Norway’s King Harald V celebrated his 89th birthday abroad on Saturday, leaving his son Crown Prince Haakon in charge of a troubled monarchy. Its popularity has fallen to an all-time low, after a series of royal scandals, but the monarch himself remains popular and is getting lots of sympathy.
King Harald made it clear long ago that he had no intention of retiring like most people do in their mid- to late 60s. More than 20 years beyond that, he still holds the Council of State with the government every Friday, has several standing “audiences” with individual ministers and the defense chief, greets most visiting dignitaries and makes varied public appearances. He also still represents Norway abroad, and just returned from a visit to the Winter Olympics in northen Italy.
Now his son is carrying on such duties as “Crown Prince Regent” while the king is on what the Royal Palace called “a private trip abroad.” That worried some, who remember how King Harald fell seriously ill while on a private trip to Malaysia just two years ago, and had to be flown home in a chartered SAS jet that serves as an air ambulance. Last year he celebrated his birthday at home in Norway.
According to a new public opinion poll, which confirms ongoing support for the king, few Norwegians would deny him a holiday abroad after the past few years of near-constant trouble within the royal family. His step-grandson Marius Borg Høiby was first arrested in August 2024 on charges of violence and vandalism that Høiby himself tied to his drug use. Just a few weeks later the king’s daughter, Princess Martha Louise, sparked more controversy after selling photo- and coverage rights to her second wedding. Then Høiby was arrested twice more and currently is on trial for 38 counts of criminal acts including assault and rape.
Just before his trial began, his mother Crown Princess Mette-Marit was exposed in US federal documents for having carried on a nearly three-year friendship with the late American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The crown princess, who’s now also ailing with a lung disease, had earlier downplayed her ties to Epstein and has more recently blamed her “poor judgment” but still hasn’t followed through with public demands for a more detailed explanation and apology, also from one of his victim-survivors.
It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that overall support for the monarchy as a state institution has fallen 10 whole percentage points just in the past month. Around 80 percent of Norwegians have traditionally supported their monarchy and royal family but that fell to 70 percent a month ago. Now a new poll conducted by research firm Norstat for Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) shows support has fallen to just 60 percent of those question.
“This is a dramatic decline, because it’s so big in such a short period of time,” author and commentator Harald Stanghelle, an editor for many years at newspaper Aftenposten, told NRK. He said those inside the Royal Place must find the poll results disturbing.
The 60 percent approval rating was the lowest Norstat has ever registered. At the same time, though, King Harald earned a “top grade” of 9.2 on a scale of one to 10, when those questioned were asked how well he represented the royal family. Queen Sonja was next in line with a score of 8.6 and Crown Prince Haakon received 7.9.
Haakon’s wife, the crown princess, however, only earned 3.7, half of what she’d received before news broke of her ties to Epstein. Questions have been rising over the past few weeks over whether she’s suited to be Norway’s queen. There’s also been a steady rise in the numbers of Norwegians who want to abolish the monarchy, from 19 percent in January to 27 percent in mid-February.
“This isn’t surprising given the news picture,” Yngve Kvistad, commentator for Oslo-based newspaper VG. On the other hand, he notes, the fall to 60 percent in favour of the monarchy “isn’t doomsday,” he said. “That’s still solid, but it is a warning.”
Stanghelle noted that at least support for King Harald himself is “firm as a mountain … and that can be some encouragement for him on his 89th birthday.” The canons also still roared around the country at noon on February 21, as they have since he became monarch after the death of his father, King Olav, in January 1991. He’s reportedly in the Canary Islands, not as far away as Malaysia and much warmer than Norway right now. He won’t be back until just before March 9, when the crown prince is no longer listed as “regent” in the royal program.
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
