Business, culture and sport

The breakfast meeting with the Grand Duke was held at Oslo Børs, the Stock Exchange, and included trade and industry representatives from Luxembourg and Norway.

The polar exploration vessel Fram

In the morning, the King, Queen, Grand Duke and Grand Duchess visited the Fram Museum at Bygdøynes. The museum houses the Fram, the polar vessel which Fridtjof Nansen used to sail through the Arctic Ocean. The Fram was also used by Otto Sverdrup to sail to Nanavut west of Greenland, and by Roald Amundsen on his journey to the Antarctic.

The museum is celebrating several anniversaries this year: It is 150 years since Nansen was born and 100 years since Amundsen reached the geographic South Pole. The Fram Museum is marking its 75th anniversary this year as well. The King, Queen, Grand Duke and Grand Duchess were given a guided tour of the museum by Anne Rief, the head of communications.

Queen Sonja and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa subsequently continued on to the National Museum of Art, where they were given a guided tour of the museum’s masterpieces, including “Madonna” by Edvard Munch.

King Harald and Grand Duke Henri visited the Gamle Logen conference centre, where they took part in a reception hosted by Luxembourg’s Minister of the Economy and Foreign Trade Jeannot Krecké.

Government luncheon

The Norwegian Government hosted an official luncheon in honour of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa. The King, Queen, Grand Duke and Grand Duchess were welcomed by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Ms Ingrid Schulerud at the Government’s official representation complex in Parkveien. Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit were also in attendance.

Prevention of sports injuries

In the afternoon, the King, Queen, Grand Duke and Grand Duchess visited the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. At the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Professor Lars Engebretsen discussed the centre’s scientific approach to the prevention of sports injuries. Associate Professor Grethe Myklebust then gave an introduction on the specific measures used to prevent knee injuries, especially in women athletes.

Following the presentations, the King, Queen, Grand Duke and Grand Duchess visited the biomechanics laboratory, where they had the opportunity to observe an experiment in which Dr Myklebust, together with Tron Krosshaug, tested various factors that may pose a threat to the cruciate ligaments in handball and football players.

Reception

In the evening, the King and Queen will be the guests of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess at a reception in Oslo City Hall. The reception will include a performance by the pianist Jean Müller of Luxembourg.

The Crown Prince, the Crown Princess and Princess Astrid Mrs Ferner will also be in attendance.

Will travel to Trondheim

Tomorrow the King, Queen, Grand Duke and Grand Duchess will travel to Trondheim, where they will visit the Statoil Research Centre, Nidaros Cathedral and the SINTEF Research Group.