Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon is marking the 200th anniversary of organised emigration from his homeland to the US with the visit to the state.
The heir to the Norway throne arrived in Minneapolis on Monday night and will remain in Minnesota on Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Tuesday, October 7, the Minnesota trip highlighted the close ties between the two countries, with the Upper Midwest being home to the largest concentrations of Scandinavian Americans in the US.
Haakon's visit is part of the Crossings 200 commemorations across North America this year.
Nearly 5 million North Americans now claim Norwegian ancestry. The US was a relatively welcoming place for Scandinavians during the main waves of emigration that began in the 1800s. They were drawn to the Upper Midwest by cheap land and jobs.
Ahead of the key visit, Haakon made a stop at Iowa on Monday at Vesterheim, a museum that tells the story of Norwegian immigrants in America.
There he met with three descendants of people who arrived on the Restauration, a ship carrying 52 Norwegians that left July 4, 1825, from Stavanger.
One of the travellers gave birth on the long voyage, so 53 arrived in New York. More than 800,000 other Norwegians eventually followed.
The crown prince also visited Luther College in Decorah, a school founded by Norwegian immigrants in 1861, which presented him with an honorary degree.
"I will carry it as a symbol of the close friendship between the United States and Norway," Haakon told students and faculty.
He added, "Thank you for keeping alive the stories that bind us together across oceans, across generations, across time."
According to the school, it was the ninth visit to Decorah by members of the royal family since 1939. The most recent previous visit to town was by his parents, King Harald V, who is Europe's oldest monarch, and Queen Sonja, in 2011.
Following that, Crown Prince Haakon will make his way to New York to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the arrival of the Restauration.
