February 21 – Happy Birthday, King Harald V

nPosted on February 21, 2017

nYou probably know that many nations in the world have a king or queen or other monarch. Some of these modern-day monarchs are more for show, for tradition, for official ceremonial purposes, although some are actual rulers with power in governmental affairs.
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nNorway is a constitutional monarchy with a law-making parliament and a prime minister. The constitution actually gives the king some pretty important powers, but tradition and actual practice, for more than a century now, result in the elected government exercising those powers in the name of the king. The king doesn’t actually play any direct role in the workings of the government.
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nToday is the birthday of Norway’s current king, King Harald V.
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nHarald and his family went into exile when Germany occupied Norway during World War II; Harald grew up partly in Sweden and in the U.S. because of this. Later, he attended college in the U.K. as well as in Norway.
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nHarald was such a good sailor, he represented Norway in sailing in three different Olympic Games (stretching over 12 years!).
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Harald was the flag bearer for the Norwegian
Olympics Team in 1964.

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nOf course, Norway is even better known for winter sports and even hosted the Winter Olympics twice — in the capital of Oslo, in 1952, and in Lillehammer, in 1994.

Here are some photos of Norway in the winter:
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