This is the third visit to Decorah for King Harald

This will be King Harald's third visit to Decorah. 

He first came to Decorah in 1965 as crown prince. Luther conferred an honorary degree upon the prince on that occasion.

Harald became king in 1991.  Four years later he and Queen Sonja visited Decorah.  1995 marked the first time that a reigning queen of Norway had come to the United States.

Other members of the Norwegian Royal Family have also visited Decorah.  Crown Prince Olav and his wife, Princess Märtha, stayed in Decorah in 1939 while on their first United States tour.  King Olav V toured Luther College and Vesterheim in 1968.  In October of 1975, King Olav V visited Luther College and laid the cornerstone for the construction of the Center for Faith and Life. King Olav V returned to Luther College and Vesterheim in 1987. In June of 1999 Crown Prince Haakon visited Decorah as part of the city's sesquicentennial celebration and dedicated Vesterheim's Amdal-Odland Heritage Center.