Harald V arrived by yacht for landmark Lithuania visit

Norway’s King Harald V and Queen Sonja arrived in Lithuania by yacht in 1998, in a historic two-day visit that highlighted the country’s early post-independence period, LRT’s Jurga Bakaitė reported. The visit was recalled after the announcement of Harald V’s death on Friday.

Royal couple surprised by Lithuanian homes

The Norwegian royal family arrived in Klaipėda aboard the yacht Norge from Riga on September 4, 1998. They were welcomed on a red carpet by then Klaipėda Mayor Eugenijus Gentvilas and escorted to Palanga Airport, from where the king and queen flew to Vilnius for their official visit.

Residents also gathered in Klaipėda. Some held flags of Lithuania and Norway, while others carried flags of Statoil, a Norwegian fuel station network.

In Vilnius, the royal couple were welcomed by President Valdas Adamkus, First Lady Alma Adamkus, other state leaders and diplomats. During his meeting with the king, Adamkus discussed the possibility of Lithuania, which had recently restored its independence, purchasing natural gas, Norway’s “moral support” for Lithuania’s efforts to join NATO and environmental protection.

The delegation later laid flowers at a monument to people who had died for Lithuania’s independence in Antakalnis Cemetery.

Gentvilas also recalled that the royal couple were more interested in the large residential buildings they saw from their bus than in the Lithuanian landscape.

“We were travelling by bus with the king and queen. I pointed to the forest and said that the sea was behind it. The queen asked, ‘What is that?’ and pointed to those four- and five-storey private houses,” Gentvilas recalled. He said he explained that private house construction had once been heavily restricted or banned, so people now built whatever they wanted.

According to Gentvilas, visits by foreign leaders were important to Lithuania at the time. He said Harald V appeared curious and down-to-earth, and showed genuine interest in how the newly independent country was living.

Visit to Vilnius University and Rumšiškės

During a dinner, Adamkus invited Norwegian businesses to invest in Lithuania and mentioned student exchanges that enabled young people to study abroad. He thanked Norway for its continuing support and said Lithuania most needed modern technologies and management skills.

The royal couple also visited Vilnius University, where they were welcomed by Rector Rolandas Pavilionis. They toured the university and visited the Church of St Johns. In the university’s assembly hall, Harald V addressed students and lecturers, while Pavilionis presented him with an engraving and tied a traditional Lithuanian sash around him.

In his speech, Harald V said Lithuania and Norway had similarities, describing both as small states in a large and complicated world. He said the two countries had common interests and could learn much from each other.

The monarchs also visited the Open-Air Museum of Lithuania in Rumšiškės, where they were welcomed with horn music and Norwegian songs.