Well, this is something you don't see every day. In fact,it's downright batty! Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway has released a videothat shows her and her children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince SverreMagnus, tending to a small colony of bats on the grounds of Skaugum Palace.
Four years ago, Ingrid, 11, and Sverre, 9, placed specialboxes on trees in the gardens of the royal residence near Oslo that would actas warm homes for the bats to hibernate in during the harsh northern Europeanwinter.
In the video, the children, along with their parentsMette-Marit and Crown Prince Haakon, can be seen helping bat expert Jeroen vander Kooij as he opens the boxes and inspects the tiny bats, weighing andmeasuring them and checking on their health.
It was not the first time the children got involved in theconservation effort. The royals also took part in the annual checkup last year,and the Norwegian Royal Court shared photos of the young royals on its officialFacebook page.
Denne uken var det tid for å kontrollere flaggermuskassene på Skaugum. Prinsesse Ingrid Alexandra og Prins Sverre Magnus...
Posted by Kongehuset on Friday, 29 August 2014
Mette-Marit, who was born a commoner, clearly believes ingiving her children a well-rounded education and exposing them to as much ofthe world as possible.
The 42-year-old calls herself a "dedicatedbookworm," and has encouraged a love of reading in her three children (shealso has a son, Marius, from a previous relationship). The literacy advocate, who for the past two years hastransformed her royal train carriage into a rolling library that has traveledacross Norway, is set to open an exhibition of Norwegian erotica at theNational Library in Oslo on September 24.
The exhibition, called 'The Red Ruby — Erotic Transgressionin Norwegian Literature,' takes its title from a controversial novel by AgnarMukle, and is celebrating the author's 100th birthday.