Hans Majestet Kong Haakon VII i Buckie
His Majesty King Haakon VII in Buckie
By any standards of character and achievement, King Haakon may fairly be counted as a great man.
The Daily Telegraph |
På meg er det gjort et veldig inntrykk at ansvaret for de ulykker som kommer over land og folk hvis kravet avvises, legges på meg. Og det er et tungt ansvar, så tungt at jeg gruer for å bære det. Regjeringen skal ha avgjørelsen, men min stilling er klar. Jeg kan ikke gå med på de tyske kravene. Det ville stride mot alt det som jeg har oppfattet som min plikt som Norges konge siden jeg kom til landet for snart 35 år siden. I am deeply affected by the responsibility laid on me if the German demand is rejected. The responsibility for the calamities that will befall people and country is indeed so grave that I dread to take it. It rests with the government to decide, but my position is clear. For my part I cannot accept the German demands. It would conflict with all that I have considered to be my duty as King of Norway since I came to this country nearly thirty-five years ago. |
One of the most important days for the Norwegian community in Buckie was the 10th July 1943 when His Majesty King Haakon VII and Crown Prince Olav visited the town. They spent much of the day with the Norwegian community and it was a noticeably unstuffy royal visit.
The King was frequently in Scotland because there were so many Norwegian communities across the country with Dumfries being the base for the Free Norwegian Forces and it, like Buckie, had a reputation for being 'Little Norway'. The King's moral authority because of his famous 'No' to the Germans in April 1940 (noted above in Norwegian and English) made him the visible symbol of both Norway and its resistance to the occupation. As years went by the affection and respect the elderly, gaunt king was held in grew and grew. His monogram became a powerful symbol of resistance in Norway and one which the Nazis tried to ban. Still it kept appearing, painted on walls as the image below, from Drammen in 1941, shows. |
This wonderful picture shows King Haakon with some of the workers at the Royal Norwegian Slip and Repair Shops which had been established in Commercial Road at the western-most basin of the harbour.
The King spent considerable time at the slip and repair shops chatting to his countrymen. Today, the Norwegian Royal Family still include this photograph on their website as an example of the work that the King did during his time in exile in the United Kingdom during the war. |
HM King Haakon VII and HRH Crown Prince Olav outside Strathlene House on 10 July 1943. Provost William Merson is to the left of the King and is wearing, along side the Provost's chain, the Order of St Olav which had been bestowed on him earlier in the year. The Town Council entertained the King and Crown Prince to lunch at Strathlene on their visit.
Front row, from left to right: Gustav Puntervold (Consul in Buckie), Provost William Merson, HM King Haakon, HRH Crown Prince Olav, Chief Constable George Strath, Adjutante O. Nordlie (ADC to HM the King), Captain RM Ellman, Major TDW Whitfield, Per Sandik (Consul at Aberdeen). Back row, left to right: Frank Mohn, the King's Dectective, Driver Hossack, Driver West, Driver McIntyre, Sverre Brosvik, (Consul Secretary), Corporal AC Panter and Sergeant LJP Bush.
Front row, from left to right: Gustav Puntervold (Consul in Buckie), Provost William Merson, HM King Haakon, HRH Crown Prince Olav, Chief Constable George Strath, Adjutante O. Nordlie (ADC to HM the King), Captain RM Ellman, Major TDW Whitfield, Per Sandik (Consul at Aberdeen). Back row, left to right: Frank Mohn, the King's Dectective, Driver Hossack, Driver West, Driver McIntyre, Sverre Brosvik, (Consul Secretary), Corporal AC Panter and Sergeant LJP Bush.
He was an unfailingly watchful guardian over the constitution of the country which in so singular a fashion had become his own. His behaviour was invariably correct, with a self-discipline which was presumed to be natural to him but was in fact the result of deliberate cultivation. As a leader, King Haakon made strict demands on others, but the strictest on himself. As a friend, he was faithful, warm and considerate, but unflinchingly hard towards anyone who tried to operate with guile. He disdained flattery, and both snobbery and conceit were completely alien to him, as a man who had always put duty before personal consideration. He was a great man, perhaps even a very great man.