The name is not the only princess Märtha Louise (49) has after her grandmother, Crown Princess Märtha of Norway.
Märtha Louise has as many as five national costumes in her possession. And two of them have ties to King Harald’s mother, who died in 1954.
She has “the country’s most expensive” bunad
Märtha Sofia Lovisa Dagmar Thyra was born in Stockholm in 1901 and became the Norwegian Crown Princess when she married Crown Prince Olav in 1929. The same year she received her first national costume as a gift, the Ørskog national costume from Sunnmøre.
It was quickly nicknamed “Marthabunaden”.
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The house burned down
Only a year later, the bunada went up in flames, when the crown prince couple’s home Skaugum burned to the ground.
Fortunately, no one was injured in the fire, but both the old wooden building and most of the furniture were completely damaged.
LOST: The old main house at Skaugum burned down in 1930, and with it the Crown Princess’ wardrobe also disappeared. Two years later it was rebuilt, this time in brick. Photo: Anders Beer Wilse / Oslo Museum
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Despite the fact that the Crown Princess was only allowed to wear the bunad a handful of times, the nickname “Martha’s bunad” has survived to our time. And in 1992, it was finally a new Märtha who put the bunad into use.
That year, Märtha Louise received a newly sewn Ørskog costume as a gift during Nynorsk Festspelveke. It is a further development of the bunada the grandmother wore over 60 years earlier.
New Durek nightmare: – Extremely painful
– This means something very special to me. My grandmother’s bunad was destroyed in the fire at Skaugum in 1930. With this bunad I can carry on the tradition, said a touched princess when she thanked for the gift.
But the Ørskog national costume is not the only national costume that has a strong connection to Crown Princess Märtha.
FAMILY TIME: In 1992, Princess Märtha Louise received her Ørskog costume from Sunnmøre. It has more embroidery and longer stitching than the grandmother’s bunad, which followed the ideals of the time for national costumes. Here she is in 1995. Photo: Rune Petter Ness / NTB
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Got hurt
When King Harald’s mother died, she left behind a beautiful East Telemark costume. It was natural that the first Norwegian princess who was born afterwards inherited the bunada.
Märtha Louise received the bunada for the confirmation in 1986. But first it had to go through a small rescue operation. Over the years, it had been damaged.
HERITAGE: 32 years after Crown Princess Märtha passed away, her bunada was passed on to her granddaughter on confirmation day. The costume was sewn by Anne Bamle, who created a number of variants of the East Telemark costume in the 1920s and 30s. This model is still called “Princess”. Photo: Bjørn Sigurdsøn / NTB
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– When they took out the bunada, there was a large tear through the entire front of the skirt. It was carefully repaired. It was done a very nice job, so it almost does not seem at all, the princess has previously said according to the bunad exhibition “Tradition and inspiration”.
Reveals relocation plans: – The children will of course join
In 2018, all the royal family’s national costumes were exhibited in Queen Sonja Kunststall – including the East Telemark national costume from Crown Princess Märtha.
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Meet spring in a lovely dress
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And there is no doubt that it is Grandma’s old suit that is Märtha Louise’s favorite.
MOTHER AND DAUGHTER: Of Märtha Louise’s five national costumes, the East Telemark national costume is the most used. Here is the princess and daughter Leah during Prince Sverre Magnus’ confirmation last year. Both in Anne Bamle national costumes. Photo: Andreas Fadum / See and Hear
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She wears the bunada for Christmas, May 17 and large family events. In recent years, there have been a number of confirmations in the family – and all the times the choice has fallen on the East Telemark costume.
But Märtha Louise also has three other national costumes in her collection.
Princess Märtha’s five national costumes:
- East Telemark costume, also called Heddals costume, red shirt costume or Anne Bamle costume.
- Sunnmørsbunad, also called Ørskogbunad or Marthabunad.
- Summer costume from Asker.
- Setesdalsbunad.
- Nordmørsbunad.
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Eight kilos heavier with the bunada on
As a child and youth, she danced folk dance at the Norwegian Folk Museum on Bygdøy. Like all the other children, the princess was dressed in Setesdalsbunad.
The Setesdal costume differs from the rest of Norway’s around 400 national costumes in that it consists of two short stacks that end just below the knee.
SUS I SERKEN: Princess Märtha Louise danced folk dance growing up. Here she is with her dance partner, current actor, Mads Ousdal in 1994. Both are wearing Setesdalsbunader, a folk costume that has been in continuous use in Norway for hundreds of years. Photo: Morten Holm / NTB
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In total, the bunada weighs around eight kilos. But Märtha Louise swung as easily as just that when she was active in the folk dance environment.
The princess also has a summer costume from Asker, which she has received as a gift from the municipality.
Ari had never experienced anything like this
Queen Sonja also has this bunada, which was often in use on 17 May when the royal family lived in Skaugum and received the children’s procession there in the morning.
RED, WHITE AND BLUE: The princess has been wearing the summer costume from Asker since she was a child. Here she is on the stairs at Skaugum in the year 2000. Queen Sonja also has the local bunada. Photo: Knut Fjeldstad / NTB
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According to the national costume exhibition “Tradition and inspiration” at KunstStallen, Märtha also has a fifth national costume, a Nordmørs national costume.
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Chocolate stains on the shirt
For Märtha Louise, the bunada is an important part of the May 17 celebration. When she and her family settled in London in 2012, she had national costumes for both herself and the children in the moving load.
During the May 17 speech in Sjømannskirken the following year, she talked about her expectations for the day.
NORTH AND SOUTH: In 2018, the royal family’s national costumes were exhibited at Dronning Sonja KunstStall. Princess Märtha’s two national costumes from Møre og Romsdal stood side by side: the Nordmørs national costume on the left and the Sunnmørs national costume on the right. Photo: Andreas Fadum / See and Hear
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– Will May 17 be as good as it was last year? Will I be as happy and proud as before? Do I want to think that we in Norway are especially lucky to have such a day? And will I be just as exhausted and happy when I take off my bunada and wipe away a chocolate stain from my shirt? stated the princess.
NATIONAL FEELING: In 2013, Märtha Louise and her daughters took the lead on the May 17 train in London. The princess in her East Telemark costume, complete with a jacket that has given it the name red shirt costume. Maud (left) and Emma in Rondastakker. Photo: Nina Eirin Rangøy / NTB
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Because like so many others, Märtha thinks some of the very best things about the bunada are to take it off after a long day.
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