The Scandinavian Royals Message Board: Re: Olav V's daughters

The Duke of Kent is only three years younger than princess Astrid so they could have been a couple. Prince Gorm of Denmark was 11 years older than Princess Ragnhild. Michael I of Romania was only 9 years older and married when she was 18 years old. Had prince Philip not been successful with the later Queen Elizabeth he might have been steered toward a Norwegian cousin instead.

Im not convinced another first cousin wedding would have been a good idea (Olav and Martha are said to have consulted a genetic specialist before getting engaged). So that would rule Boudewijn and Albert II out. Jean of Luxembourg was a Catholic and ended up marrying their cousin Josephine-Charlotte, maybe Olav liked the idea of seeing one of his daughters becoming a Grand Duchess.

I agree the choices were limited for both princesses but there were options. Even those of another faith, that would not have had any constitutional issues as the princesses were not in line of succession.

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It's a well-known fact that the king objected strenuously to the spousal choices (native commoners) of all three of his children, and did everything possible to instill in them a sense of royal duty. With the two younger, he withheld consent for years -- holding out until the last minute in hopes that they would back down and marry persons of their own rank.

But did the two princesses really have any viable alternative to their marital prospects? Were there even any eligible bachelors available on the royal marriage market for them? Was there any specific person either was linked to?

The reason for my asking is that, analyzing the situation with European royalty in the 1950's, it seems that the pool of eligibility was virtually non-existent. So even if Ragnhild and Astrid had wanted to do the right thing and please their father, I'm not sure that this would have even been possible.

He might have stated simply that "I will accept nothing less than a royal for a son-in-law": but one presumes that the king would have insisted in addition that his daughters marry fellow Protestants. Would this not have placed them into a deep hole?

For the fact is that a foreign prince who was of the Protestant faith would (mostly likely) have been a GERMAN -- therefore someone who, in the wake of World War II, would have been anathema to the Norwegians (who had suffered tremendously during the years their country was under Nazi occupation).

On the other hand, a foreign prince who was not German would (likely) have been a CATHOLIC: would this have been any more acceptable a scenario, for either the Lutheran king or his subjects? Certainly the pool of marital eligibility would have been expanded, had all parties been willing to overlook religion -- or been able to set aside anti-German sentiments (which I would imagine were still hostile as of the 1950's).

WOULD, in fact, Olav V been willing to accept (say) Prince Charles-Hughes of Bourbon-Parma (who would eventually become the controversial husband of Princess Irene of the Netherlands), Prince Ferdinando of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (only son of Prince Ranieri, one of two disputed claimants), or King Baudouin of the Belgians (his nephew by marriage, by blood a first cousin, once removed) as a husband for either of his daughters?