My new book: Crown Princess Märtha and Franklin D. Roosevelt

It has been a long time since I have had the time to update this blog, which is because I have been working literally day and night on my sixth book, but now I am pleased to announce that the book has been published. Kronprinsessens krig – Den sanne historien om kronprinsesse Märtha og Franklin D. Roosevelt, which translates as “The Crown Princess’s War: The True Story of Crown Princess Märtha and Franklin D. Roosevelt”, tells the story of Crown Princess Märtha of Norway during the Second World War, when the exiled first lady became part of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s inner circle and played a significant political, diplomatic and humanitarian role in wartime Washington.
Indeed, there were hardly anyone President Roosevelt saw more of during the Second World War than Crown Princess Märtha, but her role has generally not been understood. Many authors have written her off as just some sort of insignificant companion or perhaps the President’s mistress, but they have been unaware of the fact that the Crown Princess had a secret political mission that she was able to fulfil through her unlimited access to the President of the United States of America.
Thanks to a unique combination of sources from many countries, I am able to show how Crown Princess Märtha operated behind the scenes and utilised her network of influential friends and acquaintances to promote the interests of her country and how she became an important source of information for President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Like my three latest books, this one is published by Historie & Kultur. It will be available in most bookshops, and may also be ordered from online booksellers such as Norli, Haugen Bok, Ark, Adlibris, Tanum and Platekompaniet (all external links).

My latest article: Olav and Märtha's unknown love story & Roosevelt and the Kings

In the March issue of Majesty (Vol. 40, No. 3), which was published on Thursday, I have written an article about the wedding of Crown Prince Olav of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden ninety years ago, in which I can for the first time reveal not only that King Haakon and Queen Maud were in fact against their son marrying Märtha but also the reason why and who they wanted him to marry instead of Märtha.
In the same issue I conclude my article series on Theodore Roosevelt's grand tour of the courts of Europe in 1910. In this third instalment the former US President visits Emperor Wilhelm II in Berlin and goes to London for the funeral of King Edward VII, where the kings of Europe flock around him and he observes King George V's failure to understand why his youngest son, Prince John, was not like his other children.

My latest articles: Theodore Roosevelt at court & the last Queen of Bavaria

In the February issue of Majesty (Vol. 40, No. 2), which is out in Britain today, I continue my series on Theodore Roosevelt and the royals. In this second of three article, the former US President visits the courts of Brussels, The Hague, Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm, where he takes a strong dislike to one monarch, forms a lasting friendship with another and is smitten with an unhappy princess.
In the same magazine I also write about the life of Marie Therese, the last Queen of Bavaria (and Jacobite claimant to the British throne), who died 100 years ago in February 1919 while fleeing the revolution in Munich that had brought down the ancient Wittelsbach dynasty.

My latest article: The Norwegian crusaders

In today's issue of Aftenposten, Norway's largest newspaper, I have an article (external link) on King Sigurd the Jerusalemite, who was the first European king to go on a crusade to the Holy Land, and why the Norwegian contribution to the crusades and the conqeust of the city of Sidon (now Saida in Lebanon) was of greater significance than historians have realised until now.
The article is based on my lastest book, Korsfareren - Sigurd Jorsalfare og hans verden, the first biography of the first crusader king.