Locals undecided on royal site

The jury's out on the matter of a free summerhouse site for the Crown Prince Haakon and his bride-to-be. PHOTO: TOR JARILD

The citizens of Nøtterøy and Tjøme islands in southeast Norway are divided about whether to bestow a holiday-home site upon Crown Prince Haakon and his fiancée Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby.

Some 500 residents were asked for their opinion and the result of the survey for the Tønsbergs Bald newspaper showed that 46 percent were in favour of giving the young couple a site on which to build, while 40 percent were against the proposal.

The King and Queen already have a summerhouse on Mågerø, in the same local authority. Last autumn the mayor of Tjøme, Roar Tandberg, declared that the soon-to-be-married Crown Prince should be given the opportunity to build a holiday residence of his own on Mågerø.

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Liz McNamara/NTB