{"id":7935,"date":"2026-08-28T13:08:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T13:08:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7935"},"modified":"2026-08-28T13:08:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T13:08:52","slug":"norways-crown-prince-becomes-king-haakon-viii-after-his-fathers-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7935","title":{"rendered":"Norway\u2019s crown prince becomes King Haakon VIII after his father\u2019s death"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By JAN M. OLSEN and STEFANIE DAZIO, Associated Press<\/strong><\/p>\n

COPENHAGEN, Denmark \u2014 Norway has a new king, whose tasks will include stabilizing the Scandinavian country\u2019s monarchy and boosting the royal family\u2019s popularity after his wife\u2019s past contacts with deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his stepson\u2019s rape conviction.<\/p>\n

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Crown Prince Haakon, 53, became King Haakon VIII when his father, Harald V, died Friday at 89. Haakon adopted the motto, \u201cAll for Norway,\u201d that dates back to his great-grandfather. His wife became Queen Mette-Marit, while his oldest child became Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra and the heir to the throne.<\/p>\n

Haakon knows the ropes. As his father aged and his health began to fail in recent years, the prince stepped in as the country\u2019s regent on several occasions.<\/p>\n

Norway\u2019s monarchy has old roots, tracing its origins to King Harald Fairhair in the ninth century. When Norway regained its independence from Sweden in 1905, three-quarters of voters in a national plebiscite approved restoring the monarchy. Today, the role is largely symbolic as the power lies with an elected parliament, but the country\u2019s royal family retains celebrity and a role in promoting the wealthy nation around the world.<\/p>\n

Haakon is the younger child of Harald, born two years after his sister, Princess M\u00e4rtha Louise. As the oldest male, however, he became heir to the throne when his grandfather, King Olav, died in 1991. The Norwegian Constitution was altered in 1990 to allow future firstborns \u2014 regardless of gender \u2014 to take precedence in the line of succession. However, it was not applied retroactively.<\/p>\n

Haakon said in a 1998 book that as a child he dreamed of owning a toy shop, but he soon realized that his path was already paved and one day he would become king.<\/p>\n

He holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in political science from the University of California at Berkeley and a master\u2019s degree in development studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science, with a specialization in international trade and Africa. In 1995, he graduated from the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy, and he also completed the Foreign Ministry\u2019s trainee program for diplomats.<\/p>\n

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An avid surfer, skier and sportsman, he told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that if he hadn\u2019t been a royal, he would have been a surfer. A music lover \u2014 he likes rock and rap \u2014 he attended festivals across Europe as a youth.<\/p>\n

Haakon sought the king\u2019s permission to marry<\/h4>\n

Haakon knew his relationship would face an uphill battle for acceptance when he met Mette-Marit Tjessem H\u00f8iby at a popular music festival in Norway in 1999. She was a single mother whose son\u2019s father had been sentenced to prison for cocaine possession, and she had been seen at parties where illegal drugs were used.<\/p>\n

The country was divided. Some cheered for love, others were skeptical. The Norwegian newspaper VG wrote in 2000 that Haakon \u201clives closer to the people than any other heir to the throne before him.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a May 2000 interview with NRK, Haakon said that in the early 1990s, \u201ca youth culture emerged in Oslo\u201d and he acknowledged that Mette-Marit was \u201can active part of this environment at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt is clear that there is relatively extravagant partying there,\u201d Haakon said.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, he won permission from his father, who had also married a commoner, to wed Mette-Marit. And despite her background, the Norwegian people found much to like about this statuesque blond woman with striking eyes and a ready smile, a down-to-earth manner and an undisguised love for Haakon.<\/p>\n

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They wed in August 2001 at the Oslo Cathedral. The couple\u2019s popularity soared thanks to a carefully cultivated blend of the common touch and the glamour and grace demanded of royalty. They were constantly on the covers of gossip magazines, yet tried to live relatively normal and private family lives.<\/p>\n

They have two children, Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus. Haakon also became the stepfather of Mette-Marit\u2019s son, Marius Borg H\u00f8iby, who has no royal title.<\/p>\n

Royal family\u2019s reputation took a hit from H\u00f8iby\u2019s trial<\/h4>\n

In June, H\u00f8iby was sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of rape. He was found guilty of two of the four rape charges he was facing and acquitted of the other two. He was also convicted of assault and abuse in a close relationship. H\u00f8iby\u2019s lawyers said he will appeal the convictions.<\/p>\n

The trial unfolded amid renewed scrutiny of the royal family following disclosures about Mette-Marit\u2019s past contacts with Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased sex offender. She has publicly apologized for the association and said she exercised poor judgment in maintaining contact with him. She isn\u2019t accused of any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

In a television interview in March, she said she was manipulated and deceived by Epstein and felt unsafe during a 2013 encounter with him at his Palm Beach, Florida, mansion.<\/p>\n

In 2018, the royal palace announced that Mette-Marit had been diagnosed with a rare form of chronic pulmonary fibrosis, meaning she sometimes must take a break from her official duties. The incurable condition made breathing increasingly difficult, and she had a dry cough and fatigue, weight loss and loss of appetite. She received a lung transplant in June.<\/p>\n

In connection with the couple\u2019s 50th birthdays in 2023, NRK interviewed Haakon and aired an old video of him playing guitar, with Ingrid Alexandra and Mette-Marit singing, and another one where he and his children mimic the moves of a Norwegian rapper. He watched the clips and burst into laughter, saying that they showed that \u201cI am all in.\u201d<\/p>\n

One task for the new king will be to shore up popular support for the royal family. While a majority of people still support it, the proportion has declined in recent years and took a battering this year as H\u00f8iby\u2019s trial played out. Critics of Haakon\u2019s sister, M\u00e4rtha Louise, who has written books in which she claimed to have contact with angels, also blame her for the family\u2019s reputational troubles.<\/p>\n

M\u00e4rtha Louise, who was previously married for 14 years, in 2024 wed Durek Verrett, an American who describes himself as a shaman and a healer on his website. In 2022, she announced that she would no longer officially represent the Norwegian royal house, following \u201cmany questions relating to me and my fianc\u00e9\u2019s role.\u201d<\/p>\n

A poll published by Norway\u2019s Dagbladet newspaper in late 2022 showed 68% of respondents saying they wanted to keep the monarchy. When NRK asked the same question in 2017, support for the royal house stood at 81%.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

Dazio reported from Berlin. Olsen, a former AP journalist, contributed reporting previously for this story.<\/p>\n

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