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WIDER: Erling Lorentzen was married to Princess Ragnhild, who died in 2012. He is photographed here last year. Photography: Marianne Thorshaug Kristiansen, VG
Erling Lorentzen, widower of Princess Ragnhild, kills “Atlantic Crossing” in a debate post on Aftenposten and calls the television series “downright grotesque.”
He believes that the series gives a “deeply false” impression of the story.
– For someone who participated in the war, and was also close to the members of the royal family who are portrayed here closely, the result, with its many tendentious depictions, has become downright grotesque, the 97-year-old writes.
Crown Prince Olav and Crown Princess Märtha were his in-laws.
Lorentzen himself played a central role in resistance work during World War II.
VG has contacted Erling Lorentzen’s personal assistant, who states that Lorentzen currently does not want to elaborate on what he has written.
«ATLANTIC CROSSING»: Sofia Helin and Tobias Santelmann occupy the roles as resp. Crown Princess Märtha and Crown Prince Olav. Photo: Morten Wien Solberg / Cinenord
– Active liar print
The famous businessman writes that the television series, by getting close to real events with famous historical figures and at the same time taking “the greatest liberties”, creates a “deeply false impression of history”.
Lorentzen, who married Princess Ragnhild in 1953, notes that the royal family does not have the opportunity to express their views, but that he chooses to speak out because he was close to some of those whose lives in the series have been used for commercial purposes. .
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– Such speculative exploitation of defenseless people for entertainment purposes is nothing short of shameful, Lorentzen concludes in his short article.
– A fictional story
The creator of the series says that he has never intended to give a truthful account of what actually happened.
– We want to emphasize that “Atlantic Crossing” does not pretend to tell the truth about everything that happened with those involved. It is a fictional story that, like other historical dramas, must condense, simplify and not least compose, especially around the feelings of the characters and their personal relationships, says the creator of the series Alexander Eik to VG.
– But do you also make up the story?
– We have written several articles on this, there is not much more to say.
In a response to NRK, Eik and co-author Linda May Kallestein deny that they are involved in the “falsification of history” and claim that they are based on secure historical bases.
– Although some elements are not historically correct, our aim is that the series as a whole provides a probable picture of the events. Although it is fiction, the two write.
– What do you think of a historical character who is married to the royal family, calling the series you have done “directly grotesque” and “shameful”?
– Crown Princess Märtha and the efforts of the royal family during the war have been an inspiration to us in the work of the series. As long as we have had an agenda, it has only been to show how much they meant to Norway during the war. We have featured this in various articles in recent weeks, Eik tells VG.
SERIES CREATOR: Alexander Eik. Photo: SEBASTIEN NOGIER / EPA
After each episode, NRK broadcasts information about what is fact and fiction.
Erling Lorentzen is not the only one to criticize the series, which has also been on the Broadcasting Council.
Among those who have criticized NRK for the series, which is about the close relationship between Crown Princess Märtha and US President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II, is author Tor Bomann-Larsen.
Among other things, he has written the NRK article “Fake history, made in Norway”.
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– Moral weight
Bomann-Larsen believes that the creators of the series have manipulated historical events and taken great artistic liberties.
– I mean the same as Lorentzen, says the royal historian and biographer to VG.
– It is very special that Erling Lorentzen is moving. It doesn’t happen every day. It’s very helpful, and I think you should notice it, says Bomann-Larsen, noting that Lorentzen has been directly affected since he was married to Princess Ragnhild.
CRITICAL: Tor Bomann-Larsen Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen, NTB
– Has moral weight and the right to speak. He also emphasizes that these are named living people, as an active participant in the war, Lorentzen also acknowledges that the story is false, says Bomann-Larsen.
He had previously reacted to the series portraying him as if Crown Princess Märtha almost single-handedly convinced the president to involve the United States in the war.
– It reinforces the abuse of live actors to be put in a false war story, Bomann-Larsen believes.
