Princess Märtha of Sweden

of Princess Märtha of Sweden and Norway]]
**Princess Märtha of Sweden** (Märtha Sofia Lovisa Dagmar Thyra; 28 March 1901 &ndash; 5 April 1954) was Crown Princess of Norway She was the wife of the future King Olav V from 1929 until her death in 1954. The current King Harald V is her only son.

Princess Märtha was also a sister of Queen Astrid of Belgium, and a maternal aunt of Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg, King Baudouin of Belgium and King Albert II of Belgium.

## Early life 
 and sisters]]

Märtha was born at her parents' home of Arvfurstens Palats in Stockholm on 28 March 1901, the second child of Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland, and his wife Princess Ingeborg of Denmark. Her father was the younger brother of King Gustav V of Sweden (making her a first cousin twice removed of the present King of Sweden) and her mother was the younger sister of King Christian X of Denmark and of King Haakon VII of Norway.

Märtha had an elder sister, Princess Margaretha of Denmark, a younger sister, Queen Astrid of the Belgians, and a younger brother, Prince Carl Bernadotte. Märtha grew up to be much more confident and outgoing and so the daughter most admired by her mother.

As a child, Märtha was taught at home by private tutors and completed courses in childcare and first aid. She and her sisters were occasionally seen shopping unaccompanied on the streets of Stockholm.

## Crown Princess 
During the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Princess Märtha of Sweden became engaged to her first and second cousin, Prince Olav, the only son and heir apparent of her uncle the King of Norway and grandson of her grandfather King Frederick VIII of Denmark's younger sister. News of the engagement was very well received. An excellent match for strengthening royal ties, it was also clearly a match based on love. was killed in a car crash. The two sisters had been very close. Later King Olav said that it took his wife more than ten years to come to terms with her sister's death. He did not think that she ever really got over it. Märtha and elder sister Margaretha became a great support for Astrid's children in Belgium.

In 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, the Crown Prince and Princess visited the United States. The couple befriended President Franklin Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor.

In 1938 upon the death of her mother-in-law, Queen Maud, Crown Princess Märtha became the royal Norwegian court's senior lady.  During the flight from the German invasion in 9–10 April 1940, the Norwegian government decided that the Crown Princess and her children were to flee across the border to her native Sweden while her husband and father-in-law remained. When they arrived at the Swedish border, they were first denied entry because they could not provide passports. She then instructed her driver to run through the border gate, thus gaining entry into her native Sweden.

In Sweden she stayed at first at a tourist hotel in Sälen, before travelling on to Stockholm where her parents and relatives lived. Her presence in Sweden became problematic. Some people considered her presence put Sweden's neutrality in jeopardy. President Roosevelt then offered her a personal invitation to the United States. Her uncle, King Gustav V of Sweden, telegraphed her father-in-law King Haakon and advised against the trip, but Märtha insisted on accepting the invitation.

Her death came at the time her elder daughter Princess Ragnhild was expecting her first child and just over three years before her husband ascended the throne as King.

Her son King Harald V named his daughter Princess Märtha Louise after her grandmother.

The popular Swedish layer Princess cake was named for Märtha and her two sisters when they were children.

The ship *MS «Kronprinsesse Märtha»*, launched in 1929, was named after her. This ship which helped to save hundreds of passengers from the sinking German cruise ship *Dresden* in 1934 has, since 2000, been used as a hotel ship in Stockholm.

Märtha is depicted in the historical docudrama television miniseries, *Atlantic Crossing,* a co-production of Cinenord and the state broadcaster, NRK.

## Ancestry
## References
### Citations
### Bibliography
* 
* 

## Other websites
*Website of the Royal House of Norway: Crown Princess Märtha