Princess Ragnhild, Mrs Lorentzen, passed away in Rio de Janeiro, aged 82, the Norwegian Court announced on Sunday. The outspoken princess was the eldest sister of King Harald V. She was the first Norwegian princess in 629 years to be born in Norway and the first of the royal family to marry a commoner. She is survived by her husband Erling Lorentzen and her three children.
Princess Ragnhild had a sharp tongue commentators acknowledged after the announcement of her death. But she also had considerable charm it was countered. In 2004 she shocked the Norwegians by her condemnation of the choice of partners of her brothers children Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Märtha Louise. The King had been too indulgent, as her father the late King Olav V would never have given permission for their marriages.
Ragnhild famously said she sincerely hoped she would not live to see the day Haakon ascended to the throne. She thought his taking of Mette-Marit as his wife had seriously damaged the fragile Norwegian monarchy, as did Märtha Louise's choice of writer Ari Behn as husband. Her husband Erling Lorentzen, a former hero of the Norwegian resistance during World War II, tried to persuade Norwegian TV to censor hius wife's words, to no avail.
Princess Ragnhild was born 9 June 1930 in the Royal Palace in Oslo as her parent's home Skaugum had burned to the ground only three weeks earlier. She was the eldest child of Crown Prince Olav and Swedish born Crown Princess Märtha, a sister of Princess Astrid who became Queen of the Belgians. Ragnhild was first cousin to the Belgian King Albert II.
She first met Erling Lorentzen after the war, in 1945. The princess spent the war years in exile with her mother and siblings in the outskirts of Washington DC. Her grandfather King Haakon VII was not eager to grant Ragnhild permission to marry Lorentzen, but her choice was welcomed when it was finally announced in February 1953. The wedding followed two months later and 'Her Highness Princess Ragnhild, Mrs Lorentzen' as she was subsequently called, settled with her husband in Brazil.
Princess Ragnhild only took part in family events in Norway. The King and Queen hosted a private dinner for her 80th birthday in 2010. She was too ill to attend the joint celebrations for Their Majesties 75th birthdays earlier this year. © HJ
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