A meeting of monarchs

Perhaps there was no other way to round off a day of celebrations for a country's 200th birthday. As King Harald and Queen Sonja made their way to Eidsvoll, where the Norwegian Constitution was signed on May 17th 1814, there was a very special welcoming party gathering to meet them.  On their arrival they found their fellow Scandinavian monarchs who had arrived in Eidsvoll for the finale of a day of events marking Norway's 200th birthday.

King Harald, Queen Margrethe II and King Carl XVI Gustaf with their consorts and the heirs to the Norwegian throne on Constitution Day in Norway - May 17th 2014

The royals saw the original constitution which was brought back to Eidsvoll for the anniversary - it is usually kept in the Norwegian Parliament.  They then took their seats for a concert featuring artists from Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

King Harald prepares to take his seat between Queen Margrethe and King Carl XVI Gustaf on Constitution Day 2014

Two hundred years ago, the three crowns interlinked and overlapped with Norway and Denmark having the same king at the start of 1814 before the Norwegians broke away and, by the end of the year, the king of Sweden was also their monarch. But although the same person ruled as king in both countries, Norway and Sweden had separate laws, administrations, armies and currencies.  And by 1905, the decision had been taken for Norway to have its own monarchy again and a Danish prince was chosen for the role.  Haakon VII, formerly Prince Carl of Denmark, presided over the centenary of the Norwegian Constitution and his participation has been recorded by the Royal House of Norway today with the release of several photos of him and Queen Maud and their son, Olav, on May 17th 1914.

King Haakon, Queen Maud and Prince Olav on Constitution Day 1914

Today, Haakon's grandson, Harald, led the royals of all three countries in the celebrations for the 200th anniversary of Norway's Constitution.  Two centuries, three kingdoms, three crowns.  And a truly royal gathering for this most important of Norwegian anniversaries.