King and Queen of Norway visit Bjørnøya

King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway have visited Bjørnøya – an island north of Norway in the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago.

The King and Queen visited the island on 14 June to meet the new crew at the meteorological station to mark 100 years since the area became part of Norway.

Due to dense fog, Their Majesties had to arrive by boats instead of a helicopter that was originally planned.

They received a tour of the station, met the workers, and learned the history of the island. The Queen also saw the old main building of Bjørnøya Radio, which was converted into a museum.

The island does not have any permanent residents, but a crew of nine changes out every six months at the Meteorological Institute. The station has been in operation since 1918 to help monitor and predict weather in this part of the world.

Queen Sonja also had the honour of releasing the daily weather balloon at noon. She was also able to monitor the balloon’s journey into the atmosphere on a computer.

Even though King Harald has been on the throne since 1991, this was his first trip to Bjørnøya.

You can learn more about Bjørnøya here.