A charming first meeting, a romance that was frowned upon by the public and a Prince’s pledge to never marry anyone other than his true love.
King Harald and Queen Sonja’s unlikely love story has all the elements of a gripping TV drama – so it’s no wonder that their ‘fairytale’ romance has been adapted into a screenplay.
This week, Swedish media company Viaplay announced that they are producing a new series about the Norwegian monarch’s relationship – which spans six decades.
The couple’s relationship was met with disapproval by the Palace as Sonja – whose father was a clothing merchant – came from a ‘commoner’ background.
After keeping their romance a secret for the best part of nine years, Harald was finally permitted to marry the love of his life in 1968.
Pictured: King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway pose for an official photograph in January 2015. The couple have been married for almost 55 years
In a statement, the producers said: ‘The story is like something out of a fairy tale. Society took time to accept the new Crown Prince and Princess , but love would win in the end.
‘Harald and Sonja has all the ingredients to become a major international viewer favourite for anyone who likes unique and genuine love stories.’
Here, FEMAIL takes a look back over the romance that rocked Norway and is still going strong over 60 years later.
‘Love at first sight’
In 1959, Crown Prince Harald was invited to a dinner party by his friend Johan Stenerse – where he first laid eyes on his future wife Sonja Haraldsen.
Speaking to national broadcaster NRK in 2015, the couple agreed that it was a ‘case of love at first sight’.
At the time, King Harald had recently celebrated his 21st birthday and completed his army training – which made him a cadet in the Norwegian Military Academy.
Meanwhile, the future Queen was a student at the University of Oslo, where she was studying English, French and Art History.
Following in her father’s footsteps, she had also obtained a diploma in dress-making and tailoring as well as attending a finishing school in Switzerland.
Pictured: King Harald of Norway shortly after he completed his military service in 1958. He met his future wife at a dinner party the following year
Pictured: King Harald and Queen Sonja stand outside Oslo Cathedral on their wedding day in August 1968
But despite all this, Sonja was seen as an unsuitable match for the future King of Norway by the Palace. However, Harald decided to start seeing Sonja anyway.
In NRK documentary about the pair’s relationship, the broadcaster claimed that even Harald’s father King Olav was unware his son was dating Sonja at first, News in English reports.
For one of Harald’s birthdays, the King even invited his future daughter-in-law to the Palace for a meal.
But he reportedly ordered his son to cut contact with the ‘girl of the people’ once he was made aware of their relationship.
It is believed the monarch feared that his son would renounce his birthright like King Edward – who famously abdicated the British throne in 1936 to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson.
Instead, Olav demanded that his heir marry a woman with ‘blue blood’ to ensure the future of the monarchy.
Pictured: the late King Olav of Norway and Crown Prince Harald in 1958 – when the monarch was 21
Pictured: King Harald and Queen Sonja after their wedding in 1968. The couple were finally given the King’s blessing after nine years of dating
In August 1964, the Palace issued a statement insisting that Crown Prince Harald was not set to marry a ‘commoner’ – after reports began to emerge in the British and Swedish media.
Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen was also opposed to the prospect of the marriage and warned it could plunge the monarchy into a constitutional crisis.
As a result, the royal couple broke up several times between 1959 and 1968 due to the pressure they were under – but said they couldn’t bear to be apart.
Harald’s romantic ultimatum
In 1965, King Harald issued his father an ultimatum – either he needed to be given permission to marry Sonja or he would remain single for the rest of his life.
At this point, Prime Minister Per Borten had come into power – and Harald’s ultimatum caused tension in his government.
Although Justice Minister Elisabeth Schweigaard Selmer was opposed to the marriage, Defence Miniseter Otto Grieg Tidemand fought for Sonja as he was a family friend.
This was the official image released by the Palace after King Olav announced Prince Harald’s engagement to Sonja Haraldse in 1968
Crown Prince Harald and Sonja Haraldsen waving as they leave in their car the Oslo Cathedral during their wedding ceremony
In 1967, the couple celebrated their 30th birthdays – and Olav, who was becoming more accepting of Sonja, invited her on board his yacht.
Fearing that the relationship had ruined Sonja’s life, Harald told NRK: ‘We just kept waiting and hoping that they’d all finally back down.’
In 1968, King Olav finally relented and gave Harald and Sonja his blessing. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Borten said his government would neither support or challenge the marriage.
Fairytale wedding
On 29 August 1968, the couple finally married at Oslo Cathedral in front of 850 guests.
The Crown Princess opted 1960s-style white silk dress by Norwegian designer Molstad – but noticeably did not wear a tiara. Her husband followed tradition by wearing a Norwegian Army uniform.
Pictured: King Harald and Queen Sonja during their wedding reception at the Royal Palace in Oslo in 1968
On 29 August 1968, the couple – who have been married almost 55 years – finally married at Oslo Cathedral in front of 850 guests.
Pictured: the happy couple wave to crowds from the balcony of the Royal Palace in Oslo after their wedding ceremony
Pictured: King Harald and Queen Sonja cradle their newborn baby Princess Martha Louise in September 1971
In a heartwarming show of support, King Olav walked his daughter-in-law down the aisle – as her own father had passed away in 1959.
Before heading to their reception at the Palace, the couple received a 21-gun salute.
History repeating itself
In 1971, Harald and Sonja welcomed their daughter Princess Martha Louise and their son Crown Prince Haakon followed two years later.
Despite being older, Princess Märtha Louise of Norway is fourth in line to the throne due to Norway’s succession rules.
Pictured: Crown Prince Haakon seen with his then fiancée Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby in 200 after their engagement was announced
Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit attend an award ceremony during the UN International Day of Voluntary Efforts in December 2018
Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon (Up 2nd L) celebrates his 45th birthday with his family, while he poses beside Princess Martha Louise (Up L), Crown Princess Mette-Marit (Up C), Princess Ingrid Alexandra (2nd R), Maud Angelica Behn (R), (Bottom L-R) Prince Sverre Magnus, Queen Sonja and King Harald in July 2018
History repeated itself for the Norwegian Royal Family in 2000 when Crown Prince Haakon announced his engagement to wife Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby.
The couple had met at the Quart music festival in the late 1990s – but the public were concerned by her controversial background.
Mette-Marit’s parents had divorced when she was a child and her father remarried a stripper. On top of this, she also had a son with the convicted felon Morten Borg.
However, Harald and Sonja happily accepted their son’s choice of wife and welcomed Mette-Marit into their family in 2000.
Surviving their own ‘Megxit’
What’s more, the couple’s daughter Princess Martha Louise, who was once a rumoured love interest of Prince Edward, has raised eyebrows over her choice of fiance: self-described shaman Durek Verrett.
He recently revealed he has discussed ‘black culture and what I’ve been through’ with the King and Queen – his would-be in-laws.
Verrett’s celebrity followers include Gwyneth Paltrow, Nina Dobrev and James Van Der Beek.
Princess Martha, who is a self-proclaimed clairvoyant in her own right, claims that both she and her beau have ‘spirital powers’ which allowed her to foresee his plans to propose.
She was previously married to Norwegian author Ari Behn, but the pair divorced in 2017, two years before he took his own life at the age of just 47.
Princess Martha Louise announced her engagement to Durek Verrett, an American businessman, last June
The royal praised her parents, King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway, for always keeping channels of communication open and encouraging conversation, even in difficult times
The couple had daughters Maud Angelica, Leah Isadora, and Emma Tallulah together.
In an echo of the move made by Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, Princess Louise stepped down as a senior working royal last November so she could pursue commercial projects with her partner. But she still kept her royal title.
In an interview with the BBC in May, she also spoke about being able to ‘see things’, a gift she believes she has had from being a young child.
When asked about her decision in comparison with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who also stepped down as senior royals, she spoke about her ‘amazing’ family, including King Harald and Queen Sonja, and how the dialogue between them has always remained open.
‘What I think has been amazing through this whole cycle has been the conversations we have had through it all,’ she said.
‘From a very young age I remember my mum and dad saying (the King and Queen saying) that we always have to stick together. We always have to talk things through even if it’s hard, we have to put all the cards on the table because we are family and we have to work things through.’
Recent Health Battles
Pictured: King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway attend a gala to mark the 50th anniversary of Her Queen Margrethe II of Denmark accession to the throne in September 2022
Over the past few years, King Harald has began walking with a cane and underwent a leg operation in January 2022.
He was then hospitalised at Christmas with an infection, four months after needing treatment for a fever.
That said, he continues to be an active monarch. Just before his initial hospital visit last year, he even took part in the Sailing World Cup, where he finished in tenth.
However, Queen Sonja has been by Harald’s side throughout his hospital stays.
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