In August 1968, all eyes were on Oslo, where one of the biggest and most talked about royal weddings in recent times took place. The Norwegian heir to the throne, Crown Prince Harald, finally married Sonja Haraldsen, despite having to overcome opposition from those who believed that a future king should not marry a non-queen.
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The bride chose a 60s-style wedding dress with minimal embellishment and a 60s-style hair accessory. There was definitely no room for a tiara here, as Sonja’s tulle veil was held in place with an arrangement of artificial flowers. It doesn’t get more 60s-style than this.
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It’s no wonder that this royal bride captured the spirit of the times with her wedding outfit. Queen Sonja of Norway studied design and loved to sew her own dresses. Like thousands of other brides this summer, Sonja followed the trend of artificial flowers in her hair.
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Plus, she’d spent nine years in the middle of that royal squabble over whether Harald could marry a so-called commoner. There was no other heir to the throne for Norway, and Harald stood firm despite all the odds. In the end, he told his father, King Olav, that he would either marry Sonja or no one. His lack of a wife and legitimate heir could have meant the end of the throne. Harald prevailed, and Sonja became a royal bride. But she said no to a tiara. There’s something rather noble about showing up at Oslo Cathedral to marry the heir to the throne and secure the Norwegian monarchy, and doing it all without a diamond in sight.
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The couple appeared in the August sun as the Crown Prince and Princess of Norway and Sonja, the bride who had been rejected by the powerful because of her non-royal status, was now the most important woman in the country. Her new father-in-law, who had shown his support for the union by going to church with Sonja, was a widower and had no companion. Sonja immediately assumed the role of “First Lady” of Norway.
In 1991, King Olav died and Harald ascended to the Norwegian throne. As queen, Sonja made full use of the spectacular jewelry available to her as a consort. But her path to the throne began with a simple crown of artificial flowers, which was a real style statement in itself.
