King Carl XVI Gustaf sends telegram to his godson King Haakon

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden sent a telegram to his godson, King Haakon VIII of Norway, on the occasion of his swearing-in in the Storting earlier today.

The King wrote:

“Your Majesty!
It is with great sadness that my family and I have received the news of King Harald’s passing. A heavy blow has struck Norway.

“Dear Haakon!
Queen Sonja, you and the entire family have been in our thoughts since the news of his death. Today you have formally ascended the Norwegian throne, and I want to be one of the first to express my warmest wishes for success to you and Queen Mette-Marit for the great task that now lies before you.

“Dear godson!
It is my hope that you feel great support from your godfather, from your Swedish family and from the entire Swedish people as you now assume your high office as King of Norway.”

King Haakon took his oath in front of Parliament earlier today. He also held a short speech in which he said, “At this first meeting between the people’s elected representatives and me as King of Norway, I would like to express my hope that the good relationship that has existed between the Storting and my father, King Harald, my grandfather, King Olav, and my great-grandfather, King Haakon, can be maintained and then developed in line with the tasks that the country will face in the future. The Queen and I would like to confirm that we are available to carry out our work for the country and the people. In this tradition, I, as King of Norway, have also adopted the motto ‘Everything for Norway.'”