Official visit from the United Kingdom

King Harald and Queen Sonja received the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the main gate of the Royal Palace. The King and Queen are the hosts for the official visit, and Their Royal Highnesses The Crown Prince and Crown Princess will be accompanying the guests on a large part of their programme in Oslo. 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were greeted warmly by the King and Queen. Photo: Sven Gj. Gjeruldsen, The Royal Court

An exchange of gifts in the White Parlour was followed by official photographs in the Bird Room, where Her Highness Princess Märtha Louise and Her Highness Princess Astrid, Mrs Ferner joined the others. 

Official photographs in the Bird Room. Photo: Vidar Ruud / NTB scanpix

After a luncheon, the guests visited the Palace Park to view the Princess Ingrid Alexandra sculpture park. A large crowd had turned out to greet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who took more than the allotted time to greet the many well-wishers. Norsk Folkemuseum’s dance group gave a brief performance of Norwegian folk dance for the guests outside the guardhouse for His Majesty The King’s Guard.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took their time in greeting the many people who had turned out to see them. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB scanpix

Princess Ingrid Alexandra sculpture park 

The Princess Ingrid Alexandra sculpture park was opened in 2016, and contains sculptures made by children, for children. An ongoing project, the park currently houses four sculptures with four more to be added in the course of 2018. Princess Ingrid Alexandra herself is involved in selecting the sculptures, and today she gave the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge a guided tour of the sculpture park, with a little assistance from Queen Sonja. 

 Princess Ingrid Alexandra accompanied the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge around the sculpture park. Photo: Cornelius Poppe / NTB scanpix

Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Queen Sonja guided the members of the party on a tour around the children’s sculpture park. They viewed the sculptures Geometrisk rev [Geometrical fox] and Kanin i trøbbel [Rabbit in trouble], stopping in front of Ansiktsløs mann [Man without a face]. To the delight of the many photographers present, the entire party then posed for photographs in front of the sculpture of a rainbow, Roggbif.
 

 Roggbif is an acronym of the first letters of the colours of the rainbow in Norwegian. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB scanpix

 
Following the tour of the sculpture park, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited MESH, a co-working space for entrepreneurs and start-ups.

With entrepreneurs at MESH

MESH offers work and event space and meeting places for entrepreneurs and innovators, and is helping to make Oslo an important node in the European entrepreneurial landscape.

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had the opportunity to meet with several tech entrepreneurs. The founders of the company No Isolation presented the robot they have developed to assist children who cannot attend school due to long-term illness. The robot, which features a camera and a microphone, is placed in the classroom so that the child can speak with teachers and classmates.

The inventors of reMarkable have created a tablet that feels like paper. In addition to reading on the tablet, it is possible to write and draw on it, which all four Royal guests took the opportunity to test.

Crown Prince Haakon and the Duchess of Cambridge testing the reMarkable tablet. Photo: Terje Bendiksby / NTB scanpix

The Duke of Cambridge tested a Motitech exercise cycle. Then Crown Prince Haakon and the Duchess of Cambridge teamed up against the Duke of Cambridge and Crown Princess Mette-Marit in a friendly competition on a Kahoot! quiz. Chess World Champion Magnus Carlsen was also in attendance and presented the Play Magnus app, whose slogan is “Anyone can beat Magnus at chess! …at least at 5 years old”.

Official dinner at the Royal Palace

This evening King Harald and Queen Sonja are hosting an official dinner in honour of their guests. In addition to the guests of honour and the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, Princess Märtha Louise and Princess Astrid, Mrs Ferner will also be in attendance. The table has been laid for 104 guests in the Banqueting Hall.

The guests arriving for dinner was published live at the Kongehuset Facebook page:

 
Both King Harald and the Duke of Cambridge gave speeces tonight. His Majesty underscored the close ties that exist between Norway and the United Kingdom - and between our royal houses:

The Queen and I are delighted to welcome you on your first official visit to Norway. You are family. And that makes this visit very special – for the Queen and me, and for all of us.

Prince William also spoke of the many ties between our two countries, ties both historical, political and economical in nature.

Tomorrow, the Duke and Duchess will discuss mental health issues with students and members of the SKAM cast as they visit Hartvig Nissen school. Then sports and outdoor activities are on the agenda in Holmenkollen Ski Arena. Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit will accompany them.