COMPANIONS from Norway

Top 3

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Norwegian Companions of all time. This list of famous Norwegian Companions is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Queen Sonja of Norway (b. 1937)

With an HPI of 72.09, Queen Sonja of Norway is the most famous Norwegian Companion.  Her biography has been translated into 48 different languages on wikipedia.

Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen; 4 July 1937) is Queen of Norway as the wife of King Harald V. Sonja and the then Crown Prince Harald had dated for nine years prior to their marriage in 1968. They had kept their relationship a secret due to the controversy of Sonja's status as a commoner. Harald had told his father, King Olav V, that he would remain unmarried if his father did not grant consent to marry Sonja. Upon their marriage, Sonja became crown princess and later the queen of Norway upon her husband's accession to the throne in 1991, becoming Norway's first queen consort in 52 years. The couple has two children together: Princess Märtha Louise and Crown Prince Haakon. As queen, Sonja holds patronage of up to fifteen organisations. Sonja has also served as Vice President of the Norwegian Red Cross from 1987 to 1990. In 2005, she became the first queen to visit Antarctica. In 2017, she was awarded the Trysil-Knut Prize, making her the first woman to receive the award. She is also known for her interest in music, art and culture, having founded the Queen Sonja International Music Competition and the Queen Sonja Print Award. She is also a graphic artist and ceramicist, with many of her works being featured in exhibitions across Norway and other countries.

2. Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 57.73, Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway is the 2nd most famous Norwegian Companion.  Her biography has been translated into 41 different languages.

Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway (born Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, pronounced [ˌmɛtːəˈmɑ̀ːrɪt ˈçɛ̀sːəm ˈhœ̀ʏbʏ], on 19 August 1973) is a member of the Norwegian royal family. She is married to Crown Prince Haakon, the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne. A Norwegian commoner and single mother with a disadvantaged past, she was a controversial figure at the time of her engagement to Haakon in 2000. As a result support for monarchy fell to its lowest level ever. She became Crown Princess of Norway upon her marriage in 2001. Mette-Marit remains deeply unpopular, with only 27% approving of her as a future queen. The couple have two children, Ingrid Alexandra and Sverre Magnus, who are second and third in line to the Norwegian throne respectively. Mette-Marit additionally has a son from a previous unmarried brief relationship with Norwegian convicted felon Morten Borg, accused serial sex offender Marius Borg Høiby, who is currently in prison awaiting trial. Mette-Marit has been accused of warning her son about his impending arrest and of witness tampering. Her friendship with the American convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with whom she stayed in contact for several years after his release from prison, has received criticism. As of November 2024, her eldest son is being held in Oslo on a rape charge.

3. Gunnhildr Sveinsdóttir (1015 - 1060)

With an HPI of 54.47, Gunnhildr Sveinsdóttir is the 3rd most famous Norwegian Companion.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Gunnhildr Sveinsdóttir or Gunnhildr Haraldsdóttir, Guda or Gyda (traditionally died in Gudhem, Västergötland, Sweden, c. 1060) was, according to the traditional view, a queen consort of King Anund Jacob of Sweden and of king Sveinn II of Denmark. However, the sources are so vague that several modern historians maintain that there were actually two queens of that name, of Sweden and Denmark respectively. She is sometimes called Gude or Gyridje, but this is probably because of confusion with her daughter, Gyda, who is also known under her mother's name Gunnhildr.