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The Queen of Norway was at the Olympic site of Lillehammer Saturday to present the Ildsjel Prize to cyclist Vidar Boe, for his work with society’s neediest.
 Kristoffer Overli Andersen/Scanpix Queen Sonja arrived at Haakon’s Hall with Tove Paule, President of the Norwegian Confederation of Sports, for the annual Sports Gala. It was she who praised Boe for his work.
“Without volunteering, Norway and many other parts of our society would not have the standard we have today. I think, therefore, it is very nice to get to award the prize,” Queen Sonja said before calling Boe up to the stage.
Once there, Boe spoke of his concern for the next generation.
“This award shows that we need a voluntary basis. What concerns me is that the tail of a generation of enthusiasts is about to disappear,” he said.
Boe is known in Norway for cycling through the country with another cyclist, Tahir Hussein of Pakistan, who is blind.
Upon receiving the award, Boe called Hussein up, the first time the two had been together since cycling last year.
“Vidar has worked for the weak all my life and deserves this award. It was worth the long trip from Pakistan to meet him again,” said Hussein.
And Boe had these kind words to say about the Queen.
“She’s a great lady. This is not a show when Her Majesty comes to award the prize. Then it means something to her and praiseworthy. I really feel that this is not some other rank price.”
The Queen of Norway spent Tuesday at an Oslo Crisis Center for women and children. She met with the shelter’s administrators and the people who are staying there for Christmas. 
Upon arriving, Queen Sonja was greeted by the center’s manager, Inger-Lise Larsen Walmsness. The manager briefed the Queen for a half-hour before the two moved on touring the shelter.
The Queen eventually went to the center’s main room, where 25 women and children were decorating a gingerbread. Sonja sat down and helped them with their handiwork. She certainly has some experience with gingerbread – last week, the Norwegian royal family distributed Christmas pictures of them making a gingerbread house.
Before leaving, Queen Sonja was given a tour of the children’s room. An eleven year-old girl at the shelter gave her a collage as a thank you for visiting.
The Oslo Crisis Center is the oldest such place in Norway. It is also the largest, with 86 beds. This is the shelter’s 31st year.
The royal family of Norway released their annual Christmas photos Thursday. As always, they chose an activity to show them enjoying each other’s company. This year, that activity was building a gingerbread house.
 Terje Bendiksby/Scanpix King Harald V, Queen Sonja, the Crown Princely couple and their children built the house at the royal palace in Oslo. The house was big enough for Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus to walk through. It included gingerbread and cookies with the names of the children of Princess Martha Louise, their cousins.
While building the house, Ingrid and Sverre felt tempted to eat the gingerbread. But their mother made sure they didn’t.
“Ingrid, no. You are not allowed to eat the house. You can get one of the loose,” said Mette-Marit, who was dressed in traditional Norwegian clothes, as was Queen Sonja.
Luckily, Ingrid and Sverre found and ate some pieces not yet on the house. The gingerbread was made by the palace chefs.
This Christmas, the King and Queen will be in Oslo, along with their eldest child, Martha Louise and her family. Haakon and Mette-Marit will be in a cabin in Nore and Uvdal.
Not since 2004 has the entire royal family been together.
Click here to see a video of the family (you have to scroll down to the middle of the page).
The royals of Norway were present, front row and center, as U.S. President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at Oslo City Hall Thursday. Although there has been some controversy over the President receiving the Prize, King Harald V warmly gave him the award in front of nearly a thousand attendees.
 AP Photo/Odd Andersen The royal family – the King, Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit – sat and watched intently as Obama delivered his 35 minute speech following actual receiving of the Prize.
Earlier in the day, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama met with the royals in the Bird Room at the royal palace.
However, there has been some controversy over Obama’s treatment of King Harald in regards to the monarch welcoming him to Norway and congratulating the President on winning the Peace Prize.
First, he cancelled his lunch with Harald, then did not visit a Peace Center. Finally, Obama cancelled his appearance at the annual concert in honor of the Peace Prize which is to be held Friday.
 AP Photo/John McConnico, pool Most Norwegians are not thrilled about this. According to an InFact poll, 44 percent say the President not having lunch with the King was impolite. Those numbers rose to 53 percent when it came out that he was not going to the concert.
First Lady Michelle Obama will be having audience with the royals, though. But with some Norwegian politicians voicing their dismay over President Obama cancelling the lunch and skipping the concert, that may not be enough.
The Queen of Norway gave out her annual School Prize today, an award which recognizes an institution for excelling in equality and inclusion. This time the Prize went to Flatestad school in Greverud. 
Before the ceremony, Queen Sonja was shown around the school by student council leader Tarik Mustedanagic. When it was time for the actual distribution of the award, the Queen was shown artwork by the students.
“We the jury believes the school has done a very impressive effort to strengthen the community,” said the Queen Sonja School Prize jury foreman, Edward Befring.
Befring was most impressed by Flatestad teaching the form of secondary education.
“The eighth, ninth and tenth grades are working together around one third of the time the rivers are at school. This was common several years ago and seems to work well today. When students from different grades work, they can exchange experiences among themselves across the steps,” said Befring.
As part of its prize, Flatestad school received a check for 150,000 dollars, a diploma and lithograph by artist Eli Hovdenak.
After the ceremony, Queen Sonja, Befring and those who are part of the Prize, had lunch with the students.
Norway’s King Harald V and Queen Sonja arrived in Pretoria, South Africa on Tuesday to begin a two day state visit to the country. With them are over 100 Norwegian business leaders, looking for opportunity investments.
 REUTERS/Ziphozonke Lushaba Harald and Sonja were welcomed by President Jacob Zuma and his wife at the Union Buildings. They eventually went to the University of Pretoria, where King Harald opened a seminar on foreign policy.
Afterward, the King and Queen visited Freedom Park. This evening, they will attend a state dinner hosted by President Zuma.
Already a lot has been accomplished at this state visit. Co-operation agreements on partnerships, in higher education and research, plus mutual trade and investments have been signed. Also, efforts to tackle climate change have been agreed upon.
However, one thing would be noticably absent from this royal visit. King Harald and Queen Sonja will not be meeting with South African hero Nelson Mandela. He has chosen not meet the royal couple since he has resigned from public life and is struggling with fragile health.
 Ragnar Singsaas/Getty Images Europe The Queen of Norway spent some time with her daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Mette-Marit on Wednesday night. The two saw the musical, “Mamma Mia!” at the People’s Theater in Oslo.
But this outing wasn’t only for fun and laughs. The performance raised money for breast cancer research. All proceeds went to the Pink Ribbon campaign.
“This is about raising awareness,” Queen Sonja said. “There are very, very many who are affected, and we all know someone who is affected. Who knows when it’s our turn? I think Pink Ribbon action is a great and very great way to meet a challenge on.”
The Queen also revealed that she had already seen “Mamma Mia!” 3 times already – and two of them were in London when Lisa Stokke performed.
“It’s like some of that generation, the dance and the great thing about this. So “Dancing Queen” is not so bad, “she said about the musical.
Last night, Norway’s royal family held their annual Stortinget, or Parliament, Gala to mark the start of the new legislative year for Norwegian politics. This is a traditional dinner that goes back over a hundred years.
 Stian Lysberg Solum/Scanpix One of the main events of this gala is the King’s speech at its beginning. King Harald V delivered his speech to an audience of 225 guests, and it was filled with both serious and funny touches.
“Most of you have behind you a long election campaign,” the King said about the new members of Parliament. “For some it was a happy choice. For others, it was a downturn. The road to the Parliament can obviously be both demanding and unpredictable. It is told about a minister in a previous government that once stood below the big stairs inside the building and saw a small child who struggled and crawled up the stairs. When dry, the minister exclaimed: “Oh, it’s many of them up there that have crept both longer and harder to get there!”
 King Harald’s speech talked about the state of Norway’s economy and society. In some ways, the speech sounded a lot like the one he opened Parliament with a few weeks ago.
“Our politicians have had to deal with serious challenges to the financial crisis this past year,” the King said at one point. “Evidence indicates that we still face a financial uncertainty in the future, and that it is too early to end financial crisis completely. We know that some businesses are struggling and that individuals are experiencing the pain of being unemployed. But it is reassuring that we have governments that have the will to stand together when needed and make decisions for the good of our community.”
After his speech, the King gave a toast and the speaker of Parliament gave his speech.
The Parliament gala dates back to 1906, when King Oscar I first held the dinner in the winter. Back then, there were very few women in attendance, cigars were abundant and the menu was in French. But times do change, and now 40% of the attendants are female, there are no cigars going around and the menu is written in Norwegian.
King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway reopened the palace Oscarshall in Bygdoy. The palace had been going under renovation since 2006, and it now restored to look the way it was when it was first built back in 1852.
 Seher.no “We are proud that we have complied with the budget of 115 million. The building has been in a really bad state for many years, but now has both inside and outside the park had a worthy and proper renovation, “says administrative and renewal minister Heidi Grande Røys.
Though owned by the Norwegian state, Oscarshall was used sometimes by the royal family.
“I think the guests are going to use it the most, but we hope of course that we can get used it more, too. For example, for receptions, small concerts and various events, “King Harald said to the press.
The King and Queen helped out in restoring the palace, especially the Queen. Sonja is very interested in art and architecture, and this palace holds a lot of that.
“There are some secrets that I think audiences will appreciate, “said King Harald. “That refers to the many paintings that are in the dining room, bedroom and lounge. All the paintings have been taken down, washed, and become much brighter than they have been previously – so you now can get a much better impression than before.”
Oscarshall is named after King Oscar I, who was both King of Norway and Sweden from 1844 to 1859. He was married to Josefine of Leuchtenburg. Oscarshall was own of the palaces they occupy after their marriage.
 klikk.no Tuesday saw Norway’s King Harald V and Queen Sonja visit the western county of Hordaland, as part of a three day official visit to the area. The tour, three years in the making, began in the seaside town of Tysnes.
The King and Queen were greeted by hundreds of young children as they stepped off the boat which brought them to the town. After official welcomes, the couple got down to business.
One of the places they toured in Tysnes was Gallery G, where some of Queen Sonja’s photographs were on display. The photographs were personally taken by the Queen during her many visits around the Norwegian mountains over the years.
Only once before has the Queen’s pictures been exhibited. That happened in the Scandinavian House in New York in 2005.
King Harald and Queen Sonja will be spending most of the week in Hordaland. The other towns coming up on their tour will be Lindas and Austrheim.
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