Res. om Vagtholdet ved det Kgl. Slot


Res. concerning the Guard at the Royal Palace

11 Febr.

Res. om Vagtholdet ved det Kgl. Slot

Kongelig Resolution, hvorved bl.a. er bestemt, at Finants- og Told-Departementet bemyndiges til med Kristiania Politikammer at afslutte Overenskomst, gjældende indtil videre, om Overtagelse af Vagtholdet ved det kongelige Slot, mod at det Offentlige utreder Lønninger og Uniformsgodtgjørelse til 3 Mand, til sammen Kr. 3525,00 aarlig.

(Translation)

11 Feb

Res. concerning the Guard at the Royal Palace

Royal Resolution, by which among others is decided, that the Ministry of Finance and Customs is authorized to reach an Agreement, which will remain in force until further notice, with the Kristiania Police Station concerning the Undertaking of the Guard at the Royal Palace, provided that the Public pays Salary and Uniform Compensation for 3 Men, altogether Kr. 3525,00 annually.

Source

Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1888, Kristiania, 1888, p. 17.

Comments

I have not found time to research in full detail the background for the above-mentioned resolution. But when the Norwegian Guard in Stockholm was withdrawn in early 1888, it was decided that the Guard should continue its ceremonical duties at the Kristiania Palace when the Royal Family was in residence. The expenses of His Majesty The King's Guard were covered by the military budget. The question now was how the guard should be organised when the Royal Family was not in residence.

The resolution does not say explicitly whether the expenses should be covered by the Kristiania Municipality, or by the state. But in 1905, when King Haakon VII was elected King, Kristiania Municipality was financially responsible, a situation it was not very happy with. Following correspondence with the Ministry of Finance, it was agreed that the Government should propose to the Storting that the state should take over the expenses. This lead to quite a debate in 1909:

    Budsjettkomitéens flertall innstilte at staten skulle påta seg ansvaret, men hele 16 stemte mot dette ved avstemningen 30. januar 1909. Alfred Eriksen så ikke nødvendigheten av å bidra til at «tre voksne mandfolk skal faa den ørkesløse gjerning at gaa omkring dette firkantede hus, naar det staar tomt dag og nat. [...] Det er et gammelt ord, som siger, at lediggang er roden til alt ondt, og jeg ser at dette ordsprog holder stik med de konstabler, som faar denne ørkesløse gjerning at gaa rundt omkring slottet.»

    («The Budget Committee recommended that the state should undertake the responsibility, but as many as 16 representatives voted against this in the Storting meeting on 30 January 1909. Alfred Eriksen did not find it necessary to provide that «three adult men should have the idle task to walk around this square house, when it is empty day and night. [...] There is a proverb, which says, that idleness is the root to all evil, and I see that this proverb holds water with those constables, who get this idle task to walk around the Palace.»)

The quote is taken from Dag. T. Hoelseth. Det nasjonale kongedømme. Det norske monarkiet 1905-1910, 1997 , p. 174, footnote 733. Alfred Eriksen represented the Labour Party, which at the time was very demonstrative in its opposition against the monarchy and the funding of the royal house.

Later His Majesty's Guard was ordered to guard the Palace also when the Royal Family was away, but with a reduced number of troops.

I will continue my research to find more details about the organising of the guard at the Palace.

This page was last updated on Thursday 12 January 2012
(first time published at http://www.geocities.com/dagtho/res18880219.html on Saturday 6 July 2002).

© 2002–2012 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth