Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway
| Crown Prince Haakon of Norway.Photo: norden.org |
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Crown Prince Haakon of Norway (born
Haakon Magnus on
July 20,
1973 in
Oslo) is the
heir apparent to the throne of
Norway. On birth he was named Prince Haakon Magnus but it was stressed in the announcement that he would go by the name Haakon. He became Crown Prince Haakon when his father ascended to the crown as Harald V in 1991.
Haakon's godparents are
King Olav V of Norway,
Princess Astrid of Norway,
Prince Carl Bernadotte,
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden,
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, and
Princess Anne, The Princess Royal. As a descendant of
Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Haakon is
currently the
61st in line to the British crown.
Haakon has one sibling,
Princess Märtha Louise (born
1971). In 1990 the Norwegian constitution was altered, granting
cognatic 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 (as, for example,
Sweden had done in 1980), meaning that Haakon continues to take precedence over his older sister.
Haakon served in the
Royal Norwegian Navy undertaking his first-level officer's education at the
Norwegian Naval Academy, followed by a year aboard
missile torpedo boats and other vessels. He then went abroad, receiving a
Bachelor of Arts degree in
political science from the
University of California, Berkeley in 1999. Haakon later attended lectures at the
University of Oslo and the
London School of Economics, as well as completing the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' civil servant introductory course in 2001.
Haakon married
commoner and
single mother Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby on
August 25,
2001, at the Oslo Cathedral, who has since then been known as
Crown Princess Mette-Marit. Their relationship met with controversy due to Mette-Marit's status as a single mother and because the couple had openly lived together before even announcing their engagement.
Their daughter,
Princess Ingrid, was born on
January 21,
2004, she is second in succession to the Norwegian throne. Mette-Marit gave birth to her third child,
Prince Sverre Magnus, on
December 3,
2005, he is third in the line to the Norwegian throne after his sister, Princess Ingrid.
In addition to his official duties, Haakon has a strong interest in cultural matters.
Beginning Tuesday afternoon
November 25,
2003, and ending in the evening of
12 April,
2004, Haakon was the country's
regent, during the King's treatment for cancer and the following convalescence period. Likewise, Haakon was Norway's regent from
29 March,
2005 until the King had fully recovered from the heart surgery he underwent on
1 April. This period ended on
7 June.
In January
2006 Haakon (along with the Norwegian Royal Family) revised his patronage list. He now will have twelve patronage roles in his portfolio including the annual
Bjørnson literary festival. The patronage roles will last for five years, after which they will be up for renewal and other groups can apply for royal support.
*
Official biography*
The Royal Norwegian Order of St Olav - Crown Prince Haakon a recipent of the Grand Cross with Collar
