King Haakon and Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Digi Mart USA News (France): The Royal Palace in Oslo did not explain why King Haakon and Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra were making a trip abroad. On Saturday, the palace said the two had gone abroad for a “private stay” and declined to say more.
Norwegian media have since reported what father and daughter were doing.
The royal household’s first foreign trip since the death of King Harald had a sporting purpose. On Sunday, the king and his daughter ran the Marathon des Alpes-Maritimes along the French Riviera, from Nice to Cannes.
According to the publisher, the two started the race together at 9:16 a.m. A video that broadcaster TV 2 was able to geolocate shows father and daughter running together after 32 kilometers, and about 500 meters before the finish they ran side by side.
According to the official results, King Haakon crossed the finish line at 1:59 p.m. with a time of 4 hours, 43 minutes and 1 second.
No further time was recorded for Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra after the ninth kilometer. Whether this was caused by a technical fault with the tracker or had other reasons remains unclear.
On the race organizer’s tracking website, fans left messages for the king, including “Keep going, you run like a king.” At least two other participants ran at similar pace alongside Haakon, and a similar person was seen beside Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra. It is very likely, but not confirmed, that these were security personnel.
The Norwegian domestic intelligence service PST declined to comment on the race. Neither the Royal Palace nor the organizer responded to requests from the broadcaster.
