The Royal Family of Norway is the extended family
of King
Harald V of Norway. In
Norway there is a distinction between the Royal House and the Royal
Family. The Royal House includes only the King, Queen, those
directly in line to the throne and their spouses. Members of the
Royal House hold the style of either
Majesty (HM) or
Royal Highness (HRH) and their birthday is an official
flag flying day. Princes
and princesses of the Royal Family hold the style of
Highness (HH).
History of the monarchy
Harald I was the son of one of Norway
's regional
rulers, descended from Sweden
's Yngling
royal family. He defeated the other rulers to unite the
country and become its first
king. The
Hereditary Kingdom of Norway,
established by at least three separate genealogical lines of
monarchs each allegedly descending from
Harald
I the
Fairhair, was the only realm of
medieval Scandinavia which was officially
hereditary, not
elective.
After the death of
Haakon V of
Norway, the crown passed to his grandson
Magnus IV of Sweden.
In 1397, Denmark
, Norway, and
Sweden formed the Kalmar Union under
Queen Margaret I of Denmark
who was married to Haakon VI of
Norway and Sweden. She unofficially ruled all three
countries until her death.
Sweden
seceded from
the Kalmar Union ultimately in
1523. In 1469, the Norwegian king pledged Orkney
and Shetland
to the crown
of Scotland
as mortgage for a dowry
debt. In 1814, Denmark
ceded Norway
(but not its dependencies Iceland, Greenland and the Faroese) to
Sweden
; in 1905, Norway became independent. Its new
government offered the crown to Prince Carl, second son of
Frederick VIII of Denmark. After
being approved in a popular vote, Carl was crowned
Haakon VII of Norway.
Norway
is a
constitutional
monarchy.
List of members
Royal House
Royal Family
The Royal Family also includes:
- The son and step son of the Crown Prince -
- The King's daughter -
- The King's sisters -
Line of succession
Until 1990, only males could inherit the Norwegian throne (
Salic law). In 1990, the succession law was
changed so that the eldest child would succeed to the throne,
regardless of gender (
equal
primogeniture). This change only affects those born in 1990 or
later. For those born between 1971 and 1990, females were given
succession rights, but their brothers would be before them in the
line of succession (
primogeniture).
Females born before 1971 would still be excluded from the
succession.
In practice this means that Princess Märtha Louise, despite being
older than the Crown Prince, is placed after him and his children
in the line. Princess Ragnhild and Princess Astrid are not in the
line of succession: they were born before 1971, so Salic Law
applies to them. However, Princess Ingrid Alexandra will be placed
before her brother, because she was born after 1990.
The current line of succession includes:
- HRH The Crown
Prince
- HRH Princess
Ingrid Alexandra
- HH Prince Sverre
Magnus
- HH Princess
Märtha Louise
- Maud Angelica Behn
- Leah Isadora Behn
- Emma Tallulah Behn
Notes
1In 2002, the King (with Princess Märtha Louise's
consent) removed Princess Märtha Louise's style of
Her Royal
Highness. This was meant to loosen connections with the Royal
Family and her business life. However, she retains her title as a
Norwegian Princess and her place in the line of succession and
still carries out Royal duties on behalf of the King (though they
are reduced).
External links