Norway’s King Harald V finally seems to have made an effort to clarify the lines of royal responsibility within what Norwegians call Kongehuset, literally The Royal House. The move comes after criticism around Princess Martha Louise’s commercial exploitation of her title and the arrest of Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s son, Marius Borg Høiby.
It’s been an unusually turbulent summer for the elderly monarch, and support for the monarchy has fallen, according to new public opinion polls. Criticism of the royal family has been especially harsh from historians, newspaper commentators and so-called “royal experts” who have called upon King Harald to assert his authority over wayward family members.
Now there’s some sign of that on the monarchy’s official website (external link). References to the “Royal Family” disappeared on Tuesday, replaced by a page entitled “The Royal House of Norway” that’s been pared down to only the king himself, his wife Queen Sonja, their son Crown Prince Haakon and his wife Mette-Marit, and their oldest child, Princess Ingrid Alexandra.
A large photo of the extended royal family that had included Høiby, Martha Louise and her three daughters and others has been replaced by a photo of just the king and queen, the crown couple and Ingrid Alexandra waving from the palace balcony on the 17th of May.
Earlier photos of King Harald’s and Queen Sonja’s daughter Martha Louise, Ingrid Alexandra’s younger brother Prince Sverre Magnus and the king’s elderly sister Princess Astrid were removed from the former family line-up. In their place is simply a new link entitled “Other royals,” which leads to a page where the three are now pictured.
There’s no mention of Høiby, who was three years old when his mother married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, even though King Harald had made a point of including him in the family and in family photos. He grew up in royal surroundings and has long had a diplomatic passport, but was never given a royal title. Last month he became the first member of the royal family to face criminal charges for assault, vandalism and making threats.
There is still a reference on the website to the line of succession, though, and it still includes Martha Louise as fourth in line to the throne after her nephew Sverre Magnus. It also includes her daughters from an earlier marriage: Maud Angelica Behn as fifth in line, Leah Isadora Behn as sixth and Emma Tallulah Behn as seventh.
The king has recently been publicly urged to withdraw Martha Louise’s “princess” title, since she has repeatedly violated terms of an agreement with her father and brother not to exploit it for commercial gain, but her title was still in place as of Tuesday evening. The 52-year-old Martha Louise married for the second time over the weekend to a self-proclaimed American shaman, Derek Verrett, but he isn’t mentioned on either the “Royal House” page or the one mentioning “Other royals.”
Palace staff didn’t publish any public announcement of the changes, carrying on their highly criticized habit of mostly remaining silent in the face of turmoil and criticism. Guri Varpe, communications chief at the palace, told state broadcaster NRK, however, that the changes were indeed made “to clarify who represents the royal house, along with who the other royals are.”
Varpe said the changes were made “in line with current definition of the royal house and its members.” She denied the changes had anything to do with all the controversy surrounding Martha Louise’s wedding, or with Høiby or Verrett, pointing out that they’re still mentioned in the published biographies of Martha Louise and Mette-Marit.
The subtle but important changes highlight just how small the numbers of those now representing the monarch really are. Both the king and queen, moreover, are now 87 years old and their work schedule and public appearances have been scaled back. Princess Ingrid Alexandra, age 20, is currently serving in the military and her mother, Mette-Marit, has a chronic lung disease. Crown Prince Haakon has thus been carrying out most of the royal duties, but can’t handle the numbers of appearances expected alone.
Historian Trond Norén Isaksen, who follows the royals closely, wrote in newspaper Aftenposten on Tuesday that this year marked the first time there were no royals at a large annual cultural festival in Bergen, for example. He also noted how the number of official appearances outside royal residences has plummeted, from 267 in 2013 to 157 last year.
“The weakening of the Norwegian crown didn’t begin when Marius Borg Høiby was arrested or Princess Martha Louise sold her wedding,” Isaksen wrote in an article headlined The invisible monarchy. “Support has fallen since 2017,” he added, when the royals’ public appearances noticeably began to decline. He hopes Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus can soon start making more public appearances themselves. Martha Louise, meanwhile, no longer represents the royals because, as Isaksen put it, “of her failure to understand her role” as a princess.
Isaksen is among those urging the king to withdraw Martha Louise’s title. King Harald confirmed on Tuesday, when he did make an appearance to deliver the Kavli Prize, that there will be “new conversations” with his daughter regarding her use of her princess title for commercial gain.
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
