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Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

In 1908, King Edward the Seventh paid the first ever English state visit to our young Norwegian state. King Haakon, his son-in-law, hoped for good weather to show him the view from Holmenkollen.

And a good view towards the future the visit proved to be.

King Edward’s political concern for Norway was by no means new. Neither was his private concern. In November 1905, two weeks before Haakon and Maud arrived in Norway as the new royal couple, King Edward’s personal envoy had been on an inspection tour. The King wanted to know more about his daughter Queen Maud’s new home in the cold high north.

That tour, however, was a disappointment. The envoy was not even allowed to see the Royal Palace. Workers were labouring hard to modernise – then as still to-day - the Palace, so long neglected. Norwegians feared it was still unfit for the royals.

King Edward’s envoy sensed the Norwegians’ stubborn pride. He did not want to insist and could only report to his superior that he had not been able to inspect Maud’s future home.

King Edward was not amused.

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Such was the new beginning of a long and beautiful friendship between Norway and the United Kingdom, a friendship that dates back centuries, but which came to its fulfilment during the last one hundred years.

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To-day, ninety-three years after the state visit by King Edward, we have the privilege of welcoming Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh.

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It is the fourth time that Your Majesty pays a visit to Norway. Your Majesty knew King Haakon well, Your Majesty was close to King Olav. And to-day, Your Majesty is the guest of King Harald.

It is a friendship deeply rooted. It gives me pleasure to pay tribute to the royal families of both nations.

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In 1905, our nation builders emphasised the key importance of personal ties with the United Kingdom.

It was crucial to secure British backing for Norway’s independence. No surprise, therefore, that the United Kingdom was first to recognise the new state in the northwest corner of Europe.

A century ago Britain stood by young and independent Norway. Since then, we have been allies in war as we are allies in peace.

To-day, soon a hundred years later, Norwegians still know our nation builders were right: The personal bonds with the British royal family have had profound influence.

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Since before Nordic languages were spoken in Scotland, the Shetlands, the Orkneys and the Hebrides, Norwegians have been looking across the sea.

A thousand years ago, Norse Vikings came to London - not all of them friendly, not all of them paid for their goods. But they returned to Norway with impulses from a rich culture.

To-day, these impulses endure. 4000 Norwegians study at British universities, 300 Norwegian enterprises are represented in Britain, the Norwegian Church in London visits our seamen on 600 Norwegian ships calling at British ports every year, representatives of more than 60 publishers visit the London Book Fair.

In the 19 ^th> Century, British noblemen came fishing in the Norwegian fjords. We still warmly welcome Britons to our shores. And more than half a million Norwegians travel to the British Isles every year.

And 30 professional Norwegian footballers play in the English Premier League and the first and second divisions.

These brave footballers may be among the prime bearers of new relations between Norway and Britain.

Culture is a measure of the contact we enjoy. There are more performances of the works by Edvard Grieg the composer and Henrik Ibsen the playwright in Britain than in their home country.

And British culture in our country is so much a part of our daily lives we almost fail to recognise it.

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Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses,

In 1216, Inge Bårdsson, King of Norway, and Henry the Third of England signed an agreement granting access to merchants from both nations.

To-day, we continue our emphasis on free trade in the single market of the European Economic Area. Britain is one of our leading trading partners. Our companies are involved in many sectors in most regions of the United Kingdom.

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The North Sea was never an obstacle. On the contrary, it is the means of contact between our two nations. The North Sea is at the very centre of our co-operation. A network of installations and production of energy links us together as never before. Our co-operation in this area can serve as an example to so many other countries.

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During the Second World War, the Norwegian Army, Navy and Air Force were trained and raised anew in Britain and, yes, redefined in the British military tradition. To this day, we welcome our closest ally on manouevre in Norway.

This co-operation benefits the NATO alliance and the continued stability in the High North.

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King Haakon and his son spent five war-time years in England. London was always threatened by bombing. So they did not live with their royal family. From 1940 until 1945 King Haakon rented lodgings with one Captain Dormer in the Berkshire countryside outside London.

The Captain’s son Michael, then a boy not much older than Prince Harald, often enjoyed the company of the King and the Crown Prince. He was recently asked who was in charge in his family’s house in those days – the King or his father Captain Dormer.

He reflected for a moment and replied: "My mother."

Michael Dormer kept in regular contact with King Olav until the end of the King’s life.

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Such are the relations between our nations – close, familiar, with bonds reaching across time and space.

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In a globalised world, few things remain stable and permanent.

But one thing appears stable and permanent – our friendship.

In this spirit we look towards our common future with warm confidence.

Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses,

Let us raise our glasses and propose a toast to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, to King Harald and Queen Sonja, to the prosperity and happiness of our peoples, and to the ties between our two countries.