Norway’s new King Haakon VIII solemnly swore before Parliament on Tuesday to carry out his duties in line with the Norwegian constitution and laws of the land. His royal oath as head of state came just after a new public opinion poll showed a rise in support for Norway’s monarchy, which has been under lots of pressure.
King Haakon’s ceremonial presence in Parliament was the latest in a long string of royal rituals following the death on Friday of Haakon’s father, the popular King Harald V, the age of 89. Now Haakon, age 53, is following in his father’s footsteps, and addressed Parliament for the first time as reigning monarch.
He expressed hope that “the good relationship” that existed between Parliament and his father, his grandfather King Olav V and his great-grandfather King Haakon VII would continue. He confirmed that he and his wife, now known as Queen Mette-Marit, would make themselves available “for the country and (Norway’s) people.”
Queen Mette-Marit was not by King Haakon’s side on Tuesday, though, after once again having to bow out for health reasons. In addition to dealing with all the trouble tied to her son from an earlier relationship and her own former friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Norway’s new queen had to undergo a lung transplant in June and is still recovering. A statement from the Royal Palace on Tuesday morning reported that Mette-Marit was suffering more “complications” after her major surgery and needed “to remain under observation by health care personnel.
Norway’s new Queen Mette-Marit has appeared in public following the king’s death, but on Tuesday her husband King Haakon had to ride alone in the palace’s vintage 1966 Lincoln Contintental convertible to and from Parliament. It was the same car that they both rode in after their wedding at the Oslo Cathedral in 2021.
Their eldest child, though, the 22-year-old Ingrid Alexandra, was right behind him and by her father’s side during the entire ceremony in Parliament. She has become Norway’s new crown princess and next heir to the throne, and both stood and sat next to her father wearing a veil of mourning for the late King Harald whose funeral will be held next Wednesday.
Both she and her father seem to have made a good impression, meanwhile, on the Norwegian public. According to a new survey conducted by research firm Norstat for Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK), fully 72 percent of those questioned support Norway’s constitutional monarchy. Only 20 percent would prefer a republic or some other form of government, while 8 percent were unsure.
Norway’s monarchy has traditionally had strong support but it fell to 64 percent in the last Norstat poll for NRK in May, when the crown princess’ son Marius Borg Høiby was found guilty of two rapes, other forms of violence, vandalism and drug use. He has since appealed and been allowed to take part in some of the official events tied to King Harald’s death. He’ll also be allowed to attend Kong Harald’s funeral next week even though he remains in police custody.
Harald Stanghelle, a retired journalist and author who has followed the royal family closely, noted how support for the monarchy remains “fundamentally strong” in Norway but “has often varied in connection with scandals or sensations.” Its low point came in February but even then it was favored by 60 percent of the population. That was down from levels as high as 80 percent during the reign of King Olav V. His son King Harald grew popular with time and was widely seen as a unifying force in Norway, a tradition his son Haakon hopes to carry on.
The new public opinion poll also ranked royal family members individually, with King Haakon receiving a score of 8.8 on a scale of one to 10. That’s up from 8.1 percent in May and only his mother, Queen Sonja, scored higher than Haakon now with her ranking of 8.9 percent.
Now it was Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra who scored 8.1 percent in the new poll, up from 7.5 percent, while her mother Queen Mette-Marit scored just 5.2 percent. That was up, however, from just 4.4 percent in May when royal scandals raged. Prince Sverre Magnus was rated for the first time this week and earned 7.7 percent, while his aunt Princess Märtha Louise (Haakon’s older sister) scored just 3.5 percent.
Märtha-Louise’s poor score was, however, up from 3.3 percent in the poll in May. She’s been keeping a low profile throughout the royal drama of the past week when King Harald first fell seriously ill and then worsened. Her second husband, an American shaman who has stirred major controversy in Norway not least after he’d publicly criticized both King Harald and Queen Sonja, just underwent a kidney transplant at a Norwegian hospital. The looming premier of another TV series featuring their alternative lifestyles has been postponed until after her father’s funeral.
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
