Minnesota is getting a brush with royalty this week as the crown prince of Norway visits the state to mark 200 years since the first organized Norwegian emigration to the U.S.
Crown Prince Haakon — heir to the throne of Norway — arrived in Minneapolis on Monday night and will remain in Minnesota on Tuesday and Wednesday. Earlier Monday, he visited Luther College and the Vesterheim museum in Decorah, Iowa. He also will be in New York on Thursday.
The Norwegian Embassy to the U.S. said the purpose of the visit is to “highlight the deep cultural and historical ties between the two countries and promote cooperation in business, education, and culture.”
Speaking at Luther College on Monday, Haakon asked, “What ties our people together across oceans?”
“I believe it is the stories that we share, that we tell ourselves and that we tell each other — stories of courage and curiosity, stories of hardship and hope, stories that remind us who we are and who we aspire to be,” he told the crowd gathered on campus for a ceremony in which he was awarded an honorary doctorate.
Haakon’s events in the Twin Cities on Tuesday include a stop at Norway House in Minneapolis and meeting Gov. Tim Walz at the state Capitol in St. Paul. He’ll visit St. Olaf College in Northfield on Wednesday.
He’s being accompanied on the trip by a delegation of Norwegian political and business leaders.
The Minnesota State Demographic Center reported that, as of 2018, more than 800,000 state residents reported having Norwegian ancestry — the second-largest group, behind German ancestry.
The Norwegian royal family has made a number of visits to Minnesota over the years. Haakon previously visited St. Olaf College in 2005, and Queen Sonja of Norway made a trip to Minnesota — including a visit with Walz — in 2022.
King Harald V and Queen Sonja also visited the state in 2011, including a stop at St. Olaf College, as well as Duluth to rededicate the landmark Enger Tower.
