Following the successful publication of her children\u2019s fairytale, \u2018Why Kings & Queens Don\u2019t Wear Crowns\u2019, Norway\u2019s Princess Martha Louise talked to \u2018Royalty\u2019 Editor Marco Houston about why she was inspired to base the story on the childhood of her grandfather, King Olav V, and the universal message it contains – \u201cthe transition from being a prince on the outside, wearing your crown as a symbol, to not wearing your crown but still owning your role. I think it\u2019s something we all have to do – to learn to use our qualities to make the world a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n
MH: Thank you for taking the time to talk to us. It\u2019s something we haven\u2019t had the opportunity to do before. Firstly, we would like to congratulate you on the success of your lovely book, \u2018Why Kings & Queens Don\u2019t Wear Crowns\u2019. Princess M\u00e4rtha Louise (PML): Thank You. R: Let\u2019s start with the book if we may. Can you tell us how it came about, the inspiration behind it?<\/p>\n
PML: Part of it came from meeting children. Their parents would point out \u201cthe Princess\u201d and the children would say \u201cNo it\u2019s not\u201d \u2013 \u201cGo on, go on, it\u2019s the Princess\u201d \u2013 \u201cBut she\u2019s not wearing a crown\u201d. So I thought I have to do something about this because they were all so disappointed, and I thought, \u201cwhy not write a book about why kings and queens and royalty don\u2019t wear crowns\u201d.<\/p>\n
MH: More specifically, to do with the literary side and background of the book, part of the inspiration comes from your interest in traditional folk tales?<\/p>\n
PML: I grew up with the traditional tales. My parents used to read Norwegian folk stories to me, and the classic writers like the Norwegian Asbj\u00f8rnsen and Moe, H.C. Andersen and the Brothers grimm. I grew up every night with somebody reading out loud to me, often in English because my brother and I had an English nanny who didn\u2019t speak any Norwegian. What we had in common were the fairytales and so she acted them out and we learned to speak English. That\u2019s why the fairytale genre is close to me. In recent years I did something similar on Norwegian television, when I read folk tales, partly to focus attention on how important it is for parents to read to their children.<\/p>\n
MH: The book tells the story of the childhood of your grandfather, King Olav V. How much of it comes from things he told you when you were younger, or is it mostly from your own imagination?<\/p>\n
PML: I grew up with pictures of my grandfather when he was a little boy, skiing or when the family was all out in the woods, Queen Maud with her dress on skiing and everything. It seemed extraordinary to me when I was little that you actually skied with a dress on, how difficult it must have been with the really deep snow and the cold, and all those sorts of childish questions! But the book is not drawn directly from a series of events that I know of, although it is true that when King Haakon and Queen Maud came to Norway in 1905 they didn\u2019t know that much about the country, being Danish and English, and they had to settle in. There was also the political situation to consider, as the country was split about 50-50 between republicans and monarchists at\u00a0that time and they had a really hard time at the beginning and must have tried hard to become Norwegian \u2013 this too is something I assume – and everything, apart from them being crowned, is made up. It is true, however, that all the crowns are up in Trondheim on display, we never wear them.<\/p>\n
MH: Do all Norwegians start skiing at a very young age?<\/p>\n
PML: We start at about three to three and a half and the saying is \u2018Norwegians are born with skis on their feet\u2019. R: Returning to the book, the illustrations are very beautiful. How did you come to work with Svein Nyhus? PML: Svein is one of the best illustrators in Norway. When I spoke to my publishers I said I really wanted him, and so did they. He very kindly took time from his busy schedule to do the drawings for the book, and they were fantastic. I said to him, \u201cI trust you so much, just draw whatever you want,\u201d and he came up with these amazing illustrations, which are really humorous and fun and at the same time portray the family as they were.<\/p>\n
MH: The illustrations do have that period feel. PML: Yes, and King Haakon was really tall with a moustache, and Queen Maud was really tiny and skinny. Svein put in touches that were true to the times. Little Olav often wore a sailor\u2019s outfit, and the names of the ships are right. He also did a lot of research on the palace and what it would have looked like at the time, and the big drawing of one of the coronations is actually from a painting in the palace. He has drawn in my family too – when King Haakon comes ashore in Kristiania my husband and I are in the crowd waving. He\u2019s drawn us with three children. At the time we only had one, but Svein said, \u201cYou will probably have more, so I drew in three\u201d. So now we have to get another child!<\/p>\n
MH: Your husband is also a well-known writer. Did he help with the book in anyway?<\/p>\n
PML: Ari helps me as he gives positive advice and will say something if he doesn\u2019t like it; however, we tend not to work together until everything is finished. This particular story was actually written about five years ago. I read it to Ari and he liked it very much, so we included it in a biography that was done for me on my thirtieth birthday. After a while it occurred to me that it could also be turned into a children\u2019s book and I rewrote it a bit for that reason. (Extract from Royalty Magazine Vol. 2001).<\/p>\n
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Following the successful publication of her children\u2019s fairytale, \u2018Why Kings & Queens Don\u2019t Wear Crowns\u2019, Norway\u2019s Princess Martha Louise talked to \u2018Royalty\u2019 Editor Marco Houston about why she was inspired to base the story on the childhood of her grandfather, King Olav V, and the universal message it contains – \u201cthe transition from being a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1315,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[68,171,160],"class_list":{"0":"post-1309","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-norway","8":"tag-martha-louise","9":"tag-norway","10":"tag-volume-2001"},"yoast_head":"\n