Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit in Sweden

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Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden are hosting Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway on their visit to Sweden, to celebrate the ties between the two Royal Families as well as to strengthen the close business cooperation between Norway and Sweden, with a focus on green industries and a knowledge-based sustainable future.

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The day began at Haga Palace, the residence of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, before visiting the Karolinska Institutet to participate in the symposium Norway and Sweden – stronger together than each for us. The Crown Princess and the Crown Prince gave introductory speeches and then talks were held on stage with Norway’s Minister of Trade and Industry Jan Christian Vestre, Sweden’s Minister of Trade and Industry Karl-Petter Torwaldsson, Chairman of Investor AB Jacob Wallenberg, Idar Kreutzer at Finans Norge and Kristin Skogen Lunch, CEO Schibstedt.

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Afterwards, the two Crown Princely Couples visited Kulturhuset, the library were the literature initiative Rum för barn was shown, and they met the authors Anna Fiske and Elias Wåhlund as well as school children from Husby Gård’s school. The visit ended in the auditorium where the Crown Prince Couple and the Crown Princess Couple spoke with agents and authors associated with NORLA (Norwegian Literature Abroad) and the Swedish Council for Culture.

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King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden hosted a luncheon for Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit at the Royal Palace of Stockholm, at which Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia were also present. In the afternoon, Crown Prince Haakon was joined by Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel on a visit to the Norwegian Embassy, ​​where presentations and discussions were held with representatives of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise and representatives of Swedish and Norwegian companies.

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In the evening, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel joined Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit as they hosted a reception at the Norra Latin in collaboration with the Norwegian Embassy in Stockholm and Innovation Norway, meeting representatives from Norwegian and Swedish business. The Norwegian Crown Princely Couple gave a speech:

Dear everyone

Finally we are here! We have had plenty of time to look forward to this visit. Thank you for the warm welcome we have received here in Stockholm – both from Swedish society and from the Norwegian environment here in Sweden. And many thanks to our dear hosts – Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel – for their hospitality.

The Crown Princess:
We greatly appreciate the close relationship between us. Between Sweden and Norway as a country, but also between our two families. We are so happy for the close friendship with you, Victoria and Daniel, and your lovely family. We are also always so well received by His Majesty the King and Queen Silvia. This means a lot to us. Together we share a long family history that is important to take care of – for us, and for our children. The Crown Prince is a quarter of a Swede, and at home in the dining room at Skaugum hangs a large portrait of Crown Princess Märtha. This is how we are daily reminded of the bonds between us.

The Crown Prince:

Both we as Crown Prince and Crown Princess and our countries meet in the commitment to climate and environment, for a sustainable and knowledge-based future, for strengthening young people’s opportunities and for everyone who lives with us to feel part of the community.

You, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, are doing an important job in these fields that mean a lot – both to individuals, nationally and internationally. We are sure that you make Sweden a slightly better place to live.

The Crown Princess:

This year it is 70 years since the Nordic Council was established. Last year, we marked the 50th anniversary of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Throughout all these years, the inhabitants of the Nordic countries have been able to travel freely without a passport and settle wherever they want in the Nordic countries. During the closed-border pandemic, it was difficult for many to be deprived of this natural and close contact. It just confirmed how close we are to each other.

With the dark backdrop we now all live with through the war in Ukraine, we have been reminded of the importance of standing together for our values and democratic principles.

Nordic co-operation – and the cohesion between us – is perhaps more important and more valuable than ever.

The Crown Prince:

Once again, people are on the run in Europe – and again both Sweden and Norway are opening their borders to people in need. It is like an echo from World War II, when Sweden received 50,000 refugees from Norway and ensured their safety during the occupation. Among the many were also parts of my family. Norway and we will always be grateful for this.

After the war, we have both, both Sweden and Norway, developed strong, secure welfare societies with a high degree of trust. This strengthens us and unites us.

At the same time, we must admit that we Norwegians have always been a little jealous of you Swedes. You had solid brands like IKEA and Volvo. You had both ABBA and Ingmar Bergman, Astrid Lindgren and Alfons Åberg, as you call him – we call him Albert Åberg. Also, we must  not forget Carola, Europe , Whale , The Hives and Max Martin .

And then you had Ebba von Eckermann !  Now  it is not certain that everyone knows her so well – I did not do that a while ago, but my dear is very interested in weaving at the moment. Ebba von  Eckermann is thus  one of my wife’s great heroines: the weaver and fashion designer , Countess Ebba von Eckermann , who died in 2018, 96 years old. The Crown Princess is wearing a dress by her tonight – as a tribute to the weaving countess . She bought it on eBay

The countess ran a large textile company in Ripsa in Nyköping, and was discovered by the fashion houses in both Paris and New York. At the height, in the mid-50s, she accounted for ten percent of Sweden’s total textile exports. Again an example of how much innovative Sweden has achieved. I actually think it deserves an applause!

The Crown Princess:

We are looking forward to a Norwegian -Swedish party night here in these beautiful surroundings in Northern Latin. With music and culture, good food and nice people, we want to thank you for the warm welcome we have received in Stockholm, and celebrate the close relationship between us on so many levels. We are really looking forward to the next few days. And we hope that this visit will help strengthen our collaboration on topics that are important for our common future.

We also hope that these days we will gather around the values we build our societies on, and which we have to hold extra high now that they are under pressure.

And so we hope that we can help people and ideas find each other – to create something even better together.

The Crown Prince:

But right now we want first and foremost that everyone should have a nice evening here with us.

Thank you for your attention!

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