ST. PAUL  (AP) - King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway have arrived in St. Paul for their eight-day tour of Minnesota and Iowa.

Four-year-old Bergen Gandrud Pickett, named for the Norwegian city, greeted the king and queen with a curtsey and a bouquet of flowers outside the Saint Paul Hotel Tuesday evening.

The king and queen will attend events this week in Decorah, Iowa, and St. Olaf College in Northfield, then visit the Mayo Clinic. On Sunday, they'll attend a church service at Augsburg College, a reception at the governor's mansion and a gala banquet.

The royal couple travels to Duluth on Monday and will conclude their visit Tuesday by opening the Amundsen Exhibit at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, in celebration of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen's expedition to the South Pole.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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