Queen of Norway leaves flowers in Duluth

In just a four-hour time span, close to 1,500 people had the chance to see and hear from King Harold V and Queen Sonja of Norway during their visits throughout Duluth. In their brief time here, the King and Queen attended a luncheon at the DECC, stopped at the Sons of Norway and attended the rededication of Enger Tower.

Col. Steve Wabrowetz of the Minnesota Air Guard and his co-workers had been working with a variety of people to help ensure that the royal couple's visit would go as smoothly as possible.

Wabrowetz said that they had been working for the last several months with the Norwegian Embassy, the Norwegian Consulate, the Secret Service and the Duluth Police Department to get everything in order.

"They flew up to Duluth on National Guard helicopters, and they landed at our airbase," Wabrowetz said. "We had to provide them a comfort room for when they got here."

As soon as the King and Queen got off the helicopter, they entered the comfort room, along with a secretary and a hairdresser, where they spent about 20 minutes prepping for the next few hours. Then they were off in the motorcade....

During the King's speech at Enger Tower, Wabrowetz was invited to come up close to where the ceremony was taking place. He estimates that he was about 15 feet away, and he could hear the King's perfect English.

Wabrowetz and others on his staff had the opportunity to speak with both the King and Queen.

"They were very, very nice, very friendly people," Wabrowetz said.

As a staff member of the MN National Guard, Wabrowetz was able to volunteer to work on the event, and after going to Norway in February, he jumped at the chance to help. He said that he would happily do it again.

"It was a fantastic experience and to do something that isn't a daily job," Wabrowetz said. "It was great to work with the Norwegian people, they're so nice. I'd do it again in a heart-beat."

At the end of the visit, the King and Queen flew out of the airbase, and the Queen left behind three of the bouquets she had been given throughout the day.

Wabrowetz was able to take home the bouquet the Queen had at the dedication ceremony and give it to his wife, Jennie.

Jennie attended the dedication ceremony with her former neighbor Karen Hoylo, who came up from the Twin Cities to see the King and Queen.

"After the King and Queen left, Steve came all the way down to Lakeside to give us the bouquet," Jennie said. "After we had our picture taken with the bouquet, we split it up and shared it."

Jennie said she will be keeping the Norwegian flag that was in the bouquet and drying the roses to save.

With the delivery of the bouquet, Jennie's husband referred to himself as the coolest husband ever. Jennie had to agree.

Jennie and her friend got to Enger Tower a little after 12:30 p.m. and had a spot in the second row to see the King and Queen when they walked by.

"It's a special honor, and it was nice to have them here," Jennie said. "It's especially neat because there are so many people of Scandinavian decent here, especially for those that are Norwegian."