A reminder why most norwegians love our King despite everything that has gone on the last year, for those who has not read about it, on the latest state budget it was set a side 20 million kroner for a sarcophagus for the King and Queens last resting place in Akerhus which has created som debate and petty comments.
Storting President
Honorable representatives!
Sarcophagus.
This year's national budget contained an item which, surprisingly enough, could lead the mind to Egyptian pyramids and burial chambers - before someone might have to rush to google it, as it is called today, to find the meaning of the word.
Now probably even more people know what the word means, and I thank the authorities for their consideration in the hereafter.
I hope it will be well padded so that the stay will be comfortable. We will be there for a while.
And with that, the Queen and I, alive and well, welcome you to the Castle.
The royal family is a team that works well together.
And then we are a family - with the joys and challenges that we all know can come with it. In both good and difficult times, we try to stand together and support each other.
We are grateful for all the warmth and consideration that has been shown to us throughout this special and demanding year - right from when I had to be flown home in February on sick leave.
Sometimes life is simply very difficult. It's something everyone can experience - including our family.
When people we love are not well, it hurts those around them.
We try our best to take care of each other.
Tonight we send an extra warm thought to everyone who is in pain.
When the Queen and I, and the Crown Prince Couple, are invited into the warmth around Norway, we are struck every year by the devotion people all over the country show to their local environment. Our country is a large patchwork of people's love for their homeland, populated by people who enjoy where they live and who stand up for each other.
We try to get around and visit all the municipalities in our country. The county and municipal mergers of recent years have helped us a little along the way. But since some merged municipalities have been resurrected to their old selves, we will probably have to hold on for quite a while longer.
Fortunately, this is also fully in line with the ambition that more elderly people will stay in workforce for longer
vieo of the speech in the bottom of this article
https://www.kongehuset.no...amp;sek=26947&scope=0