Frederik, Victoria & Haakon to Svalbard archipelago in Norway for International Polar Year

As soon as he returned from the summer tour of southern Denmark, Crown Prince Frederik set off to join Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Crown Prince Haakon Norway in Longyearbyen, Norway before setting off for the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. They joined the Swedish icebreaker Oden at the beginning of their six day polar research trip on June 21, 2008 to sail to Svalbard in Norway and the ocean and area around the archipilago. During the trip the Scaninavian royal successors ('thronefollowers' in Danish) will be shown research techniques and test equipment used in polar experiments on clouds in the Arctic environment. All three are patrons of the International Polar Year 2007-2008 in their own countries. The media will not be onboard the Oden, so the next time we see them will be in Ny-Ålesund on Thurdsay.

"We are going to be cramped, but it will be all right," Crown Princess Victoria said as she boarded the ship, according to Svalbardposten.
"Are you going to have a party?" one of the journalists asked.
"When we are together it is always a party," Victoria said, who was the one who originally suggested the trip.
Even late in the evening the midnight sun shines very strongly.
"I am very happy to be able to show off a small part of Norway on a day like this," Crown Prince Haakon said.




Photos © Rakkestad Avis.no/Ole Åsheim/Nordlys/ANB, Karine Nigar Aarskog/International Polar Year website, Birger Amundsen/Svalbardposten, Hello!/Getty

International Polar Year news (in Norwegian)
Rakkestad Avis.no Kronprinsmøte (in Norwegian)
Nordlys.no 'Kongelig Svalbard-turné' (in Norwegian)
Aftenposten.no 'Kronprinsessen og det kalde kongeriket' (in Norwegian)
Berlingske Tidende 'Tronfølgere tjekker Svalbards skyer' - Successors check Svalbard's clouds
Crown Prince Frederik and the other Scandinavian successors are in Svalbard in connection with the International Polar Year.
Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Victoria and Crown Prince Frederik arrived in Svalbard today (last Saturday) in connection with International Polar Year.
The three heirs to the Scandinavian thrones, who are patrons for the Polar Year in their respective countries will be in the area until Friday.
They are to be on an icebreaker for five days where tested equipment will be tested for a longer expedition later this summer.
"They leave today from Longyearbyen and sail up as close to the polar ice as they can get," the Palace in Oslo said to the Swedish news agency TT.
The purpose of the summer expedition called Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Summit is to examine the clouds and their meaning for the arctic climate.
Sweden's Crown Princess and Crown Prince Frederik got the idea a couple of years ago after the Swedish king's environmental initiative, the Royal Colloqium, had taken place in Greenland.
The heirs to the thrones will go on the icebreaker to Ny Ålesund on Thursday after which they'll go inland.
TV2 article 'Kronprinsen besøger isbryder' (in Danish)
B.T. 'De kongelige nyder at se på isbjørne i midnatssolen' (in Danish)
The Local.se
Royals join forces on Arctic expedition
22 Jun 08
The heirs to the thrones of Sweden, Denmark and Norway have embarked on an expedition to Svalbard in the Arctic.
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Crown Prince Fredrik of Denmark will spend five days on an ice-breaker in Svalbard, a group of islands located in the Arctic off the coast of Norway.
The trio of royals will help to test equipment in preparation for a longer expedition in the summer.
Victoria, Haakon and Fredrik left the relatively mild Midsummer weather, donning winter clothes for their adventure which began in the Norwegian town of Longyearbyen on Saturday.
"They are leaving the four degree temperatures of Longyearbyen to travel as far up the ice as possible," said Sven Gjeruldsen of the Norwegian court to news agency TT.
The heirs and heiress will travel on the ice-braker IB Oden in the Arctic Sea to test newly installed equipment in preparation for the Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Summit (ASCOS). The expedition aims to contribute to research about the clouds and their role in the Arctic climate system.
The expedition is part of the polar year, of which the three royals are patrons in their respective countries.
TV2 article 'Kongelig 'fætter og kusine-fest' højt mod nord' (in Danish)

Svalbard weather - as I write it is 1°C
Svalbard image links

Rakkestad Avis.no photo gallery

DR.dk NetTV (00:58)
TV2 news clip
TV2 Nyhetene.no clip (00:58)

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