The king of Norway is receiving global praise after delivering a heartfelt speech in support of the LGBT community and other minority groups.
On Sept. 1, King Harald V urged Norway to embrace “trust, solidarity and generosity” while speaking to more than 1,000 guests in the Palace Park in Oslo. (You can view a subtitled version of the speech from Norwegian public broadcasting company NRK Nyheter above.)
“Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and boys and girls who love each other,” he told the crowd. “In other words: you are Norway. We are Norway.”
The rest of Harald’s speech touched on the plight of refugees in Norway. “Norwegians believe in God, Allah, everything and nothing,” he said. “My biggest hope for Norway is that we will manage to take care of each other.”
On social media, many were quick to applaud the king’s profound, yet nuanced, backing of LGBT rights specifically.
Meanwhile, palace spokeswoman Marianne Hagen told the Associated Press that she’d received countless requests for an English translation of the king’s remarks in the five days since he delivered them. Footage of the speech has received more than 3.2 million views and 32,000 shares since NRK Nyheter uploaded it to their official Facebook page last week.
Although Norway’s always been ahead of the global game when it comes to LGBT rights, the king’s championing of the cause just took it to a whole new level.
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