OSLO, Norway, June 28 (UPI) -- The millennia-long relationship between Iceland and Norway has reached a milestone with a visit to the neighboring island by Norway's crown prince and his heir.
Crown Prince Haakon and his Norwegian-born wife, Mette-Marit, are making a three-day visit, as have all the Norwegian royals before them, the Aftenposten reported. But for the first time, the Norwegian royal couple took along an infant heir, Princess Alexandra, for the customary trip.
"This is the first time Iceland has been visited by a Norwegian crown prince together with a Norwegian crown princess and Norway's royal heir," said Iceland's president, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, when he greeted the family on Sunday.
"Your visit has therefore already become an important event in the long relations between Iceland and Norway's kings."
Iceland was settled by Norwegians in the 9th century and although it was a Danish possession from 1380 until indepenence in 1944 its ties to Norway remain strong. Both nations were among the first to join NATO, and both have chosen to remain outside the European Union.
