King Harald and children
King Harald was deeply committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and young people and ensuring that they could grow up under good living circumstances. He was interested in what children had to say, and many sought contact with him.
King Harald received many letters from children. They congratulated him on his birthday, sent drawings and asked small and big questions about life. On New Year’s Eve of 2002, King Harald began his New Year’s address by reading one of the letters he had received out loud:
- Our dear King in Norway! I am a nine-year-old girl, and I want to write to you because there are so many people who are not nice to each other during the breaks at school. There is bullying and fighting. I would like you to tell me if you understand what I mean.
- Yes, I do understand what you mean,” answered King Harald.
Most of the subsequent speech was about bullying – about bullies and their victims, about the importance of meeting each other with mutual respect, and about the ability of children to express themselves in a clear and simple way.
– He was a good listener. Especially when it came to children and young people – who had a special place in his heart.
King Haakon VIII in his memorial speech
We should use kind words
That was not the last time that King Harald listened to what children had to say and shared their wisdom with the rest of us. In 2014, children from Kapellveien Kindergarten were given an official audience at the Royal Palace. They brought their own Constitution, which they had drawn up to mark the bicentenary of the Norwegian Constitution. “Several of the articles written by the children discuss important elements that all of us – here in Norway and in the world at large – need to be reminded of,” said King Harald in his New Year’s address. He continued:
- I would like to focus on three of them:
- We should use kind words.
- Bigger children should help smaller children.
- Everyone must look after our Earth.
It is not your fault
King Harald also received letters from children who were living in difficult circumstances. Some of them were invited to official audiences. Children from the Blue Cross Children’s Station and the Alternative to Violence centre shared their thoughts and experiences with an attentive King who listened closely to them in his office.
This visit also inspired King Harald to include the situation for children in his New Year’s address.
– It is my hope that we will manage to recognise when young people are in pain and be able to help them. On this last day of the year I would like to say to those of you who are experiencing this: It is not your fault that your parents are struggling.
King Harald in his New Year's address in 2009
A film was made in 2009 based on topics that the children from the Alternative to Violence centre had discussed with the King. King Harald attended the opening night of “Angry Man”. The film was part of a campaign launched by Save the Children, called “Please Disturb”.
“Angry Man” is about a boy named Boj, whose father abuses Boj’s mother. Boj writes a letter to the King, asking “Is it my fault?”
After seeing the film, the King said: - We need to care about this for the sake of our children.
Children and their welfare remained an issue that mattered deeply to King Harald.
