Haakon of Norway will go down in history as the last heir of Europe who walked towards the throne, in the middle of the 21st century, even with an older sister. In 1971, Norway abolished the Salic law, which prevented women from reigning, and Princess Marta Lluïsa could have reigned if her brother had not been born, but it was not until 1990 that the succession law was approved that determines that the heir is the eldest son, regardless of whether he is male or female. Princess Ingrid, Haakon’s eldest daughter, was already born with these rights and, when the time comes, she will be the heir over her brother, Sverre Magnus.
The Crown Prince of Norway turns 50 today, a more than adequate age to serve as king, and in fact, unlike the other in waiting who is in his fifties, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, he has already served as regency several times due to the chakras of his father, King Harald.
The current Norwegian sovereign had to wait until the age of 54 to take the throne, which from 1957 to 1991 was occupied by his father, King Olaf, who, in turn, became king at the age of 55. The last three Norwegian kings (the first since the Middle Ages) died wearing the crown.
Norway’s current royal dynasty is just over a century old. When it separated from Sweden in 1905, the provisional government called a referendum to choose either a monarchy, like Sweden, or a republic, as Finland would later do; he won the first choice and they sent for a Danish prince to put him on the throne. His name was Charles, but he reigned as the first Haakon of the modern era, in homage to the Norwegian kings of the Middle Ages.
Haakon VII, like his son Olaf V later, established the foundations of a modern and popular monarchy, far removed from the narrow-mindedness of other European courts. Prince Haakon, like his father, was brought up in this environment. His father was the first European prince to marry a bourgeois, Sonia Haraldsen, and Haakon himself went a step further when he married Mette-Marit Tjessem, a single mother with a “wild past”, as she herself admitted at the press conference before the wedding, which took place in Oslo on 25 August 2001.
Marius, the son contributed by the princess, who has no right to the throne, was followed by Ingrid Alexandra and Sverre Magnus. After the first few years of adjustment, Mette-Marit has ceased to be the object of attention, and those who know Haakon say that he is probably the most intelligent and modern prince in Europe, committed to the problems of refugees, the environment and youth. He studied in public schools in Oslo and later studied Political Science in the United States and the United Kingdom and Social Science in Norway, as well as military training.
In recent years he has had to contend with the relationship between sister Marta Lluïsa and the shaman Durek Verrett, the only setback for the placid Norwegian court. He maintains an excellent relationship with King Felipe, despite the fact that it is not true that he introduced Eva Sannum to him or that the young woman was from his circle of friends. King Olaf and Joan de Borbó, as well as being second cousins, were close friends all their lives, and the relationship has been passed down to their grandchildren. Not much more can be said about Haakon, the quiet prince.
