Obama cancels lunch with Norway's king

OSLO, Norway, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The leader of Norway's right-wing Progress Party said U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to cancel lunch with King Harald is wrong, and poll results agree.

Results of an InFact poll indicated 44 percent of respondents said it was impolite for Obama, who will be in Oslo, Norway, to accept his Nobel Peace Prize Thursday, to cancel his lunch with Norway's monarch, while 34 percent said they thought it was "quite all right," broadcaster NRK reported.

Reaction was stronger that Obama would be leaving the country Friday before the Nobel Concert in his honor, results indicated. Fifty-three percent of respondents called Obama's absence from the concert impolite.

Progress Party leader Siv Jensen said she believed canceling the lunch at the Royal Palace was worse than skipping the concert.

Although lunch was canceled, Obama and U.S. first lady Michelle Obama will have an audience with King Harald and Queen Sonja and their family, The Norway Post reported.

The Obamas also were expected to visit the Norwegian Nobel Institute and meet with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg before the Nobel Prize ceremony.

Obama was to leave Oslo Friday for Copenhagen, Denmark, to attend the U.N.-sponsored climate change summit.