Editing Haakon VII (section)

==Resistance during World War II==
{{Norway during World War II}}
{{See also|German occupation of Norway}}

===The German invasion===
{{main|Operation Weserübung}}
[[Operation Weserübung|Norway was invaded]] by the naval and air forces of [[Nazi Germany]] during the early hours of 9 April 1940. The German naval detachment sent to capture [[Oslo]] was [[Battle of Drøbak Sound|opposed by Oscarsborg Fortress]]. The fortress fired at the invaders, sinking the [[heavy cruiser]] ''[[German cruiser Blücher|Blücher]]'' and damaging the heavy cruiser ''[[German cruiser Deutschland|Lützow]]'', with heavy German losses that included many soldiers, [[Gestapo]] agents, and administrative personnel who were to have occupied the Norwegian capital. This led to the withdrawal of the rest of the German flotilla, preventing the invaders' planned dawn occupation of Oslo. The Germans' delay in occupying Oslo, along with swift action by the [[president of the Storting]], [[C. J. Hambro]], created the opportunity for the [[Norwegian royal family|royal family]], the cabinet, and most of the 150 members of the Storting (parliament) to make a hasty departure from the capital by special train.

The Storting first convened at [[Hamar]] the same afternoon, but with the rapid advance of German troops, the group moved on to [[Elverum]]. The assembled Storting unanimously enacted a resolution, the so-called [[Elverum Authorization]], granting the cabinet full powers to protect the country until such time as the Storting could meet again.

The next day, [[Curt Bräuer]], the German Ambassador to Norway, demanded a meeting with Haakon. The German diplomat called on Haakon to accept [[Adolf Hitler]]'s demands to end all resistance and appoint [[Vidkun Quisling]] as prime minister. Quisling, the leader of Norway's fascist party, the [[Nasjonal Samling]], had declared himself prime minister hours earlier in Oslo as head of what would be a German [[puppet government]]; had Haakon formally appointed him, it would effectively have given legal sanction to the invasion.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/breivik-quisling-and-the-norwegian-spirit-1.1064817|title=Breivik, Quisling and the Norwegian spirit|website=CBC|access-date=13 April 2021|quote=When the Germans demanded that the Norwegian king, Haakon VII, surrender and appoint Quisling as head of a puppet government, the king refused, even after the Nazis threatened to send all Norwegian men of military age to concentration camps.|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411001308/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/breivik-quisling-and-the-norwegian-spirit-1.1064817|url-status=live}}</ref> Bräuer suggested that Haakon follow the example of the Danish government and his brother, [[Christian X]], which had surrendered almost immediately after the previous day's invasion, and threatened Norway with harsh reprisals if it did not surrender. Haakon told Bräuer that he could not make the decision himself, but could only act on the advice of the Government.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

In a meeting in [[Nybergsund]], the King reported the German ultimatum to the cabinet sitting as a council of state. Haakon told the cabinet:
<blockquote>
I am deeply affected by the responsibility laid on me if the German demand is rejected. The responsibility for the calamities that will befall people and country is indeed so grave that I dread to take it. It rests with the government to decide, but my position is clear.

For my part I cannot accept the German demands. It would conflict with all that I have considered to be my duty as King of Norway since I came to this country nearly thirty-five years ago.<ref>The account and quotation were recorded by one of the cabinet members and were recounted in William L. Shirer's ''The Challenge of Scandinavia''.{{page needed|date=May 2017}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Haakon went on to say that he could not appoint Quisling as prime minister, since he knew neither the people nor the Storting had confidence in him. However, if the cabinet felt otherwise, the King said he would abdicate so as not to stand in the way of the Government's decision.

[[Nils Hjelmtveit]], Minister of Church and Education, later wrote:
<blockquote>
This made a great impression on us all.  More clearly than ever before, we could see the man behind the words; the king who had drawn a line for himself and his task, a line from which he could not deviate.  We had through the five years [in government] learned to respect and appreciate our king, and now, through his words, he came to us as a great man, just and forceful; a leader in these fatal times to our country.<ref>{{cite book|first=Geirr H.|last=Haarr|title=The German Invasion of Norway|publisher=Seaforth|location=Barnsley, UK|year=2009|isbn=978-1848320321}}{{page needed|date=May 2017}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Inspired by Haakon's stand, the government unanimously advised him not to appoint any government headed by Quisling.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/breivik-quisling-and-the-norwegian-spirit-1.1064817|title=Breivik, Quisling and the Norwegian spirit|website=CBC|access-date=13 April 2021|quote=His cabinet and the Storting, the Norwegian parliament, supported the king.|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411001308/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/breivik-quisling-and-the-norwegian-spirit-1.1064817|url-status=live}}</ref> Within hours, it telephoned its refusal to Bräuer. That night, [[NRK]] broadcast the government's rejection of the German demands to the Norwegian people. In that same broadcast, the government announced that it would resist the German invasion as long as possible, and expressed their confidence that Norwegians would lend their support to the cause.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

After Norway was eventually conquered, Quisling "transformed [the country] into a one-party fascist state and recruited 6,000 Norwegians to fight alongside the Germans on the Russian front".<ref name=cbc/> A very small percentage of the population supported Quisling and many joined the [[Norwegian resistance movement]]. After the war, Quisling was convicted of treason and executed.<ref name=cbc>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/breivik-quisling-and-the-norwegian-spirit-1.1064817|title=Breivik, Quisling and the Norwegian spirit|website=CBC|access-date=13 April 2021|quote=But Quisling supporters were only a tiny minority: two per cent of the population. Norwegians showed their opposition to the occupiers in many ways. active resistance continued with widespread sabotage.|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411001308/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/breivik-quisling-and-the-norwegian-spirit-1.1064817|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Norwegian campaign===
{{main|Norwegian campaign}}
[[File:Kongebjorka.jpeg|thumb|300px|King Haakon VII and Crown Prince Olav seeking shelter on the outskirts of Molde during a German bombing raid on the city in April 1940.]]

The following morning, 11 April 1940, in an attempt to wipe out Norway's unyielding king and government, {{lang|de|[[Luftwaffe]]}} bombers attacked [[Nybergsund]], destroying the small town where the Government was staying. Neutral Sweden was only {{convert|16|mi|km|order=flip}} away, but the Swedish government decided it would "detain and incarcerate" King Haakon if he crossed their border (which Haakon never forgave).<ref>Sir [[:sv:Gustaf von Platen|Gustaf von Platen]] in ''Bakom den gyllene fasaden'' [[Bonniers]] {{ISBN|9100580481}} pp. 445–446</ref> The Norwegian king and his ministers took refuge in the snow-covered woods and escaped harm, continuing farther north through the mountains toward [[Molde (town)|Molde]] on Norway's west coast. As the British forces in the area lost ground under Luftwaffe bombardment, the King and his party were taken aboard the British cruiser [[HMS Glasgow (C21)|HMS ''Glasgow'']] at Molde and conveyed a further {{convert|1000|km|mi}} north to [[Tromsø (city)|Tromsø]], where a provisional capital was established on 1 May. Haakon and Crown Prince Olav took up residence in a forest cabin in [[Målselvdalen]] valley in inner [[Troms]] County, where they would stay until evacuation to the United Kingdom.

The Allies had a fairly secure hold over northern Norway until late May. The situation was dramatically altered, however, by their deteriorating situation in the [[Battle of France]]. With the Germans rapidly overrunning France, the Allied high command decided that the forces in northern Norway should be withdrawn. The royal family and Norwegian government were evacuated from Tromsø on 7 June aboard [[HMS Devonshire (39)|HMS ''Devonshire'']] with a total of 461 passengers.  This evacuation became extremely costly for the Royal Navy when the German warships [[German battleship Scharnhorst|''Scharnhorst'']] and [[German battleship Gneisenau|''Gneisenau'']] attacked and sank the nearby aircraft carrier [[HMS Glorious|HMS ''Glorious'']] with its escorting destroyers [[HMS Acasta (H09)|HMS ''Acasta'']] and [[HMS Ardent (H41)|HMS ''Ardent'']]. ''Devonshire'' did not rebroadcast the enemy sighting report made by ''Glorious'' as it could not disclose its position by breaking radio silence. No other British ship received the sighting report, and 1,519 British officers and men and three warships were lost.  ''Devonshire'' arrived safely in London and King Haakon and his Cabinet set up a Norwegian [[government in exile]] in the British capital.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kongehuset.no/tale.html?tid=29225&sek=26947|title=Mine plikter – "Kongens andre nei"|website=kongehuset.no|access-date=1 November 2019|archive-date=2 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102150123/https://www.kongehuset.no/tale.html?tid=29225&sek=26947|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0014%2FGLOR|title=The Tragedy of HMS Glorious|website=cam.ac.uk|access-date=1 November 2019|archive-date=17 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717071251/https://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0014%2FGLOR|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Government in exile===
[[File:Ole Friele Backer kongen kronprinsen.jpg|thumb|King Haakon VII, Crown Prince Olav, and [[Hans Reidar Holtermann]] in [[Scotland]] during World War II.]]
{{main|Nygaardsvold's Cabinet}}
Initially, King Haakon and Crown Prince Olav were guests at [[Buckingham Palace]], but at the start of the [[London Blitz]] in September 1940, they moved to [[Bowdown House]] in Berkshire. The construction of the adjacent [[RAF Greenham Common]] airfield in March 1942 prompted another move to [[Foliejon Park]] in [[Winkfield]], near [[Windsor, Berkshire|Windsor]], in [[Berkshire]], where they remained until the liberation of Norway.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://gov-news.org/gov/uk/news/blue_plaque_for_king_haakon_vii_of_norway/13589.html|title=British Government News & Press Releases – 25 October 2005: Blue Plaque for King Haakon VII of Norway|access-date=8 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203001442/http://gov-news.org/gov/uk/news/blue_plaque_for_king_haakon_vii_of_norway/13589.html|archive-date=3 December 2013|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

Haakon also spent time at [[Carbisdale Castle]] in [[Sutherland]], Scotland, made available for his use by [[Theodore Salvesen]], a ship-owner of Norwegian extraction.

The King's official residence was the Norwegian [[Legation]] at 10 [[Kensington Palace Gardens|Palace Green]], [[Kensington]], which became the seat of the Norwegian government in exile. Here Haakon attended weekly Cabinet meetings and worked on the speeches which were regularly broadcast by radio to Norway by the [[BBC World Service]]. These broadcasts helped to cement Haakon's position as an important national symbol to the [[Norwegian resistance]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.norway.org.uk/ARKIV/Other/history/royalvisit/news2710/blueplaque/|title=Norway: the official site in the UK – News 27 October 2012 – Princess Astrid unveils blue plaque|access-date=8 April 2013|archive-date=27 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227212509/http://www.norway.org.uk/ARKIV/Other/history/royalvisit/news2710/blueplaque/|url-status=live}}</ref> Many broadcasts were made from [[Nordic churches in London#Norwegian Church|Saint Olav's Norwegian Church]] in [[Rotherhithe]], where the royal family were regular worshippers.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130928095639/http://southwark.anglican.org/thebridge/0912/0912p8.pdf The Diocese of Southwark, ''The Bridge'', December 2009 – January 2010: Scandinavia in Rotherhithe]</ref>

Meanwhile, Hitler had appointed [[Josef Terboven]] as ''{{lang|de|[[Reichskommissar]]}}'' for Norway. On Hitler's orders, Terboven attempted to coerce the [[Storting]] to depose the King; the Storting declined, citing constitutional principles.  A subsequent ultimatum was made by the Germans, threatening to intern all Norwegians of military age in German concentration camps.<ref>William Lawrence Shirer: ''The challenge of Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland in our time'', Robert Hale, 1956{{page needed|date=May 2017}}</ref> With this threat looming, the Storting's representatives in Oslo wrote to their monarch on 27 June, asking him to abdicate. The King declined, politely replying that the Storting was acting under duress. The King gave his answer on 3 July, and proclaimed it on BBC radio on 8 July.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=[[Norsk krigsleksikon 1940–45]]|title=Norge i krigen 1939–45. Kronologisk oversikt|editor=Dahl|editor-link=Hans Fredrik Dahl|editor2=Hjeltnes|editor2-link=Guri Hjeltnes|editor3=Nøkleby|editor3-link=Berit Nøkleby|editor4=Ringdal|editor4-link=Nils Johan Ringdal|editor5=Sørensen|editor5-link=Øystein Sørensen|url=http://www.nb.no/utlevering/nb/d2e8afecb1aba47bf48bb3cd246dd070#&struct=DIV12|year=1995|publisher=Cappelen|location=Oslo|isbn=8202141389|page=11|language=no|access-date=16 March 2011|archive-date=25 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925094712/https://www.nb.no/items/d2e8afecb1aba47bf48bb3cd246dd070#&struct=DIV12|url-status=live}}</ref>

After one further German attempt in September to force the Storting to depose Haakon failed, Terboven finally decreed that the royal family had "forfeited their right to return" and dissolved the democratic political parties.<ref>{{cite web|title=Krigsårene 1940–1945|url=http://www.kongehuset.no/c26974/artikkel/vis.html?tid=29435|date=31 January 2009|work=Royal House of Norway|access-date=17 September 2009|language=no|archive-date=31 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131181558/http://www.kongehuset.no/c26974/artikkel/vis.html?tid=29435|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Votter med Håkon 7..jpg|thumb|The King's monogram became a symbol of [[Norwegian resistance movement|resistance]] during the Second World War]]
During Norway's five years under German control, many Norwegians surreptitiously wore clothing or jewellery made from coins bearing Haakon's [[H7 (monogram)|"H7" monogram]] as symbols of resistance to the [[German occupation of Norway|German occupation]] and of solidarity with their exiled King and Government, just as many people in Denmark wore [[Christian X of Denmark|his brother]]'s monogram on a pin. The King's monogram was also painted and otherwise reproduced on various surfaces as a show of resistance to the occupation.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20111019185503/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,891354,00.html H7], ''Time'', Monday, 30 September 1957</ref>

[[File:HMS Norfolk King Hakkon.jpg|thumb|300px|The royal family of Norway waving to the welcoming crowds from {{HMS|Norfolk|78|6}} at [[Oslo]], June 1945.]]
Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the [[German Instrument of Surrender|capitulation of German forces in Europe on 8 May 1945]]. After the end of the war, Crown Prince Olav and five government ministers returned to a liberated Norway on 13 May 1945.<ref name=britannica>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Olav-V#ref59809|title=Olav V king of Norway|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=13 April 2021|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414000521/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Olav-V#ref59809|url-status=live}}</ref> Haakon and the rest of the Norwegian royal family returned to Norway aboard the cruiser {{HMS|Norfolk|78|6}}, arriving with the First Cruiser Squadron to cheering crowds in Oslo on [[7 June in Norway|7 June 1945]],<ref>{{cite magazine|title=First Out, First In|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,775835,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111221232226/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,775835,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 December 2011|magazine=Time|date=11 June 1945|access-date=17 January 2009}}</ref> exactly five years after they had been evacuated from [[Tromsø (city)|Tromsø]].<ref>[http://www.royalcourt.no/artikkel.html?tid=28689&sek=27316 The Norwegian Royal House's official page about the escape, the five years in exile and the return after World War II] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150519160218/http://www.royalcourt.no/artikkel.html?tid=28689&sek=27316 |date=19 May 2015 }} {{in lang|en}}</ref>