Aug. 30, 2026

Who Is King Haakon VIII? Norway’s New King, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra and the New Line of Succession

Show Notes
Transcript

Who is Norway’s new king, and what happens to the Royal Family after the death of King Harald V? Crown Prince Haakon has become King Haakon VIII—but Norway will not hold a British-style coronation. Could the new king instead have a consecration ceremony at Nidaros Cathedral, and what royal traditions will mark the beginning of his reign?

Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 22, is now Crown Princess and heir apparent. Could she become Norway’s first reigning queen in more than 600 years? Why is she ahead of her younger brother, Prince Sverre Magnus, while Haakon inherited the throne ahead of his older sister, Princess Märtha Louise? And why is Marius Borg Høiby not included in Norway’s line of succession?

We explain the complete Norwegian succession, the shortage of working royals and the growing responsibilities facing Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra. Plus, can King Haakon and Queen Mette-Marit stabilize a monarchy damaged by health concerns, the Marius Borg Høiby criminal case and the Jeffrey Epstein controversy? King Haakon has kept the royal motto “All for Norway”—but can he preserve the popularity and national trust built by his father?

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Palace Intrigue is a daily British royal family podcast covering King Charles, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and the House of Windsor. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network.

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Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I am your host,

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Mark Francis. We'll continue to bring you these updates from

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our sister series, Crown and Controversy, Norway. With King Harald's death,

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Norway has entered a new reign, but the transition is

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much less theatrical than what we saw in Britain after

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the death of Queen Elizabeth. There will not be a

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coronation in the British sense. Norway abolished coronations more than

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a century ago. Harkin could choose instead to have a

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consecration ceremony at Nadaros Cathedral in Trondheim, following the example

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of his father and grandfather. If that happens, Norway's crown

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would be displayed during this ceremony, but it would not

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actually be placed on the king's head. Traditionally, a new

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king and queen may also travel around the country afterward,

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giving Norwegians outside Oslo privileges. their first opportunity to see

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the new monarchs in their new roles. But perhaps the

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most important immediate change is not what happens to Haken,

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it is what happens to his daughter. Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 22,

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is now Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, an heir apparent to

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the Norwegian throne. That means she is no longer simply

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being prepared for the possibility of becoming Queen someday. She

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is now the person directly next in line, and her

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public role is likely to become increasingly important as the

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new reign develops. Reuters confirms that she has moved into

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the position of heir to the throne following her father's accession.

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If Ingrid Alexandra eventually succeeds her father, she will become

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Norway's first reigning queen in more than six centuries. Queen

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Margaret I ruled Norway at the end of the 14th

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and beginning of the 15th centuries, but modern Norway has

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never had a queen regnant. Ingrid Alexandra therefore represents something

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genuinely new for the present-day Norwegian monarchy. Beside her, the

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line of succession is actually very short. Second in line

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is Ingrid Alexandra's younger brother, Prince Sverre Magnus, who is

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20 years old. Third is King Haken's older sister, Princess

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Martha Louise. Then come Martha Louise's three daughters, Maud Angelica Benn.

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Fourth place, Lea Isadora Benn, fifth, and Emma Tallulah Benn, sixth.

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That is the complete current line recognised under Norway's constitutional rules.

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And there is an interesting historical quirk explaining why Haken

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became king instead of his older sister, Martha Louise. Norway

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did not introduce fully gender-neutral succession until 1990. Under the

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transition rules, men born before that change still take precedence

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over their older sisters. Haken was born in 1973, two

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years after Martha Louise, but the old male preference rule

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still applied to them. For Ingrid Alexandra's generation, it does not.

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She remains ahead of her younger brother simply because she

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was born first. Metamorit's son Marius Borg-Huebi is not in

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the succession at all. He is Harkin's stepson, not his

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biological child, and he was never a prince or a

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member of the constitutional line to the throne. So despite

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the extraordinary amount of attention surrounding his criminal case, none

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of it changes who inherits the crown. Nor does Princess

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Martha Louise's decision to step away from official royal duties

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remove her from the succession. She continues to hold the

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title of princess and remains third in line, even though

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she no longer represents the royal house in the way

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she once did. Her husband, Derek Verrett, has no place

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in the succession, while her three daughters remain behind their mother.

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The larger question now is how quickly Ingrid Alexandra begins

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taking on more visible responsibilities. Even before Harald's death, the

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royal house has already been dealing with what Norwegian commentators

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described as a shortage of working royals. Queen Metamorete's serious

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health problems have limited her public schedule, and Princess Martha

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Louise no longer performs official duties for the Royal House.

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That leaves King Harkin, Queen Metamorete, when her health permits,

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Ingrid Alexandra, Svea Magnus and Queen Sonia as the most

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obvious figures available to carry the monarchy's public workload. Ingrid

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Alexandra has been studying abroad. but the palace announced earlier

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this year that she would return to Norway for the

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autumn semester because of her mother's health situation. Even before

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becoming heir, she had begun appearing at more official engagements,

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and the royal court has said she will continue royal

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duties as her education allows. That may now take on

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greater significance. Harald's death does not mean Ingrid Alexandra suddenly

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becomes a full-time working royal overnight, and there is no

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indication that Norway intends to rush her education. But succession

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changes the context around everything she does. Every appearance becomes

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part of the preparation of a future queen. More in

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just a moment. King Harkon VIII inherits a monarchy under pressure,

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but he also inherits it at the exact moment when

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public attention is shifted from scandal to grief and succession.

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The death of a beloved monarch often strengthens the institution temporarily,

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because people who may have complicated feelings about the monarchy

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still feel a strong connection to the individual who has died.

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Political editor Kachil Oldstein of Afton Poston told CNN that

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the death of Harold may change the public atmosphere surrounding

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the family. He said, Maybe people will remember the Epstein scandal,

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but I think maybe the worst will fade away. He

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added that Harold's death could help the new king and

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queen settle into their roles, because the country may instinctively

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rally around the monarchy at a moment of national loss.

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Royal correspondent Tuva Talason made a similar point about Metamorit,

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she said, It doesn't erase what happened, and it shouldn't,

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but I believe there is more sympathy for her now.

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I am more interested now in who Metamorit will be,

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after everything she has been through, than in continuing to

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punish her for mistakes she has already acknowledged. Haken has

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already acknowledged the support surrounding the family, thanking Norwegians for

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their support and compassion for the royal family during this time.

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He has also chosen to keep the royal motto, All

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for Norway, placing his reign directly in the tradition of

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his father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Haken has spent decades preparing

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for the role, repeatedly serving as regent during his father's

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illnesses and gradually taking on more visible responsibilities. He is

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known for an informal style, an interest in environmental issues

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and the outdoors, and a reputation for being comfortable interacting

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with ordinary Norwegians. He once joked that if he had

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not been born royal, he would have liked to be

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a professional surfer. He said, I say I would have

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been a pro surfer on the world tour. Afton Poston's

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Katil Alstein said, The Norwegian royal family has managed to

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modernize gradually. Building on the popularity of King Harald, Haken

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will have a solid foundation for his reign. Tarleton put

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it even more directly. She said, I believe in him,

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and I believe the Norwegian monarchy will survive King Harald.

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That is, after all, the whole idea of a monarchy...

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The person changes, but the institution continues. That transition is

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now happening in real time. King Haakon VIII now inherits

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the crown and every unresolved problem surrounding the modern Norwegian

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royal family. He has a wife recovering from major surgery.

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He has a stepson whose criminal case remains part of

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the national conversation. He has a monarchy whose popularity has

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fallen from where it stood only a few years ago.

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He has a relatively small number of working royals, and

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he now has the responsibility of of following one of

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the most personally popular monarchs Norway has known. Historian Trond

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Norum observed that criticism surrounding the royal family rarely seemed

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to attach itself directly to Harald. He said, When things

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go wrong in the royal family, people tend to blame

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anyone but the king. And there you have it. If

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you'd like to email us, our address is thepalaceintrigue at gmail.com

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and if you'd like to get more on the whole

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royal Norwegian family, please check out our sister series, Crown

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and Controversy Norway. And just search for that wherever you

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get your podcasts. I'm Mark Francis. My thanks to John McDermott.

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This is Palace Entry.

Who Is King Haakon VIII? Norway’s New King, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra and the New Line of Succession

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