Prince Haakon of Norway, Princess Victoria of Sweden and Prince Frederik of Denmark, all heirs to the thrones in their countries, are to visit the islands, located some 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from the North Pole, from June 21-27.
The three royals are patrons in their countries for International Polar Year (2007-2008), which is aimed at enhancing knowledge about the icy region.
They will mainly reside on a Swedish research vessel, the Oden, but will also visit Ny-Ålesund, a small community in northwestern Svalbard where many countries have scientific bases.
A treaty signed in Paris in 1920 placed Svalbard under Norwegian sovereignty, but gave signatory states equal rights to the archipelago’s resources and allowed them to conduct scientific research there.
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