Crown Princess Martha of Norway's was born on the 28th March 1901
to a prince of Sweden and a princess of Denmark making her a princess of Sweden at her birth.
Later, when she married Crown Prince Olav of Norway,
she would be titled as, Crown Princess Martha of Norway.
She is not to be confused with the current reigning Princess Martha Louise born in 1971,
who is of a later generation of Norwegian royalty.
Princess Martha Louise is the granddaughter of Crown Princess Martha and was named after
her grandmother by Crown Princess Martha's son, the current reigning King Harald V.
Back to Crown Princess Märtha of Norway, whom you may know a little about from the 2021
Masterpiece TV series, Atlantic Crossing where it is portrayed that she had a romantic relationship
with Franklin Roosevelt, the president of the United States. I did a video questioning the
truth of that relationship. Please check it out. I left a link in the description below.
Okay, on to Crown Princess Martha's childhood.
Märtha was born at her parents' home in Stockholm Sweden.
She was the second child of Prince Carl of Sweden and his wife Princess Ingeborg of Denmark.
She was the second of four children.
Her younger sister, Astrid, would go on to be Queen of the Belgians.
It is hard to find much personal information to give us sense of who Crown Princess Martha
was outside of being a public figure and serving the crown.
But I did find an interesting post in forum called the royal forums,
that gives this account of Crown Princess Martha of Norway as a child.
The children of Prince Carl of Sweden and Princess Ingeborg quote lived quiet lives.
Their parents wanted them to have normal lives so they started early
in helping with household chores, but were allowed plenty of time to play.
The girls had a small cottage at their holiday home, Fridheim, where they played house.
Märtha was especially concerned with keeping her surroundings tidy and cozy.
Martha was educated at home, with her sisters, and a few friends of the family. After her
confirmation, the home-schooling was expanded to include classes in childcare and cooking.
She also took a formal education in childcare, as well as sewing classes.
According to a book written about Martha's sister, Queen Astrid, Martha grew up as being much more
confident and outgoing than her sister. and she was the daughter most admired by their mother.
As we move into her adulthood, Princess Märtha of Sweden became engaged to her first cousin,
Prionce Olav of Norway, the only son and heir apparent of her uncle the King of Norway in 1928.
This was considered an excellent match in terms
of strengthening royal ties between Sweden and Norway.
Following a year-long engagement, Märtha married
Crown Prince Olav in the Norwegian capital Oslo at Oslo Cathedral on 21 March 1929.
The marriage bestowed upon her the title of Crown Princess of Norway.
She held that title from 1929 until her death in 1954.
Martha's was the first royal wedding to take place in Norway in 340 years since
King James I of England, and VI of Scotland, had married a Danish princess there in 1589.
And, the citizens of Oslo were out in full force to celebrate with the Royals.
The popularity of the wedding was magnified because it was a true love story. Thirty six years
after her death, Olav said in an interview in 1990: “I think it was at my grandmother’s 70th
birthday, at Charlottenlund, that I first realized that I could fall in love with Princess Märtha.”
They-were first cousins and he had known her her whole life. "They first met in 1904 at
their mutual grandparents when Märtha was three and Olav was one year old.
They met many more times over the years, getting to know each
other at yearly bithday gatherings of their maternal grandmother, Queen Louise of Sweden.
After the wedding, they honeymooned in the south of Europe and then
set up their home at the country estate of Skaugum in early 1930.
They spent their free time decorating their home amid the jubilee year engagements.
Unfortunately tragedy struck when Skaugum burnt to the ground in May of the same year.
Just as they had finished the redecorating. Olav and some of the workers managed to save
some priceless belongings, and a few things for the baby that was expected any day.
So Märtha and Olav moved to the Palace in Oslo,
and it was there, on 9th of June 1930 that their first child, a daughter named Ragnhild, was born.
From there, the crown royal couple moved around to several different residences in Oslo until 2
years later when Skawgum had been rebuilt and was complete enough for the family to move back in
just six months after the birth of their second child, a daughter named Astrid.
It is reported that as a royal wife and mother, Crown Princess Märtha
enjoyed playing with her children, working in the kitchen and she enjoyed the garden.
She took active participation in the birthday parties of her children
that were a mix of children from royal familes and children of the palace staff
under their paternal grandmother, Queen Maude of Norway.
As Crown Princess of Norway, Märtha learned the Norwegian language and accompanied Crown Prince
Olav on the many representation duties that had to be performed.
During the depression years of the 1930's, the crown royel couple traveled throughout
Norway to find out how people were managing through the hard times.
In 1934 they visited the northernmost parts of Norway including Finnmark.
Tragedy again struck Crown Princess Märtha in 1935. Her sister Astrid was killed in a car crash.
The two siblings had been very close,
and Olav later said that it took his wife more than ten years to come to terms with it,
but he did not think that she ever really got over her sister's death.
Märtha and her elder sister Margaretha
became a great support for her sister's children in Belgium.
In 1938, Crown Princess Märtha became the senior
lady of the court on the death of her mother-in-law, Queen Maud of Norway.
This concludes part one of the biography of Crown Princess Märtha of Norway.
Part two will cover the years during and after world war two including her time
at the American white house. Part two will play immediately after this video.