H.K.H. Kronprinsessans tal vid president Ólafur Ragnar Grímssons middag

To be in Iceland feels like being at home and among friends.

This is a proud nation and country of immense beauty and you know how to make one feel welcome.

In the past decade heavy storms have swept through your society. The social fabric, solidarity and unity of the Icelandic people have been tested.

You are a people who have been coping with a harsh climate and storms for a thousand years.

After having met many of you during my trips to Iceland, reinforced by my impressions today, when we have listened to you and experienced your country, I am confident that you will have mastered also this storm.

Your fierce independence, your love of your language and culture and your sense of community will once again have guided you through rough waters.

You look again at the future and just as summer – like now – always comes after winter, there is again optimism in the air in Iceland.

We have many things in common. The strong bonds between us have been there for a long time and I hope they will be just as strong in the future.

Let me close with these words that have often been uttered in hard times, but which I think can also be used in times such as these, to express my respect for you: Gud blessi Island.