Two hundred years of sailing
For the past several days, His Majesty The King has participated in the celebration of the bicentenary of the Royal Yacht Squadron yacht club in Cowes on the Isle of Wight in southern England.
On Friday, King Harald attended a large Review of the Fleet together with His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
Illustrious history
The Royal Yacht Squadron is one of the world’s most prestigious yacht clubs, and was founded on 1 June 1815 in London as the Yacht Club. Each year the club organises the internationally renowned Cowes Week regatta. In 1851 it was the first organiser of a gruelling sailing race which came to be known as the America’s Cup. The cup is considered the world’s oldest active trophy in international sport.
King Harald will conclude his visit to the Royal Yacht Squadron this evening by attending the Bicentenary Ball in the clubhouse in Cowes Castle. The King has been using the Royal Yacht Norge during his visit.
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Welcoming the Restauration to the US
His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon, along with a couple of thousand attendees, welcomed the sloop Restauration to New York, exactly 200 years after the vessel carrying Norwegian emigrants arrived in the United States. In 1825, they crossed the Atlantic in search of a new and better life. This voyage is regarded as the beginning of organised emigration from Norway.
Met with Governor Walz in Minnesota
Minnesota is one of the states in the United States where a large proportion of the population has Norwegian ancestry. His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon is therefore also visiting this state and its largest metropolitan area, Minneapolis–Saint Paul, during his trip to the United States to mark the 200th anniversary of Norwegian emigration to the US.