Getting to Know HRH The Crown Prince of Norway

09 April 2019, Apia Samoa.  His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Norway will spend two days in Samoa this week as part of his Pacific Tour.

Being a country that most Samoans know little about, a certain level of curiosity has been raised through social media posts – some intrigued and most just curious – about His Royal Highness Haakon Magnus.

Born 20 July 1973, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Norway Haakon Magnus is the only son and younger child of King Harald V and Queen Sonja. The Crown Prince has an older sister Her Highness Princess Märtha Louis.

In accordance with Norway’s agnatic primogeniture succession (meaning solely male ancestors), Haakon became crown prince when his father ascended the throne in 1991.

In 1990, the Norwegian constitution was altered, granting absolute primogeniture to the Norwegian throne, meaning that the eldest child, regardless of gender, takes precedence in the line of succession. This was not, however, done retroactively meaning that Haakon continues to take precedence over his older sister.

Haakon has served in the Royal Norwegian Navy and took his first-level officer’s education at the Norwegian Naval Academy. He has worked aboard missile torpedo boats and other vessels. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley in 1999.  HRH ha attended lectures at the University of Oslo and took the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ civil servant introductory course in 2001. In 2003 he was awarded an MSc in development studies, specializing in international trade and Africa from the London School of Economics.

Crown Prince Haakon holds the rank of General in the Norwegian Armed Forces, Admiral in the Norwegian Navy and Rental in the Norwegian Air Force.

In 2001 (sorry ladies) Haakon married Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby and they have two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway born 21 January 2004 and Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway born 03 December 2005.

Princess Ingrid Alexandra will be the first to apply the constitutional amendment of 1990 as the elder child of the Crown Prince and Princess. She is second in line to succeed her grandfather King Harald V. A member of the House of Glücksburg, she is expected to become Norway’s second female monarch, after the 15th-century Queen Margare.

The Skaugum Estate of 242 acres is the official residence of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess. 118 acres are farmed and 124 are forest.

Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess of Norway

A Norwegian commoner and single mother, she became crown princess of Norway upon her marriage in 2001 and in this role, she has championed humanitarian projects and arts, as well as taking part in official visits at home and abroad.

By her own admission, Mette-Marit experienced a rebellious phase before she met Crown Prince Haakon Magnus. As a part-time student, she took longer than usual to complete her high school education before going on to take preparatory university courses. 

Since becoming crown princess, Mette-Marit has taken several university-level courses. In 2012, she obtained a master’s degree in Executive Management.

In the late 1990s, Mette-Marit met Crown Prince Haakon at Norway’s largest music festival, in her hometown of Kristiansand. They met at a garden party during the Quart Festival season.  Years later, after becoming a single mother she met the prince again at another party related to the festival. Marit was a single mother, her son Marius Borg Høiby, born 13 January 1997.

The Kingdom of Norway

Norway (Norge) has a population 5.3 million (2018) and is known as the westernmost, northernmost—and the easternmost—of the three Scandinavian countries.  Its west coast stretches from the North Sea near Denmark and Scotland into the Arctic Ocean and has borders with Finland, Sweden and the northwestern tip of Russia.

The head of Government is Prime Minister Erna Solberg who has held the position since 2013.

Norways capital, Oslo occupies 454 square kilometers, 242 of which are forests.

Tourism!

Norway has a growing tourism industry with the number of international tourist arrivals at Norwegian hotels reaching 9.9 million in 201. It is promoted as “arguably one of the most beautiful countries on earth famous for its natural attractions like Fjords, mountains and midnight sun, but it’s also well known for a vibrant cultural life”.

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