Olav of Norway as a boy - he grew up to be one of his country's most loved monarchs ever
Olav V, King of Norway, was born at Appleton House in Flitcham on the estate on July 2nd 1903. He was the son of a man then called Prince Carl of Denmark who had been given the house as a wedding present on his marriage to Princes Maud of Wales, daughter of King Edward VII. The little boy born in what was described as a 'small house' and a 'pied-a-terre' was given the names of Alexander Edward Christian Frederik and was expected to grow up as a minor prince of the Royal Houses of the United Kingdom and of Denmark.
The birthplace of King Olav V of Norway - Appleton House, Norfolk
Seven and a half years earlier, in another house on the Sandringham Estate, another little prince had been born with little hope of a throne. Albert Frederick Arthur George of York was the second son of the then Duke and Duchess of York. By the time Prince Alexander of Denmark was born in 1903, Bertie's parents were Prince and Princess of Wales. The little prince of York House, Sandringham was the son of the man who would become George V but a handsome brother stood between Bertie and the crown.
Albert Frederick Arthur George grew up to be George VI of the United Kingdom
But both men's destinies would change unexpectedly and led them to form royal dynasties that still rule today. When Prince Alexander was about two, his father was asked to be King of Norway. Prince Carl accepted and Alex and his parents left their beloved home in Norfolk to live in their new country - with new names. Alex became Olav and grew up as Crown Prince of Norway. He succeeded his father as king in 1957 and became known as The People's King. His reign lasted 34 years and there was widespread mourning on his death in 1991.
Prince Alex of Denmark arrives in Norway - a few days later his name was changed to Olav
Almost forty years earlier, there had been widespread mourning in Britain for the other king born in that quiet corner of Norfolk. George VI had become monarch on the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII, in December 1936 having spent his whole life never expecting to be a king. His accession was an anxious time for some who feared George's shyness and his stutter might hold him back at a time when the British Monarchy needed to rebuild its reputation. But the king was more than up to the job. With the help of his wife Elizabeth, later the Queen Mother, he turned the Royal Family's fortunes around and his actions during World War Two endeared him to his fellow citizens forever. The country was plunged into deep sadness when he died, aged just 56, in 1952.
One of the last photographs taken of King George VI as he waved his daughter, Princess Elizabeth, goodbye as she embarked on an overseas tour in 1952
Appleton House is long gone - it was demolished in 1984 after laying empty for many years. York Cottage remains. Both these little corners of the Sandringham Estate became the birthplace of kings by chance. But history ensured that the princes who began their journeys in this quiet part of Norfolk would go on to be great kings whose descendants still rule today. Bertie and Alex, born without thrones but destined for greatness as George VI and Olav V - the kings of Sandringham.
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