal house of Norway has been a branch of the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg branch of the House of Oldenburg; originally from modern-day Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, agnatically (through Prince Philip) the same royal house as the British (since the accession of Charles III), Danish and former Greek royal families.

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Olav V in the context of Princess Märtha of Sweden

Princess Märtha of Sweden (Märtha Sofia Lovisa Dagmar Thyra; 28 March 1901 – 5 April 1954) was Crown Princess of Norway as the spouse of the future King Olav V from 1929 until her death in 1954. As Olav only became king in 1957, Märtha never became Queen of Norway. Her son, Harald V, is the current king of Norway. Princess Märtha was also an elder sister of Queen Astrid of Belgium and a maternal aunt of Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg and Kings Baudouin and Albert II of Belgium.

In 1940, Crown Princess Märtha and her family were immersed in World War II as Germany invaded Norway. After escaping to her home country of Sweden, and then being evacuated to America by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, she effectively advocated for Norway and did fundraising until the end of the war. In 1942, King Haakon VII of Norway, Märtha's father-in-law, invested her as a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav.

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Olav V in the context of Queen Sonja

Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen; 4 July 1937) is Queen of Norway as the wife of King Harald V.

Sonja and the then Crown Prince Harald had dated for nine years prior to their marriage in 1968. They had kept their relationship a secret due to the controversy of Sonja's status as a commoner. Harald had told his father, King Olav V, that he would remain unmarried if his father did not grant consent to marry Sonja. Upon their marriage, Sonja became crown princess and later the queen of Norway upon her husband's accession to the throne in 1991, becoming Norway's first queen consort in 52 years. The couple has two children together: Princess Märtha Louise and Crown Prince Haakon.

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Olav V in the context of Norwegian royal family

Members of the Norwegian royal family are people related to King Harald V of Norway or former Norwegian monarchs who are royals and who hold royal titles. The term does not include non-royal relatives. The current family who holds the throne are members of the House of Glücksburg who ascended to the Norwegian throne after the election of Prince Carl of Denmark as King of Norway (regnal name Haakon VII) during the dissolution of the Swedish-Norwegian union in 1905.

The Norwegian monarch holds the title King of Norway while his Royal consort is Queen of Norway with the style Majesty. The heir apparent to the Norwegian throne holds the title Crown Prince of Norway while his wife is Crown Princess of Norway with the style Royal Highness. The children of the reigning Monarch and the children of the heir apparent are granted the title Prince of Norway or Princess of Norway. Only the eldest child is a Royal Highness, while the others do not have any styles in Norwegian, although the style of Highnesses may be used informally in foreign languages.

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