Norwegian Royalty: Visits to Concordia College
The first of these royal visits occurred in spring 1939 when Crown Prince Olav and Crown Princess Martha visited the United States. Upon learning of the dignitaries’ visit, Concordia officials invited the royal couple to visit the campus and be a part of the upcoming spring commencement exercises. Crown Prince Olav accepted the invitation in March; however, he would not be coming to Minnesota until a week after Concordia’s scheduled graduation ceremony. The class of 1939 voted to extend the semester one week longer so the royal visit and commencement could occur simultaneously.
Concordia President J.N. Brown was chairman of the executive committee in charge of planning the royal visit, which was a monumental task involving more than 150 people working on various committees. The planning commission anticipated large crowds to be present for various components of the three-day visit to Fargo-Moorhead. When the Crown Prince and Princess arrived in Fargo-Moorhead, they were escorted to Concordia where they were presented gifts and attended a banquet before the commencement ceremony. Unlike graduation ceremonies held in years prior, this ceremony was held outside Main (now Old Main) in the evening. With a crowd of 15,000 people, the Crown Prince delivered an address and was granted Concordia’s first honorary degree – a Doctor of Laws. Another highlight of the royal visit was the parade held the following morning. Multiple bands performed before the royal couple in the streets of downtown Moorhead and Fargo. Newspaper articles state that 55,000 people attended the parade.
Crown Prince Olav also visited Fargo-Moorhead in 1942. As the commander of the free Norwegian forces that fought against the Nazis in World War II, the Crown Prince toured the United States to report on Nazi-occupied Norway. Olav returned to Concordia in 1968 as the King of Norway and again delivered the commencement address. At least one member of the 1968 graduating class had a parent that graduated in spring 1939 during Olav’s first visit to Concordia.
Olav’s last visit to Concordia occurred in October 1982 when he came to Minnesota to participate in the Scandinavia Today celebration as part of an extensive tour celebrating his 25th anniversary as king. Upon his arrival in Fargo, he was escorted to the Civic Center where he was greeted by large crowds waving Norwegian flags. The king then came to Concordia and spoke at a convocation to an audience of 3,000 where President Paul Dovre announced the King Olav scholarship (Oppdag Amerika) to assist Norwegian students attending Concordia.
Six short years later, King Olav passed away. That same year Concordia’s faculty senate voted to bestow a Doctor of Laws honorary degree on Crown Prince Harald, but he was unable to come to the United States due to his father’s death and a very busy schedule. In 1995, King Harald and Queen Sonja came to the United States and visited many Lutheran college campuses including Concordia. On Oct. 20, 1995, King Harald received his honorary degree during a convocation in Memorial Auditorium.
Concordia’s close ties to Norway have created many opportunities for the cities of Fargo and Moorhead. An editorial in The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead on Oct. 7, 1982, states, “Concordia has been the focal point for the king and his visits to Fargo-Moorhead. This fact underlies the importance of this college to our community. Concordia’s rich Norwegian and Lutheran heritage is a valuable link through the years and across thousands of miles to Norway.”
– Contributed by Lisa Sjoberg, college archivist