King Harald of Norway celebrates 70th birthday

Feb 21, 2007, 12:19 GMT

Oslo - A 21-gun salute at noontime Wednesday from the battlements of the Akershus fortress marked the official start of Norway's celebrations of King Harald on his 70th birthday.

Earlier, the king received representatives from local councils from all over Norway and was also congratulated by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

On a fine, crisp winter's day with a few snowflakes shimmering in the air, King Harald and Queen Sonja then drove in a stretch limousine to a televised service in Oslo's Trinity Church.

Among the 260 guests were Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, the king's daughter Princess Martha Louise and her husband, Ari Mikael Behn.

The king smiled broadly when a choir of children sang a song in his honour and three children congratulated him in Norwegian, Tamil and Tigrinya.

The king, who has reigned since January 1991, has shown no signs of stepping down although he had announced he would cut back his schedule.

In an interview with Norwegian news agency NTB conducted a few days before his birthday, the king said he 'was lucky to be healthy' and could 'continue to work.'

The former chain-smoker underwent heart surgery in April 2005 and at the end of 2003 was operated for bladder cancer, but said he had 'fully recovered'.

Later Wednesday the king was to accept parliament's official gift - a statue of his mother, Crown Princess Martha who died in 1954, three years before the king's father King Olav ascended the throne.

A banquet hosted by the government would cap Wednesday's celebrations. As of Friday, King Harald and Queen Sonja were to host scores of royalty and close friends. Among monarchs due to visit Oslo were Swedish King Carl Gustaf, Spanish King Juan Carlos and Belgian King Albert.