HRH Crown Prince Haakon

Crown Prince Haakon represents the fourth generation of the Norwegian royal family. After he came of age, his duties as heir to the throne have increased. For several years yet to come his primary concern will be his education. The Crown Prince graduated from upper secondary school in the spring of 1992, before embarking upon his military service in the Navy.

The Crown Prince is the son of King Harald and Queen Sonja and was born on 20 July 1973. The royal line began when the Crown Princes great grandfather, Haakon VII, came to Norway in 1905 after the dissolution of the union with Sweden. The Crown Princes grandfather was Olav V, who died in January 1991.

King Olav informed the Korvald government of the birth of the heir presumptive at an extraordinary Council of State on 23 July 1973 -- and at the same time announced that the Prince would be called Haakon Magnus.

Both names have royal traditions in Norway. The Crown Princes great grandfather was the seventh king to be called Haakon, and many kings bore the name of Magnus in the Middle Ages. The Crown Prince now uses only his first name, Haakon.

At his christening in the Palace chapel on 20 September 1973, the heir pre-sumptive was carried by his mother and baptized by the then Bishop of Oslo, Dr. theol. Kaare Støylen. His godparents included the three Scandinavian monarchs, King Olav of Norway, King Carl Gustav of Sweden and Queen Margrethe of Denmark.

Crown Prince Haakon and his sister, Princess Märtha Louise, grew up at their father's childhood home, the beautiful Skaugum estate in Asker, about twenty kilometres south-west of Oslo. His parents wanted his childhood to be as similar to that of other Norwegian children as possible. The royal children therefore attended a municipal nursery school and local primary and secondary schools.

Although his sister was born two years earlier, Crown Prince Haakon is the heir to the throne. According to the Constitution, Norway has a linear succession, and the right of succession was previously also agnatic (i.e. the oldest legitimate "man born of man" inherited the throne). The Constitution has now been changed so that women can also accede to the throne, but as an interim arrangement it was decided that the male line should have precedence for those born before 1990. In practice, this means that Princess Märtha Louise would only accede to the throne if her brother were to die before having any children or grandchildren.

Crown Prince Haakon took his upper secondary diploma from the Kristelig Gymnasium in the spring of 1992. He chose general studies, with a focus on business economics and law. Just two weeks after graduation, he appeared at the naval training school, KNM Harald Hårfagre, at Madlamoen on the outskirts of Stavanger. After five weeks of basic training he returned to the school bench and spent a year at the Officers Candidate School/Navy at Horten. Afterwards he carried out the first level of education at the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy in Bergen. From August 1995, he will serve a year of internship as a sub-lieutenant on one of the Navy's ships, the KNM Lom.

The Crown Prince has thus broken with the military traditions of his father and grandfather. King Harald received his education in the Army, while King Olav had his background from both the Army and the Navy. The Crown Prince, however, is following in the footsteps of his great grandfather, who was trained as an officer in the Danish Navy.

The Crown Prince came of age on 20 July 1991, when he turned 18. On the same day he participated for the first time in a meeting of the Council of State. On Friday 22 May 1992 he presided over the Council of State for the first time, substituting for King Harald who was representing Norway at Expo '92 in Seville.

Crown Prince Haakon has grown up in natural surroundings and been encouraged by his parents' interest in sports. Like his father and grandfather, he is a sailing enthusiast. The Crown Prince is also a good skier, and is keen on cycling and paragliding.

He shares his sisters interest in culture and art, and is an avid patron of the theatre. His favourite dramatist is Henrik Ibsen, while his musical tastes vary.

The Norwegian royal family has close ties to the Danish, Swedish and British royal families. King Haakon VII was the second son of King Frederik VIII of Denmark. His wife, Queen Maud, mother of King Olav, was the daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of England. King Olav's wife, Märtha, was the second daughter of Swedish Prince Carl and Princess Ingeborg. Crown Prince Haakon's mother, Queen Sonja, comes from an Oslo family and was married to Crown Prince Harald in 1968.

Crown Prince Haakon can approach his future duties in the knowledge that the royal family has a strong position in the hearts of the Norwegian people. King Haakon VII (1905-57), his son Olav V (1957-91) and his son, Harald V (1991-) all chose the motto Alt for Norge! (All for Norway!).