Princess Ragnhild of Norway

Princess Ragnhild of Norway, Mrs. Lorentzen, (Ragnhild Alexandra, born 9 June 1930) is the eldest daughter of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. She is the older sister of His Majesty King Harald V of Norway and of Princess Astrid of Norway.

Princess Ragnhild married Erling S. Lorentzen, a commoner of the High Bourgeoisie, in Asker on 15 May 1953, after which the princess is titled Her Highness Princess Ragnhild, Mrs. Lorentzen. There was great controversy when the princess married Lorentzen, a business man and army officer who had served as her bodyguard during the War, as she was the first Norwegian Royal to marry a commoner. Soon after the couple's wedding, it was announced that the flag of Norway would no longer be flown on the princess's birthday (9 June).

The couple moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where her husband has substantial business holdings. They still live there, but also spend some time in Oslo. The princess has three children: Haakon Lorentzen, Ingeborg Lorentzen (Mrs. Paulo Ribeiro), and Ragnhild Lorentzen (married to the American Aaron Matthew Long and living in San Francisco, California). Her grandchildren are Olav, 1985- Christan, 1988- Sophia, 1994- Victoria, 1988- and Alexandra, 2007-.

Styles of Princess Raghnild of Norway
Reference style	Her Highness
Spoken style	Your Highness
Alternative style	Ma'am

Norwegian Royal Family

HM The King * HM The Queen * HRH The Crown Prince * HRH The Crown Princess * HRH Princess Ingrid Alexandra * HH Prince Sverre Magnus Marius Borg Høiby HH Princess Märtha Louise Ari Behn Maud Angelica Behn Leah Isadora Behn Emma Tallulah Behn Extended royal family HH Princess Ragnhild, Mrs. Lorentzen Erling S. Lorentzen HH Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner Johan Ferner * Member of the Norwegian Royal House

A staunch conservative, Princess Ragnhild publicly criticized her niece and nephew, Princess Märtha Louise and Crown Prince Haakon Magnus, for their choice of spouses, on TV 2, a Norwegian television network, in 2004. Among her comments was her belief that the younger generation's controversial marriages could bring down the Norwegian monarchy and her hope that she would be dead before her nephew's wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit became queen. In a fruitless effort at damage control, the princess's husband reportedly approached TV 2, asking that his wife's scathing comments be edited.

As she is the great-granddaughter of Edward VII of the United Kingdom, she is also in the line of succession to the British throne. She is a second cousin to Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret and also a maternal first cousin to Baudouin of Belgium and his successor Albert II of Belgium.

Princess Ragnhild is Patron of the Norwegian Organisation for the Hearing Impaired.

Honours

A 540 000 km² area in Antarctica is named Princess Ragnhild Coast in her honour. The Jahre Line (later Color Line) cruiseferry MS Prinsesse Ragnhild was named in her honour.

• Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav
• The Royal House Centenary Medal
• Olav Vs Commemorative Medal of 30. January 1991
• Olav Vs Jubilee Medal 1957-1982
• Olav Vs Centenary Medal
• Royal Family Order of King Haakon VII of Norway
• Royal Family Order of King Olav V of Norway
• Royal Family Order of King Harald V of Norway
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Southern Cross
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown
• Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (Portugal)
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star

Ancestry