Today Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands arrived in Oslo for an official state visit. According to the statement of the Norwegian Royal House she would be arriving by sea, on board of the HNLMS Tromp (F803). Well… she did travel the last kilometre or so on board, but first she travelled from the Netherlands to Norway by plane, which landed at Rygge Airport. From there she was transported by helicopter to the F803 which was already anchored in Oslofjord. Of the 3 major newspapers here in Norway both Aftenposten & VG published the same article provided by NTB, mentioning this fact in the title 😎 Aftenposten also published a 2nd article on the subject.
(the 3rd paper, Dagbladet, has not published anything about the state visit as of yet.)
The arrival must have made quite the noise, since 7(!)x 21-gun salutes being fired. She was met by King Harald V & Crown Prince Haakon of Norway.
Both Royal Houses have posted video’s of the arrival on YouTube: The Dutch video & the Norwegian video.
In the Dutch press there is little or no mention of the state visit as of yet. Only AD has written an article on the subject. The Telegraaf only has an article written months ago.
Why I am so interested in this, you may ask? Well… Tomorrow I get to meet the Queen in person!
Don’t get me wrong… I am not some fanatical fan of anything connected to the House of Orange, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, that’s for sure! 🙂