Norwegian royalty is coming to Iowa.Prince Haakon, the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne, is making a trip to the United States, stopping in three different states — including northeast Iowa — during the first week of October.Haakon is making the trip to America to celebrate 200 years of organized immigration from Norway to the United States. Norwegians were the third largest immigrant group to settle in Iowa, according to PBS.Who is Prince Haakon?Haakon, 52, is the son and second child of King H...
Norwegian royalty is coming to Iowa.
Prince Haakon, the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne, is making a trip to the United States, stopping in three different states — including northeast Iowa — during the first week of October.
Haakon is making the trip to America to celebrate 200 years of organized immigration from Norway to the United States. Norwegians were the third largest immigrant group to settle in Iowa, according to PBS.
Who is Prince Haakon?
Haakon, 52, is the son and second child of King Harald V and Queen Sonja. Haakon is the heir despite having an older sister, and changes to Norway's succession laws allowing women to inherit the throne. The law only applies to royalty born after the law took place, which was in 1990, according to Britannica.
Haakon helped establish the Crown Prince and Crown Princess's Humanitarian Fund, which supplies grants for projects, including an AIDS-prevention program. He is married to Princess Mette-Marit. They share two children: Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus.
When is Prince Haakon coming to the U.S.?
The prince will be in the U.S. from Oct. 6 to Oct. 8. Haakon will visit Iowa, Minnesota and New York during that time. As of yet, Haakon will visit Iowa on Oct. 6, but those plans could change.
Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide and Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth are joining the prince on the trip.
Where is Prince Haakon visiting in Iowa?
Haakon will visit Decorah while in the Iowa. He will stop by the Vesterheim Norwegian museum and Luther College.
The public will be invited to the event, but the exact time of Haakon's arrival is still being arranged, Becky Idstrom, communication manager for the museum, told the Register.
The three stops are considered "Key sites and communities that have shaped — and continue to shape — the Norwegian-American Friendship," according to Norway in New York's Facebook.
Norwegians primarily settled in Allamakee, Clayton and Winneshiek counties in Iowa, according to Iowa PBS. Winneshiek County is home to Decorah and Luther College.
Kate Kealey is a general assignment reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at @Kkealey17.