All these connections

[pengolodh_sc]

Does the person one is connected to have to be alive, are at least 
have been alive at some point after I came to life?  

If not, then I claim four steps to Queen Victoria, Emperors Franz 
Josef II and Karl II of Austria-Hungary, quite possibly Arch-Duke 
Franz-Ferdinand of same (the gentleman who was shot in Sarajevo), 
certainly to Czar Nicholas II of Russia, and Emperor Wilhelm II of 
Germany - I probably can claim Peter I of Serbia on that list too 
(he's the poor chap who at age sixty had to ride from the church to 
the Royal palace in Belgrade wearing a 15lbs crown on his head - it 
was wrought out of gunmetal, as there was no gold or silver with 
which to make a crown).  I can also claim three steps to several 
others, including Emperor Hirohito of Japan, Sir Winston Spencer 
Churchill, HM Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, 
HRH Prince Charles the Prince of Wales, King George VI, Edward Duke 
of Windsor, while I am not certain if I have three or four steps to 
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Edward VII, and George V.  

Now for the explanation:  I had an uncle - his name was Inge.  He 
died while I was still quite little, but I remember him 
nevertheless.  He once gave me (and I still have it somewhere) one of 
those small money-purses that we in Norway call portemoné (we 
probably imported that word from France) - they are quite small and 
you have to fold your notes/bills quite tight to get them in it, and 
to get the right one out again....  That is hard enough in Norway, 
where the notes have different colours, but I can't imagine how 
difficult it would be in the USA - but I am digressing.  

My uncle Inge partook in some of the fighting in Northern Norway in 
WW2.  He also worked long years for the then local squire, the late 
Hartvig Sverdrup, who himself also served in WW2, and earned his rank 
as a Commander in the Royal Norwegian Navy.  Now for his long service 
with the Sverdrup-business my uncle was awarded The King's 
Distinguished Service Medal (silver valour).  Like all recipients of 
this medal, eh was invited to The Palace in Oslo (Norway only has one 
palace, so the Royal Palace in Oslo is simply termed The Palace) for 
an audience with King Olav V, with 15 minutes or more conversation 
about his life and experiences.  

King Olav, born 1903, was the son of King Haakon VII (born Prince 
Carl of Denmark) and Queen Maud, daughter of Edward VII, son of Queen 
Victoria and Prince Albert.  Olav's wife, Princess Märtha (of the 
Swedish Bernadotte-family - she died of cancer before Olav became 
king) stayed with their children Astrid, Ragnhild, and Harald, in the 
USA during WW2, and became close friends with the Roosevelts.  
Haakon, Maud, Märtha and Olav between them all have had many 
connections with all the above, particularly the European royalty - 
after all the European Royalty is one big family, in a literal sense.

So there you have it - I do feel quite royally connected.

Best regards
Christian Stubø