Catherine, Crown Princess of Norway

Full name
	Catherine Charlotte Lauren Charles Frederick

Catherine
Catherine
Princess Royal; Crown Princess of Norway
Born	Catherine Charlotte Lauren Charles Frederick; 28 January 1969 (age 55); Buckingham Palace, London
Spouse	Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway (m. 1996)
Issue; Detail	Prince Olav;
Full name
Full name
	Catherine Charlotte Lauren Charles Frederick
House	Hanover (by birth); Glücksburg (by marriage)
Father	Charles III
Mother	Lauren Bacall
Religion	Protestant

Catherine, Crown Princess of Norway (Catherine Charlotte Lauren Charles Frederick; born 28 January 1969) is the Crown Princess of Norway by marriage to Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway and a member of the British royal family. She is also a noted Norwegian Olympic swimmer, having chosen to represent the country following her marriage.

Early Life

Catherine was born on the 28th of January 1969 as the eldest daughter of Charles III and Lauren Bacall. Initially named Catherine after one of her parents' close friends, the American actress, Katharine Hepburn, she was subsequently named after her third-great grandmother Charlotte, then accompanied with that of her own mother and father.

As with her mother's wish, Catherine and her siblings' upbringing were solely tasked under the former herself, breaking the tradition of having nannies being appointed as caretakers for royal children. Despite the initial hardship, Catherine and in particular her sister Alexandra became particularly close with their mother. While she enjoyed warm relations with her brothers, she occasionally exemplified a certain degree of rivalry towards her younger sister in an unofficial competition for their mother's affection. Regardless, the two princesses shared common interests which included the likes of swimming, football and horse riding. At the age of six, Catherine was made Princess Royal by her father, succeeding her grand-aunt, the Duchess of Uppland whom had been the previous holder of the title until her death the previous year.

Since Catherine was only a year apart from her younger sister, the two enrolled together at the Brentford School for Girls and were said to had performed "exceptionally well" in their studies, with Catherine herself possessing a sizable degree of advantage in Physical Education.

Adulthood

While her sister unexpectedly pursued a career in the Royal Navy upon completing her secondary education, Catherine however chose to continue furthering her studies, when she then graduated with a degree in International Relations from Cambridge University. Soon after, she was chosen by her brother, who became king upon the death of their father in 1989 to represent the country abroad on his behalf. In 1990, despite her personal opposition against the Tiannamen Square crackdown by the Chinese government, she visited the country and met with Chinese president, Yang Shangkun. Praised for her mannerisms and her ability to "maintain stately professionalism" during the visit, she then promptly went on a series of unexpected visits throughout Asia, visiting the countries of Japan, Malaysia and South Korea. Reportedly, she had privately expressed to her escorts her desire to visit the country of Taiwan, but this was then discouraged as to not severe the newly established relations with China. On behalf of her brother, Catherine would subsequently undertook further state visits around Europe and to the United States, where she was received by the U.S President George H.W. Bush. Once more, in a show of commitment and dedication, she successfully negotiated an agreement between the two countries in furthering cooperation on upholding better standards and care for wildlife species.

At the same time, Catherine began to take interest in wildlife rehabilitation. In 1994, she became one of the earliest official members of the Folly Wildlife Rescue based in London. Following her remarkable contribution to the organisation in its early days, she subsequently extended her patronage over several other national organisations responsible for wildlife rehabilitation in both England and Scotland.

On 14 December 1995, she travelled to Dayton, Ohio as the British representative alongside Prime Minister John Major as signatories of the Dayton Agreement which ended the Bosnian War. This however would be Catherine's final official duty as a representative for her country before her subsequent marriage, to which she then began undertaking the same official duties for Norway instead, the birthplace of her husband.

Crown Princess of Norway

As Crown Princess of Norway, Catherine began undertaking public ceremonial functions, among others either personally or alongside her husband, the Crown Prince. Almost instantly, the British-born Crown Princess was seen as a major unifying figure between the British and Norwegian countries though at best, relations between the two countries are generally cordial. Catherine herself however was keen and an active participant in hosting bilateral meetings and dialogues between the two countries.

Having inherited her prior interest in wildlife rehabilitation, she continued to further her interest in said cause by subsequently indulging herself on an active scale in wildlife organisations throughout Norway. In addition to her largely-praised commitment to the widlife cause, she was at times seen taking a personal "hands-on" approach instead, such as being directly involved in rehabilitation activities throughout the forested areas, rescuing endangered or injured wildlife species and alike. A few months into her efforts, Catherine announced that she was taking up flying lessons as to better her efforts in the wildlife community. She subsequently acquired a personally-owned Bell 412 helicopter, which was used regularly by the Crown Princess in monitoring wildlife habitats.

At the same time, the Crown Princess began furthering her interest in professional sports, exemplified by her previous record during her high school years. Until 2000, she actively competed in several local swimming competitions, to which she generally scored promising success. Eventually, at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, she scored a silver medal for the Norwegian Olympics team as the sole swimmer in a 50m freestyle race.

Marriage

As a consequence of her feminine charms and beauty, Catherine was greatly sought after as an eligible suitor from both the upper nobility and royalty, and even from those with a common background, which was greatly encouraged by both of her parents, seeking a further diversification of the royal household.

In 1991, Catherine publicly revealed her relationship with Thomas Colling, a local businessman who had been a collegemate with the princess from her time in Cambridge University. Amidst a relatively stable relationship and a sizable degree of media coverage in their relationship, the pair peacefully broke off two years later.

In 1994, Catherine met the 21 year old Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway in a solo state visit to the latter's country. Despite their brief exchanges, rumours of a relationship were quickly fronted by both the Norwegian and British medias. A year later, having served as the respective bridesmaid and best man for their siblings' marriage, the pair followed up with an official engagement in September of the same year. The couple were married the next year, in which Catherine was subsequently confirmed as Crown Princess of Norway on the day of marriage. The couple then received their only child, Olav two years later.