Princess Ingrid Alexandra
A new phase of life is about to begin – but a lot is still unclear
Princess Ingrid Alexandra
© Dana Press
In a few days, Princess Ingrid Alexandra will begin a time that will have a lasting impact on her life: the heir to the throne will complete her first service in the Norwegian military for twelve months. Although her departure is imminent, not everything has been resolved yet.
Princess Ingrid Alexandra: Problems in her military camp?
At the “Home Base of the 2nd Battalion and the Engineer Battalion” in Tromsø, Princess Ingrid Alexandra is one of around 10,000 young Norwegians who are called up for military service every year. The camp where the young royal will also move is in the town of Øverbygd. It’s around a 21-hour drive from Oslo – Ingrid Alexandra’s future home is far in the north and very secluded. A circumstance that the princess probably has to get used to, after all, she still lives in a lively area of Oslo. And the northern Norwegian temperatures will probably take some getting used to.
The Norwegian website “Se og Hør” reports on further difficult circumstances in the Skjold camp: The living quarters are very cramped; the article speaks of “space problems”. The solution? Soldiers are allowed to store fewer personal items and equipment in their small rooms.
She has already had a bit of practice: Princess Ingrid Alexandra during an exercise in the Setermoen military camp.
© Dana Press
In May 2023, the Norwegian “Forsvarets Forum” also wrote about 150 cases of sudden nosebleeds in soldiers. The “Forum” quotes Viktor Fladmoe, a union representative in the Norwegian army: “The soldiers have explained that because of the air quality in the barracks, it is healthier when they go to the field for exercises. The air becomes incredibly stuffy when you are in a small “living together in a room with poor ventilation”. As early as May 2022, 118 cases of nosebleeds were counted within a week. It is still unclear whether there is a connection between the poor air quality and the incidents. The affected soldiers were all medically examined. Similar cases also occurred in military camps in Porsangermoen, Kirkenes and Bodø.
What name will be on Ingrid Alexandra’s uniform?
But the mysterious nosebleed isn’t enough: experts have been wondering for a long time what name will be on Princess Ingrid Alexandra’s military uniform. Soldiers usually wear their last names on their clothing. However, there seems to be another path for the future Queen of Norway: becoming a journalist Caroline Vagle suspects that Prince Haakon’s example will be followed. “It is likely that the uniform of the heir to the throne will be designed like that of her father when he was in the civil service. Pictures from that time show that Crown Prince Haakon is written on the name tag,” said Vagle.
A closer look reveals it: Prince Haakon’s uniform had the name “Crown Prince Haakon” written on it. Here he can be seen during a military exercise in March 2004 – just a few weeks after the birth of Ingrid Alexandra.
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The question of the name will probably only be clearly clarified with the first pictures of Princess Ingrid Alexandra in Tromsø. And only time can tell whether the princess will suffer from the mysterious nosebleed. The motto is: keep your fingers crossed.
Sources used: seer.no, svenskdam.se, forsvaretsforum.no