Princess Märtha of Sweden

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Märtha and Olav on the cover of Time on the occasion of their wedding

Charles XIV John

Children
Oscar I
Oscar I
Children
Charles XV
Gustaf, Duke of Upland
Oscar II
Princess Eugenie
August, Duke of Dalarna
Charles XV
Children
Lovisa, Queen of Denmark
Carl Oscar, Duke of Södermanland
Oscar II
Children
Gustaf V
Oscar, Duke of Gotland
Eugén, Duke of Närke
Carl, Duke of Västergötland
Grandchildren
Princess Margaretha
Märtha, Crown Princess of Norway
Astrid, Queen of Belgium
Carl, Duke of Östergötland
Gustaf V
Children
Gustaf VI Adolf
Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland
Erik, Duke of Västmanland
Gustaf VI Adolf
Children
Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten
Sigvard, Duke of Uppland
Ingrid, Queen of Denmark
Bertil, Duke of Halland
Carl Johan, Duke of Dalarna
Grandchildren
Princess Margaretha
Princess Birgitta
Princess Désirée
Princess Christina
Carl XVI Gustaf
Carl XVI Gustaf
Children
Crown Princess Victoria
Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland
Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland

HRH Princess Märtha of Sweden, Crown Princess of Norway (March 28, 1901 in Stockholm – April 5, 1954 in Oslo), full name, Märtha Sofia Lovisa Dagmar Thyra was the first crown princess of Norway in modern times who was not also Crown Princess of Sweden or Denmark. She was also Princess of Norway from her birth in 1901 to the dissolution of the personal union between Sweden and Norway in 1905.

1 Crown Princess of Norway
- 1.1 World War II
2 Issue and Death
3 Crown Princess Märtha’s Memorial Fund
4 Titles from birth to death
5 Ancestry
6 References

[edit] Crown Princess of Norway

Märtha was the daughter of HRH Prince Carl of Sweden and HRH Princess Ingeborg of Denmark, Princess of Sweden. After a secret and then public engagement, she married her cousin HRH Crown Prince Olav of Norway (later King Olav V) on March 21, 1929, and so became HRH The Crown Princess of Norway. Theirs was the first royal wedding in Norway in 340 years.

The crown princess became popular for her extrovert manner. She was an accomplished seamstress and sewed clothing for herself and her children. In 1939, just before World War II broke out in Europe, she toured the Upper Midwest with Olav. During their stay in the US they struck up a friendship with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.

[edit] World War II

When German troops invaded Norway in 1940, she and her three children fled to her native Sweden where she was not well received. Some felt she had put Sweden's neutrality at jeopardy and some even suggested she should take her three year old son Harald back to Norway so he could be proclaimed King by the Germans. This was never an option for Märtha and after an invitation by President Roosevelt she left for the United States on the USS American Legion, via the then Finnish port city of Petsamo. In the US she and the children at first even lived in the White House. The friendship with the Roosevelts was further developed during these years. Her work for the Red Cross and on behalf of Norwegian interests impressed Roosevelt and influenced his "Look to Norway"-speech in 1942. Vidal reported her to have been "the last love" of Franklin D. Roosevelt.^[1]

She spent most of World War II in the United States, where she tirelessly worked to keep up support for Norway among the American public and government. When she arrived back in Norway after the war she received a hero's welcome and was referred to as a "mother of the nation". She wholly embraced her role as Crown princess of Norway from the beginning and made a tremendous effort towards helping Norway.

[edit] Issue and Death

She and her husband had three children: HM Harald, Ragnhild and Astrid. After several illnesses and poor health, she died in 1954 from the effects of cancer, three years before her husband became king.

A 970,000 km² area in Antarctica is named Princess Martha Coast in her honour.

A statue of her was erected outside the Norwegian embassy in Washington D.C. in 2005. In 2007, A replica of the statue was erected at the Royal Palace in Oslo.

[edit] Crown Princess Märtha’s Memorial Fund

Crown Princess Märtha’s Memorial Fund was established as Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Märtha’s Fund on on 1 April 1929. According to the statutes "The purpose of the fund is to provide financial support to social and humanitarian initiatives carried out by non-governmental organisations." In 2005 the fund had assets of approximately NOK 28 million and each year a large number of receipients are allocated a total of approximately NOK 1.5 million. Princess Astrid of Norway, Crown Princess Märtha's youngest daughter, is chairperson of the fund.^[2]

[edit] Titles from birth to death

Here is a list of the styles Crown Princess Märtha bore from birth to death, in chronological order:

Her Royal Highness Princess Märtha of Sweden and Norway (1901-1905)
Her Royal Highness Princess Märtha of Sweden (1905-1929)
Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess of Norway, Princess of Sweden (1929-1954)