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Norwegians are “girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other” and they are not only from “north Norway, central Norway, southern Norway and all the other regions”, but also from “Afghanistan, Pakistan and Poland, from Sweden, Somalia and Syria,” said Harald V, King of Norway, in a speech to 1,500 dignitaries at the royal gardens in Oslo.

He also mentioned that his own grandparents migrated to the country from England and Denmark, adding, "Home is where the heart is and it cannot always be placed within a country's borders".“

“My biggest hope for Norway is that we will manage to take care of each other, that we can build this country further on trust, solidarity, and generosity,” he said. “That we can know that we – despite our differences – are one people.”

In a world where extremist forces are increasingly capturing public opinion, and refugees to Europe, Norway included, are facing a racist backlash, these inclusive words have made the Harald V, king since 1991, famous on social media. More than three million people have already watched the speech on Facebook.