King Haakon VIII takes over – this is happening nownu 

 

Kristina Erkenborn/TT

Published 10.00Updated 14.20

          

         Crown Prince Haakon has now become King Haakon VIII. Here he greets Norwegian Prime                       Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Photo: Lise Åserud/NTB/TT

After the death of Harald V, Norway will have a new king. Crown Prince Haakon has become King Haakon VIII, with a controversial queen at his side.

When King Harald, after 35 years on the Norwegian throne, died at the National Hospital on Friday, the office of Norway's regent immediately passed to his son, Crown Prince Haakon, 53.

On Friday, the government met with the country's new king. The Storting will convene as soon as possible and the new king will swear an oath of allegiance to the Norwegian constitution.

– It is actually a very simple procedure that is intended to ensure that no power vacuum arises, even though the king's power is in practice very limited, says Bjørn Erik Rasch.

Church blessing

The formal requirement for a coronation was removed from the Norwegian constitution as early as 1908. The last king to be crowned in Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim was Håkon VII in 1906.

In 1958, King Olav V replaced the coronation with a church blessing, and when King Harald succeeded his father to the throne in 1991, he and Queen Sonja received the same type of ceremonial blessing, also in Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim.

– I would think that this will happen this time too. Nidaros Cathedral is Norway's largest cathedral and is considered a national shrine and coronation church, says Bjørn Erik Rasch.

Support halved

Haakon's wife, 53-year-old Mette-Marit, becomes queen after a lot of drama.

In the past year, her friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has become known. In June, her son from a previous relationship was also sentenced to four years in prison for, among other things, rape.

When NRK measured trust in February, 60 percent said they supported the monarchy, a drop of 10 percentage points compared to a month earlier.

The same measurement showed that trust in Mette-Marit had halved. King Harald, on the other hand, received a high rating - an average of 9.2 points out of 10.

Retired role

- I don't think it will have that much significance, she will probably have a more withdrawn role than the one Sonja has had. But the monarchy certainly faces challenges, says Bjørn Erik Rasch.

Mette-Marit was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018 and underwent a risky lung transplant in June. She still has a lot of rehabilitation left before she is fully healthy.

What role and title Queen Sonja will continue to have is unclear, according to Rasch.

– We have never faced this situation before in modern times that the monarch dies before her spouse.

Facts

That is why Märtha Louise will not become queen

The fact that Norway will continue to have a king on the throne is due to the fact that male primogeniture was still practiced when Prince Haakon Magnus was born on July 20, 1973. Princess Märtha Louise, born in September 1971, is the royal couple's eldest child.

On May 29, 1990, the Storting amended the constitution so that eldest children – regardless of gender – go before their siblings in the succession to the throne, and thus the now newly crowned Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra will one day inherit the throne.