Crown Princess Märtha
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"...if there is anyone who doubts the democratic will to win, let him look to Norway." The words belonged to the then American president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, during World War II. Crown Princess Märtha's persistent efforts for a free Norway left a clear impression on the American president. The Norwegian freedom struggle also became a motivator on the other side of the Atlantic. Crown Princess Märtha was born as a Norwegian-Swedish princess in Stockholm in 1901. She was the daughter of Prince Carl of Sweden and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark. Her full name was Märtha Sofia Lovisa Dagmar Thyra. She met Crown Prince Olav during the Olympic Games in Amsterdam where Olav won his famous sailing gold. They got married that year and moved into Skaugum in Asker, where they had three children. Crown Princess Märtha had great work capacity and an open, winning nature, and she soon became a popular and respected representative of the Royal House. She had a number of representation tasks, and also gave several speeches - something that was not common among the Royal House's women at this time. However, the Crown Princess's health was not good either. It was a blow for Crown Prince Olav and his family when Crown Princess Märtha died in 1954. She never became queen, but Oslo's bishop, Johannes Smemo, summed up her position as follows: "She has long held the queen's seat in our minds and she will never lose that."