Oct 26, 2006, 10:20 GMT
Oslo - Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon was the target of a potential kidnap plan a few years ago, the author of a new biography on King Harald said Thursday.
'I don't know more than what the king told me. The plans were rather unpleasant. A gang planned to kidnap the crown prince as a bargaining chip to free a jailed gang member,' author Per Egil Hegge told Norwegian broadcaster TV2.
Police said they were concerned over the alleged threat, and said security measures would be easier if the crown prince and his partner, Mette-Marit lived together.
'That was one of the reasons why Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Crown Prince Haakon moved in together,' Hegge, a former editor of the daily Aftenposten, added.
The royals moved in together during the autumn of 2000, and were married August 25, 2001. The fact that Mette-Marit had a son from a previous relationship raised some eyebrows, and some Lutheran Church leaders expressed disapproval that they lived together without being married.
Hegge's biography 'Harald V' was to hit bookstores Thursday.
The king ascended the throne in January 1991. According to an excerpt from the biography that was earlier leaked on the internet, the king said it was love at first sight when he met his wife-to-be in 1959 at a party organized by one of his best friends.
A week after the party, the future king telephoned Sonja Haraldsen, and asked if she would accompany him to a ball at the military academy. The queen recalled in the book that she was charmed by the king who appeared to be quite shy.
The year before meeting the king, the queen had studied at Cambridge University in England and worked at a pub.
Next year both the king and queen turn 70. King Harald, who has battled with cancer and undergone heart surgery, said they had no plans to retire in a speech at a recent banquet hosted for the government and members of parliament.
Your Talkback on this Story