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“At Ease!”: Norwegian Princess Ingrid Alexandra Leaves the Military
The princess served in an engineering battalion in northern Norway. Pictured with her father, Prince Haakon, giving an interview before completing her service. Sondre Mosdal / Forsvaret/ materiały prasowe
Second in line to the throne, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, has completed her over a year-long service in the Norwegian army. How did she fare?
The daughter of Prince Haakon – who may one day, as the Norwegian queen, take command of the country's armed forces – joined the military in January last year. She was supposed to stay for a year but decided to extend her stay to fifteen months. As for her future plans – they remain unknown...
Last winter, the Norwegian heir to the throne commented on his daughter donning the uniform: “We want to live in a state of law. We want democracy. We want human rights to be respected. We want freedom of speech. These are things worth fighting for. That's why I think it's a good choice.” Now he says he is proud of his daughter and adds that he hopes her decision will inspire her peers. His daughter, after all, followed in the footsteps of her grandmother – Queen Sonja also served in the military.
She Returned Stronger
Ingrid Alexandra summarized her experiences from the army as follows: “I learned that a person can do more than they think. And that together we are stronger than alone.” She stated that it was a challenge both physically and mentally, and that it gave her a lot.
The princess served in an engineering battalion in northern Norway, a unit responsible for tasks such as demining fields or building and demolishing bridges, thus supporting the combat operations of ground forces.
Hopefully, she had the opportunity to learn a lot during this slightly over a year. She certainly knows how to shoot – she had the chance to test herself as a gunner in a CV90 armored vehicle.
Sources: MojaNorwegia.pl, NRK, Klar Tale