News: King of Norway receives honorary degree

17 November 2006

King Harald V of Norway was greeted by the current generation of Balliol rowers as part of his visit to Oxford on Thursday 16 November. The King, who was a keen oarsman during his student days at Balliol in the 1960s, was accompanied into the College Hall by one of his rowing contemporaries, Nick Bevan.

The King was in Oxford to receive the degree of Doctor of Civil Law (DCL) at a special honorary degree ceremony both for his role as statesman and in recognition of the close ties of friendship between the UK and Norway.

During the ceremony in the Sheldonian Theatre the Public Orator, Professor Richard Jenkyns, spoke of the ‘close ties of friendship’ which exist between Norway and the UK. The Chancellor of the University, the Rt Hon Lord Patten of Barnes, said that King Harald had ‘shown himself a staunch friend of the British people and a ruler of the Norwegian people distinguished for sagacity and humanity’.

After receiving his honorary degree, King Harald addressed the audience which included senior University figures, academics with research links with Norway, and current Norwegian students. He spoke of the long line of Norwegian royals educated in England, stretching back to Haakon, the son of Harald Fairhair who was sent to the court of the English King Athalstan in 960.

He spoke about the need for lifelong learning, and the great benefits that communication technology has brought in spreading knowledge and breaking down old borders and barriers. He said: ‘I regard all learning and education as a life-long process. It is just as important to be able to learn when we are 70 -as in my case shortly - as when we are seven.’

The issue of economic co-operation between Norway and the UK, in particular with regard to oil and gas discoveries in the North Sea, was another theme of the speech. King Harald said: ‘New technology will make it possible to extract more oil and gas from deposits that only a few years ago could not be exploited. Furthermore, new technological advances will make it possible to make new discoveries and safely develop fields where geology and rough waters have stopped us so far. The North Sea has been, and will continue to be, an extraordinary laboratory for developing world-class technologies for the oil and gas industry, technologies which today are much in demand. In addition, protection of the environment will be of utmost importance for all Norwegian exploration and production of oil and gas in the years to come.

‘Our further co-operation in all these fields of politics, economy and technology require one fundamental common asset, and that is “Education”.’