It is a working visit, not a pleasure trip – that becomes clear when the Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon arrives in Munich. A few minutes after the front door of the airliner opens, the 50-year-old gets out and goes down the stairs rolled up to the plane to shake hands on the red carpet.
The reception committee included State Chancellor Florian Herrmann (CSU), Norway’s ambassador Laila Stenseng and the German ambassador in Oslo, Detlef Waechter. In addition to Munich, the royal guest also wants to visit Hamburg and Berlin during his visit.
Munich appeared to the Crown Prince in autumnal beauty with sunshine and a white-blue sky, the flags of Germany, Norway and Bavaria fluttered in the wind. Young men and women from the Königsbrunn Police School lined up along the red carpet. However, Haakon didn’t stay long and quickly got into one of the waiting limousines, which would then take him from the tarmac in a convoy towards Munich. The other passengers on the flight were then allowed to leave the plane using the rear stairs.
Haakon will be accompanied by a business delegation and members of the Norwegian cabinet. Political meetings are planned with, among others, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The core topics of his visit include economy, energy, shipping and defense. Haakon wants to visit the arms company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KNDS) in Munich on Tuesday, where Norway has ordered 54 Leopard 2 tanks. In Hamburg he takes part in an economic conference at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Festive dinner and community of values
In the evening, the Bavarian state government honored him with a festive dinner in the Kaisersaal of the Munich Residence. Herrmann received him – Prime Minister Markus Söder had canceled his participation at very short notice because of the federal-state summit in Berlin. Crown Prince Haakon welcomed the guests in the Imperial Hall with the words “Greetings everyone!” He praised Germany and Bavaria as close and reliable partners.
The trip is intended to strengthen the close and good relations between the two countries. It was also said in advance that the community of values, for example in questions of democracy, would be emphasized. In addition, oil and gas-rich Norway wants to show itself as a strong economic partner for Germany when it comes to energy issues. After all, the Scandinavian non-EU country has been considered the Federal Republic’s most important gas supplier since Russia left the country in the wake of the Ukraine war.
But the prince is also dedicated to culture and history. So on Tuesday he will focus on his wife Mette-Marit’s hobbyhorse, literature. At the Literaturhaus Munich he will take part in a conversation with the Norwegian author Maja Lunde and the writer Dag Olav Hessen.
Mettes-Marit’s pulmonary fibrosis
However, Mette-Marit is not there in Munich and Hamburg. She only comes to Berlin. On Thursday they will both visit the Berlin Wall Memorial and a commemoration ceremony for November 9th, the day the Wall fell in 1989. They are also invited – by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to Bellevue Palace and by Federal Chancellor Scholz to the Chancellery.
The fact that Mette-Marit is not there from the beginning could have something to do with her pulmonary fibrosis, which was diagnosed in 2018. Because of the chronic lung disease, she often has to take a step back and was on sick leave for a few weeks in late summer.
The fans will be all the more happy to be able to see the 50-year-old and her husband in Berlin, at least from a distance, with a bit of luck. After all, the Crown Prince couple is one of the most popular royal family representatives in Europe. Her family, including their children Princess Ingrid Alexandra (19) and Sverre Magnus (17) as well as Mette-Marit’s son Marius Borg Höiby, represent young, modern and nature-loving Norway.
