President Roosevelt Was the Closest Prince Harald Came to Having a Grandfather During the War
Translated from Norwegian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
At a glance
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt looked after the young Norwegian Prince Harald while his family lived in the United States during World War II.
- Harald spent five years of his childhood in the United States and returned to Norway in 1945 with no memories of his homeland.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the closest thing to a grandfather that the future King Harald V had during the war. While the Norwegian royal family lived in the United States, the American president helped look after the young prince.
Harald became familiar with the White House during those years. He was only three when his family fled Norway, and he had no memories of the country where he was born.
โI spent five years of my childhood here, and was eight when I returned to Norway,โ Harald said during a visit to Washington in 2005.
When the future king arrived in Norway on June 7, 1945, he stepped into what felt like a foreign country. His early childhood had unfolded in the United States, far from the homeland he would later represent.
I spent five years of my childhood here, and was eight when I returned to Norway.
Originally published by Aftenposten in Norwegian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.