Figure 1.--Here we see Prince Olav playing outdoors in the snow. His coat looks nice and warm. He looks about 3-4 years old here. The photograph was probably taken in 1907.

Olav was born at Appleton House on July 2, 1903. Appleton House was located at Sandringham, Norfolk. Sandringham House of course was the residence of Queen Maud's parents, King Edward VII and Alexandria. I'm not sure what Olav as a boy thought about visiting his grandparents and cousins. Prince Olav was the only son and Norway's beloved "little prince". He was the first prince born in Norway for hundreds of years. There were songs and poems written about him and his portrait was in evry Norwegian schoolroom. [Goodwin, p. 149.] We do not know much about Prince Olav's childhood. We do see photographs of him bundled up and playing outside in the snow during the Winter. The image here shows him playing outdoors, probably in 1907 (figure 1). Note the little dog. I imagine that Olav was quite attached to him, although I do not have details at this time. He did not have a sibling about his age as a playmate. His two sisters were both older than he was. This of course affected his childhood. When his mother took to England he did have his cousins, the sons of King George V to play with.

Sources

Goodwin, Doris Kearns. No Ordinary Time. Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994), 759p.

Created: 6:43 PM 2/10/2005
Last updated: 6:43 PM 2/10/2005