It was a somber occasion as Norway’s royal family gathered to bid farewell to King Harald V. But amid the late monarch’s state funeral, two of his grandchildren were seen sharing a tender moment.
Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 22, was caught on camera placing a comforting hand on her younger brother Prince Sverre Magnus’ shoulder during the service at Oslo Cathedral on Wednesday.
It was “such a tender moment of regal elegance combined with sibling empathy and caring,” body language expert Judi James tells HELLO!.
“The new Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra is so calmly tuned into her brother here, quietly spotting the way that he is struggling to suppress his emotions, complete with tears. Her expression barely changes, but her thin, horizontal smile is a nurturing signal that seems to let him know that it’s ok to shed a few tears,” Judi observes.
“Ingrid raises her hand with her eyes darting behind her first to check the moment can be intimate and subtle then she places the hand on his shoulder in an act of empathy and sympathy, following with an emotional ‘upgrade’ gesture as she also strokes his shoulder gently with her thumb.”
The 20-year-old Prince had an “immediate” reaction and “non-verbal response” to his big sister’s gesture. Judi points out that “his mouth pulls into a thin grateful smile of gratitude and appreciation, and he turns to meet full eye contact in a soft sibling tie-sign. He thanks her with a grin and she continues the nurturing role by pointing to some words on the order of service to apparently help distract him before we see her singing ‘Abide with me’ in what looks like a further act of comfort and leadership.”
The Crown Princess and Prince are the children of Norway’s new King Haakon and Queen Mette-Marit. The Queen Consort also has an older child, son Marius Borg Høiby, from a previous relationship, who is currently under house arrest, but received permission to attend Wednesday’s state funeral.
Upon her father’s accession late last month, Ingrid Alexandra became the Crown Princess and is now first in line to the Norwegian throne, while Sverre Magnus is second in line.
© Odd ANDERSEN / AFP via Getty ImagesTheir grandfather King Harald’s funeral took place 12 days after his death. After more than three decades on the throne, the former King passed away on August 28 at the age of 89.
Her late paternal grandfather is someone the Crown Princess learned a lot from.
“He has never sat me down and taught me in a way, I have not gone to any queen school. However, I learn a lot from him through everything he does and things he talks about,” she said in a past interview with NRK (via Royal Central). “And then I think that in our role, the most important thing is not to be told what to do, but rather to make it your own. I have a lot of love for Norway.”
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