Monarchy survives vote in Stortinget

NEWS ANALYSIS: Norway’s Parliament (Stortinget) has predictably cast aside the latest effort to convert the country from a constitutional monarchy to a republic. The proposal voted on earlier this week, however, raised some new questions about Norwegian democracy, and signaled some new support for the republican movement. Until now, it’s mostly just been the now-small Socialist [...]

Royals pursue ‘historic’ complaint

Norway’s royal family has filed what’s being called an “historic” complaint against Norwegian magazine Se og Hør, in an effort to clarify whether the magazine violated “good press standards” and invaded the family’s privacy. It’s the first time the royal family collectively has filed a formal complaint over how they’ve been treated in the press. [...]

Peruvians indicted after theft of crown jewels

Two men and a woman from Peru have been indicted in Norway on charges they stole several kilos of gold jewelry belonging to King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II from Ghana, while he was on a visit to Oslo last fall. The king of the Ashanti Empire, in what later became the west African country of Ghana, [...]

Behn ‘complicates’ royal complaint

A stinging complaint launched by Norway’s Royal Palace against celebrity magazine Se og Hør last week seemed to lose some of its credibility this week, when news broke that the king and queen’s own son-in-law, Ari Behn, entertained at a Se og Hør staff luncheon and got paid by the magazine to do so. Behn’s [...]

Royals launch media complaint

Norway’s royal family has launched a major complaint against one of the country’s biggest magazines that’s best known for its coverage of celebrities and the royals themselves. A palace spokeswoman announced that members of the royal family have had enough of what they consider to be unwarranted intrusion into what’s left of their private lives. [...]

Royal Palace to get new gravel

After years of seeing rains wash away the gravel around the grounds of Norway’s Royal Palace, state officials are allotting NOK 70 million to replace it all with a new, more permanent type of gravelly ground cover. The palace grounds are supposed to get their facelift in time for bicentennial celebrations of Norway’s constitution in [...]

Elite headed for Davos again

Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit were among the Norwegian elite joining other royals, politicians, business and community leaders and economists at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Norway’s crown prince has been a fixture at the event for several years in a row. The World Economic Forum draws the globe’s movers [...]

New Year speeches true to tradition

Norway’s monarch and prime minister held their traditional New Year’s speeches, with commentators noting they were heavy on the “feel good” factor. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg even claimed that that “the American Dream” is alive and well, in Norway. The prime minister, who addresses the nation on national television and radio at 7:30pm on January [...]

Mixed reviews for palace concert

King Harald and Queen Sonja opened up the Royal Palace for another Christmas concert this year, but it didn’t generate entirely positive reaction. Meanwhile, the youngest heir to the throne has been making some holiday appearances on TV before most of the royal family moved up to the monarch’s private retreat Kongsseteren, to spend Christmas in [...]

Norway’s sailor king

A new book about King Harald V has been released just in time for the Christmas shopping season. It offers some fresh insight into the Norwegian monarch’s great passion for sailing, even describing how he’s been knocked unconscious in the middle of a regatta. He didn’t let that blow, or others, spoil the chance sailing [...]

Mette-Marit aided surrogate parents

Crown Princess Mette-Marit has confirmed that she made what the Royal Palace is calling a “private” trip to India this autumn, to take care of two babies born through surrogacy to gay Norwegian parents, one of whom is employed by the palace. The unconventional  royal trip attracted media attention, not least because surrogacy is illegal [...]

Crown couple ends Indonesian tour

Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit ended a three-day official trip to Indonesia on Wednesday with a visit to both Gadjah Mada university and the Borobudur temple in Yogyakarta, considered the country’s cultural heart. Norway’s university system has had a cooperation with Gadjan Mada for 20 years, giving Norwegian students and researchers better possibilities [...]

King apologized for medal mess

It’s not often that royals make public apologies, but King Harald V did just that after first awarding a service medal and then revoking it after realizing the recipient was widely viewed as being anti-gay and anti-Semitic. The unusual apology came when both King Harald and Queen Sonja appeared in Parliament to witness the unveiling [...]

Palace revokes medal to Linstad

Norway’s Royal Palace announced Thursday afternoon that it was revoking the king’s service medal that it had awarded to Trond Ali Linstad, a converted Norwegian Muslim who has helped further integration of immigrants in Oslo but also is widely viewed as being anti-Semitic. The palace said that Linstad’s own stated views could not be reconciled [...]

Medal fiasco ‘hurts king’s authority’

UPDATED: King Harald’s approval of a royal service medal to a man who has expressed anti-democratic and, some say, anti-Semitic attitudes for years threatens the very authority of the monarchy, claim some royal experts. Blatant criticism of the king is rare in Norway, but he’s not immune from responsibility for the medal, and commentators seem [...]

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