On the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 8, the St. Olaf community welcomed His Majesty, the Crown Prince of Norway Haakon Magnus to campus, who visited as part of a week-long trip to the United States celebrating the 200th anniversary of Norwegian immigration to the country. Prince Haakon’s visit to the College lasted about two hours.
At 9 a.m., students, faculty, and Northfield residents lined the St. Olaf sidewalks, many waving Norwegian flags or donning Norwegian sweaters as Prince Haakon walked through. Prince Haakon stopped to greet community members while being led by a group playing hardanger fiddles, the national instrument of Norway.
After the warm welcome, Prince Haakon met with St. Olaf students, faculty, and members of the Norwegian-American Historical Association (NAHA) for a series of poster presentations on research related to different aspects of Norwegian history and culture. Prince Haakon had the opportunity to directly ask the presenters about their work. The student presenters included Annie McMullen ’27, Preston Lee ’29, Andrew Bonk ’28, Sophia González ’26, Otelia Lighthill ’27, Jean Butler ’26, and Evan Atchison ’26.
“Being able to share something that I have a personal [relationship] to was really special,” Lighthill said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. “I really valued how much he valued the information.”
Prince Haakon’s time on campus ended with a convocation in Boe Chapel to celebrate the bond between the College and its Norwegian heritage. The convocation included performances from the St. Olaf Choir and St. Olaf Orchestra. During the convocation, President Susan Rundell Singer welcomed the convocation’s attendees and introduced Prince Haakon to the community. Following his introduction, Prince Haakon participated in a discussion with four St. Olaf students, who were able to ask him questions regarding Norwegian history, his personal view on this celebration, and curiosities about Prince Haakon’s previous and current endeavors as Crown Prince. Parker Chelikowsky ’27, Odin Milbury ’27, Maren Miller ’27 , and Madi Tally ’26 were the students who participated in the discussion.
“I was very nervous ahead of time about speaking to such a big figure in front of a big gathering, but it was surprisingly comfortable,” Chelikowsky said in an email interview with The Olaf Messenger. “I hope that people were able to learn something through our questions even though we only had 20 minutes.”
During the discussion, Prince Haakon spoke in-depth about Restauration — the name of the ship that carried the first Norwegian immigrants to the United States — and the importance of nurturing the bonds that tie the two countries together.
“I would also like to thank St. Olaf for its major and lasting contribution to keeping our common history and legacy alive,” Prince Haakon said. “Not just as dusty memories fixed in time, but as a living bond that keeps evolving.”
The discussion concluded with some final remarks from Professor of Norwegian, Norwegian Department Chair, and King Olav V Chair in Scandinavian-American Studies Kari Lie Dorer, who encouraged students to become more involved with the College’s Norwegian culture.
Prince Haakon’s visit to St. Olaf illustrates the College’s commitment to continuing to foster connection to its Norwegian roots.
“I’m honored that they [Norway] value the education that we offer at St. Olaf and want to come and celebrate that with us,” Rundell Singer said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. “I’m thrilled that we have opportunities to both look back and look ahead with a country that’s been so deeply tied to our entire history.”
