Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen; 4 July 1937) is Queen of Norway as the wife of King Harald V. She is Norway's first queen consort since Queen Maud, the wife of King Haakon VII, who died in 1938.
Sonja and the then Crown Prince Harald had dated for nine years prior to their marriage in 1968. They had kept their relationship a secret due to the controversy of Sonja's status as a commoner. Harald had told his father, King Olav V, that he would remain unmarried if his father did not grant consent to marry Sonja.[3] Upon their marriage, Sonja became crown princess and later the queen of Norway upon her husband's accession to the throne in 1991, becoming Norway's first queen consort in 52 years. The couple has two children together: Princess Märtha Louise and Crown Prince Haakon.
As queen, Sonja holds patronage of up to fifteen organisations.[4] Sonja has also served as Vice President of the Norwegian Red Cross from 1987 to 1990. In 2005, she became the first queen to visit Antarctica. In 2017, she was awarded the Trysil-Knut Prize, making her the first woman to receive the award. She is also known for her interest in music, art, and culture, having founded the Queen Sonja International Music Competition and the Queen Sonja Print Award. She is also a graphic artist and ceramicist, with many of her works being featured in exhibitions across Norway and other countries.[5]
Sonja Haraldsen was born on 4 July 1937 in Oslo, the daughter of clothing merchant Karl August Haraldsen and Dagny Ulrichsen.[5] She had three siblings, Haakon Haraldsen,[6] Gry Henriksen and Karl Herman Haraldsen, who died in a boating accident before Sonja was born.[7] She grew up at Tuengen Allé 1B in the district of Vinderen in Oslo and completed her lower secondary schooling in 1954. She received a diploma in dressmaking and tailoring at the Oslo Vocational School and a diploma from École Professionnelle des Jeunes Filles (a finishing school) in Lausanne, Switzerland. There, she studied accounting, fashion design, and social science. She returned to Norway for further studies and received an undergraduate degree (French, English and Art History) from the University of Oslo.[5]
In June 1959 she first met Crown Prince Harald (the future King Harald V) at a party hosted by Johan H. Stenersen. Later in August the Crown Prince invited her to his graduation ball, where they were photographed together for the first time. They dated for nine years, although their relationship had been kept secret because she was a commoner.[5] The Crown Prince made it clear to his father, King Olav V, that he would remain unmarried for life unless he could marry her.[8] This would in effect have put an end to the rule of his family, and likely to the monarchy in Norway, as Harald was the sole heir to the throne. Faced with having to choose one of his relatives from the Danish royal family, the Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein, or even the Grand Dukes of Oldenburg as his new heir in place of his son, Olav V consulted the government for advice; as a result, Sonja became engaged to Crown Prince Harald on 19 March 1968. The couple married on 29 August 1968, at Oslo Cathedral. She thus acquired the style of Royal Highness and the title of Crown Princess of Norway.[5]

Following the death of King Olav V on 17 January 1991, Sonja became Norway's first queen consort in 52 years.[5] Queen Sonja accompanied King Harald V when he swore his oath to uphold the Constitution in the Storting on 21 January 1991. During Haakon VII of Norway's reign, his wife Queen Maud died in 1938, and his son Olav V was then crown prince when his wife Princess Märtha of Sweden died in 1954 before he became king three years later. It was also the first time in 69 years that a Norwegian queen had been present in the Storting. Since his accession, Queen Sonja has accompanied the King to the formal opening of the autumn session of the Storting and the reading of the Speech from the Throne.[5]
In accordance with their own wishes, the King and Queen were consecrated in Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim on 23 June 1991.[5] Following the consecration, the King and Queen conducted a 10-day tour of Southern Norway. In 1992, the entire royal family conducted a 22-day tour of Norway's four northernmost counties.[5]
The Queen accompanies the King on official state visits abroad. She acts as the hostess when foreign heads of state officially visit Norway.[5]
In 2005, Queen Sonja became the first queen ever to visit Antarctica.[5] The Queen was there to open the Norwegian Troll research station in the country's Antarctic dependency, Queen Maud Land. The Queen flew in on one of the Royal Norwegian Air Force'sC-130H Herculestransport aircraft, landing at Troll Airfield.[5]
In 2017 Queen Sonja was awarded the Trysil-Knut Prize. She is the first woman to ever receive the award.[9]
The Queen was appointed a Rear Admiral in the Royal Norwegian Navy and a Brigadier in the Norwegian Army. She has undergone a basic officer training course and has participated in exercises.[10][11]
On 17 January 2021, Queen Sonja celebrated 30 years as Norway's queen consort.[12]
1972年、ソニアはノルウェーの障害児を支援するマルタ・ルイーズ王女基金の設立に携わった。彼女は国際難民のための大規模な募金活動に積極的に参加し、1970年代にはマレーシアにいるベトナム難民を訪問した。[ 5 ]
1987年から1990年まで、ソニア皇太子妃はノルウェー赤十字社の副総裁を務めた。彼女は同組織の国際活動を担当した。 1989年には、ボツワナとジンバブエへの赤十字代表団に参加した。[ 5 ]
クイーン・ソニア・スクール賞は2006年に設立され、「包容性と平等を促進する努力において卓越性を示した」学校に授与されます。[ 5 ] [ 13 ]
2021年、フランク・ロッサヴィックは、彼女が現在、自身が権威ある賞を授与したアーティストの作品を販売するための[アート]ギャラリーを始めていると述べた。[ 14 ]
ソニアは1988年にソニア女王国際音楽コンクールを設立した。当初はピアニストのためのコンクールだったが、1995年に歌手のみのコンクールとなった。審査員はオペラ界の様々な権威ある人物で構成され、優勝者には賞金とノルウェーの音楽機関での名誉ある出演の機会が与えられる。[ 15 ] [ 16 ]
彼女は長年熱心な写真家であり、芸術に強い関心を持っている。[ 17 ]彼女は版画家であり、2011年と2013年にアーティストのキェル・ヌーペンとオルヌルフ・オプダールと共に展覧会を開催した。 [ 18 ]クイーン・ソニア・ノルディック・アート・アワードは2011年に設立され、2012年にフィンランドのティイナ・キヴィネンが最初の受賞者となった。この賞は隔年で授与される。[ 19 ]
2017年に、芸術と文化の舞台となる施設、クイーン・ソニア・アート・ステーブルがオープンした。女王は、ハーラル国王とともに、オスロに宮殿博物館を設立しようと何十年も試みてきた。[ 20 ] [ 21 ]
女王は熱心なハイカーであり、そのことはノルウェートレッキング協会からの贈り物として女王の80歳の誕生日に除幕された彫刻によって示されました。[ 22 ]
2025年1月、ソニアはスキー旅行中に心房細動を起こし、リレハンメル病院に入院して経過観察を受けた。 [ 23 ] 1月16日、オスロ大学病院でペースメーカーの埋め込み手術を受けた。[ 24 ] 2025年4月、息切れのため国立病院に入院した。 [ 25 ] 2026年5月27日、心房細動と心不全のため入院した。[ 26 ]その翌日、夫がインタビューで、ソニアの容態が良くなり退院すると発表した。[ 27 ]
2025年、Amazonプライム・ビデオは時代劇ドラマ『ザ・コモナー』を配信開始した。この作品は、当時の皇太子ハラルドとソニア・ハラルドセンが結婚の権利を巡って争った物語を描いている。ノルウェーのソニア王妃はジーナ・ベルンホフト・ゴルヴェルが演じている。
1982 年に彼女はナンセン難民賞を受賞しました。 2007 年に、彼女はシモン・アマン、フロデ・エスティル、オッド=ビョルン・ジェルメセット、そして夫のハーラル 5 世とともにホルメンコーレンメダルを受賞しました。
ソニア王妃は1994年にヘリオット・ワット大学から名誉博士号も授与された。[ 28 ]
補足:°マークは、ソニア王妃の公式ウェブサイトページ に記載されている栄誉を示しています。
息子を溺愛することなく、スターターのギャラリーを見つけて、最高のAV作品を見つけてください。 [...]