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William and Kate to visit set of ‘Skam’ on royal visit to Norway

Prince William and Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge will visit the school that provided the setting for hit series ‘Skam’ and meet the show’s actors during their forthcoming visit to the Scandinavian country.

Published: 16 January 2018 15:49 CET

William and Kate to visit set of 'Skam' on royal visit to Norway

File photo: Cornelius Poppe / NTB scanpix

The royal couple will arrive in Norway on February 1st after spending two days in Stockholm from January 30th, as part of a four-day official tour of Scandinavia.

The British royals will also meet Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, who will join them on a number of engagements throughout the visit.

The Duke and Duchess have asked their visit to include as many Swedes and Norwegians as possible, and will meet children and young people, those working in the mental health sector, and leaders in business, academia and scientific research, government, civil society and the creative industries, the couple’s communications office said in a press statement.

Their Royal Highnesses will land in Norway at Oslo Gardermoen Airport in the late morning of February 1st, where they will be met by Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit. They will then travel to the Royal Palace, where they will stay at the invitation of King Harald and Queen Sonja.

The second day of their tour will begin at the Hartvig Nissen School, the location for the hugely successful Norwegian television series 'Skam'.

The hit show, which is set for European and US remakes, highlights challenges young people face growing up, including gender identity issues, bullying, relationships, sexual assault, and eating disorders.

At the school, William and Kate will meet the stars and producers of Skam to hear more about the series, and will then meet students to learn about the effect Skam had on bringing issues out into the open and the role played by social media.

While in Oslo, they will also visit the ski jump Holmenkollen, one of the most recognisable landmarks of the Norwegian capital.

READ ALSO: Prince William and Kate coming to Sweden and Norway

Mad about the roi: a brief history of British royals' visits to France

From Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth II, visiting British monarchs have received a warm welcome in Paris over the past 170 years.

Thawed relations
In August 1855, Queen Victoria made a state visit to Paris, the first by a British monarch in 400 years.

After spending centuries at war Britain and France were fighting together against the Russian Empire in Crimea.

In a landmark moment, Victoria visited Napoleon I’s tomb at Les Invalides in Paris. “I stood on the arm of Napoleon III, before the coffin of his Uncle, our bitterest foe! I, the granddaughter of that King, who hated Napoleon most,” she wrote in her journal.

The grande finale was a sumptuous supper and a ball for 1,200 guests hosted by the emperor at the Palace of Versailles.

READ ALSO ‘No plans’ to change Charles III visit to strike-hit France

Entente Cordiale
Two years after Queen Victoria’s death her son Edward VII visited France in the spring of 1903, amid renewed tensions over the two European powers’ colonial rivalry.

President Emile Loubet welcomed him with great pomp, but he had to work hard to win over an initially hostile French public.

On April 8, 1904, his efforts bore fruit in the form of the Entente Cordiale, a landmark treaty settling Britain and France’s colonial disputes.

Clouds of war

Europe was on the brink of World War I when King George V and Queen Mary visited Paris in April 1914.

As the royal motorcade passed, Parisians lined avenues paved with the colours of the Union flag.

During a state dinner at the Elysee presidential palace, President Raymond Poincare hailed the Franco-British Entente as “one of the soundest guarantees of European equilibrium”.

Long live the King
In July 1938, Europe was again on the threshold of war when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth swept into Paris to cries of “Long live the king!”

George VI had ascended to the throne after his elder brother, King Edward VIII, abdicated in order to marry a twice-divorced American, Wallis Warfield Simpson.

The visit came at a time of growing alarm in Paris and London at Nazi Germany’s war preparations.

For the traditional banquet at the Elysee Palace, Queen Elizabeth wore the “Koh I Noor”, the biggest diamond in the world.

READ ALSO Protest fears as security stepped up for King Charles’ visit to France

Queen of French hearts
Over her seven-decade reign, Queen Elizabeth II made five state visits to France, winning hearts with her command of the language, dry wit and what she called her “great affection for the French”.

Her first official visit as a newly-married 21-year-old princess in 1948 caused a sensation, with crowds lining the street to try to catch a glimpse of her and husband Prince Philip.

Her star power was still in evidence when she made her first state visit to France as queen in 1957. President Rene Coty pulled out all the stops, putting on a banquet at the
Louvre museum and sprucing up the banks of the Seine for Elizabeth’s river cruise.

As the years passed, her visits take on a more overtly diplomatic flavour, marking the UK’s entry into the European Economic Community in 1972, the centenary of the Entente Cordiale in 2004 and the 70th anniversary of the World War II D-Day landings in 2004.

Conveying his sympathy to the British people on her death last year, President Emmanuel Macron said: “To you, she was your Queen. To us, she was The Queen.”

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