Today there was a electricity black-out in Asker where the Crown Prince couples farm and home Skaugum lies in the early morning right after the animals had been milked and fed. Because there electricians is on strike the electricity was out for 5 hours, but because Skaugum is a farm and there are many other farms around who depend on electricity for feeding and milking the electrician fixed it even if they were on strike. According to the spokesperson of the royal court it was not because of the royals the exception was made, but because of the animals health and well beeing. Further NTB says the couple is not in their home but on vacation. A good guess would be Tjøme and Maagerø where Queen Sonja usually celebrates her birthday, she is 69 years old today
The celebrations is private but the flags are flying from all public buildings and from some private ones as well.
http://www.vg.no/pub/vgart.hbs?artid=121999
The king is not in the habbit of beeing there for his wifes birthday as he is usually in SPain with his crew for the regattas this time of the year. Maybe it will be a larger party next year since both the King and Queen will be 70.
July is the official vacation month so no activites schedueld the next weeks, usually they come back to work in the beginning-middle of August. There is no state council in the vacation, as the politicians want some (much
) vacation as well.
Some planes for the autumn, second part of august has several activites planned already
Mette-Marit as a special UNADIDS representative (possible Haakon will be there for parts of it) will attend the World Congress on AIDS in Toronto which is held 13-18 August 2006
The couple will celebrate their 5 year wedding anniversary on August 25th, there will be some activites related to their humanitarian foundation according to Haakon, but he would not say what they were exactly in a recent NRK interview. I belive his wife is the in the jury of a writing competiton for teenagers the foundation and the goverment supports.
29-31 august there will be a state visit from Bulgaria
In the middle of September the King and Queen will go on a state visit to Ireland
Haakon and Mette-Marit will go on a visit to India in October I think, it should be a longer trip, it was supposed to be a state visit by the King and Queen but on doctors orders the King is not travelling out of Europe this year. It will now be scaled down to an official visit.