When he was born in 1973, Norway still follows the patrilineal primogeniture where males precede in the line of succession, thus, he was ahead of his older sister, Princess Martha Louise, in the line of succession to the Norwegian throne.
Norway altered its succession law to Absolute Primogeniture Law in 1990 but, unlike in Sweden, it was not done retroactively, and only affects children born after the implementation, thus, Prince Haakon remains The Crown Prince.
 |
| The Crown Prince and his father, King Harald V |
 |
| Three generations: King Harald V, Crown Prince Haakon, and Princess Ingrid Alexandra ©The Royal Court of Norway |
Crown Prince Haakon obtained a BA degree in Political Science from the University of California Berkeley in 1999 and completed his Master of Science degree in Developmental Studies from the London School of Economics in 2004.
 |
| Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit ©The Royal Court of Norway |
He also completed his training for Naval Officer in the Norwegian Armed Forces in 1995. As Crown Prince, he is a general in both the Norwegian Army and the Royal Norwegian Air Force, as well as being an admiral in the Royal Norwegian Navy.
 |
| Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit |
He wed Mette-Marit Tjessem Holby on August 25, 2001 and together have two children: Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus. Mette-Marit has a son from her previous relationship.Â
Official duties
Crown Prince Haakon carries out a wide variety of official engagements in Norway every year, focusing especially on entrepreneurship and innovation in Norwegian business, youth and diversity, and nature - with special regard for the ocean and the issue of climate change.
The Crown Prince is very active in the international sphere, where young leadership and the fight against poverty are issues particularly close to his heart.
In 2003 he was appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In this capacity, he goes on an annual field visit to UNDP-funded projects all over the world.Â
In his work for UNDP, Crown Prince Haakon puts special emphasis on the Sustainable Development Goals. Goal number one - the fight to alleviate poverty – and number four - sustainable oceans - are at the core of his efforts.
In 2006, Crown Prince Haakon was one of three founders of the organization Global Dignity - a worldwide initiative to promote values-based leadership.Â
He is actively engaged in The Crown Prince and Crown Princess's Foundation which identifies and supports projects for young people in Norway with the objective of strengthening youth leadership and integration.
The Crown Prince was a member of the Young Global Leaders network from its establishment in 2005 and up to 2010. Between 2010 and 2017 the Crown Prince served as a member of the Young Global Leaders Foundation Board. The network originated in the World Economic Forum
Line of Succession to the British Throne
The Norwegian royals are the first foreign royals listed in the line of succession to the British throne. King Harald V of Norway is the great-great-grandson of King Edward VII, through his grandmother, Queen Maud, who was Edward VII's youngest daughter.
 |
| The Crown Prince couple, their children, and pet dogs celebrating National Day ©The Royal Court of Norway |
The King is a second cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. Currently, the Norwegian royals follow the Duke of Fife's descendants in the line of succession to the British throne. Crown Prince Haakon is around 70th in the British line of succession.Â
He is a third cousin to Charles, the Prince of Wales, as well as a blood relative to other monarchs - King Felipe VI of Spain, King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden, King Philippe of the Belgians, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, through their common ancestors, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and King Christian IX of Denmark. Â
Leisure interests
The Crown Prince has many leisure interests and is a passionate surfer and lover of music. He also enjoys skiing, especially "Telemark", as well as kiting on both snow and water.Â
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess have an active family life and spend a great deal of time with their children enjoying outdoor recreational activities.
Source: The Royal Court of Norway
0 Comments