The Norwegian Royal Family is set to celebrating skiing over the next week, but they’ll start without their monarch: King Harald has come down with a cold.

The Royal Court announced on Wednesday, ahead of a week chockful of engagements in Trondheim and Granåsen for the Nordic World Ski Championships, that King Harald is postponing his attendance while he recovers.

Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit were in Trondheim on Wednesday as the opening ceremony was underway; they will be joined by Queen Sonja throughout the weekend attending skiing competitions and visiting volunteer centres.

On Thursday, Queen Sonja will arrive in Granåsen to watch cross country skiing and combined events. The Queen and Crown Princess Mette-Marit will also attend concert at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim to mark the opening of the Championships. Meanwhile, the Crown Prince Couple will visit the volunteer centre in addition to watching competitions with Queen Sonja.

On their social media accounts, the Norwegian Royal Family shared photos of the Crown Prince Couple at Wednesday evening’s opening ceremony, captioning them: “Ski World Cup 2025 in Trondheim is finally underway!”

They added that “360 cultural actors from all over Trøndelag helped ensure a great opening of the championship that will take place over the next 11 days.”

The Nordic World Ski Championships run through 9 March.