FAQ
- Here are some questions and answers about the Norwegian monarchy. If
you have any more questions, just add them on the The Scandinavian Royals Message Board.
- If you find any examples of bad grammar or spelling, and I am sure
you will, do not hesitate to tell
me. I will appreciate it.
- This page was last updated on 3 of May 2003.
-
- 1. What is the name of the Norwegian Royal
Family and how did this family gain the throne?
- 2. Can a woman become Queen Regnant in Norway?
- 3. Have there been any Queen Regnants in Norway?
- 4. Where can I find the part of the Constitution
that regards the succession in English?
- 5. Who are in line of succession to the Norwegian
throne?
- 6. If the current Act of Succession with cognatic
succession had applied when the House of Oldenburg became the Royal House
of Norway in 1905, who would then have been Sovereign of Norway today?
- 7. If Christian Frederik had managed to remain
King of Norway, who would then have been King of Norway today according
to Salic law?
- 8. Who was the last King to be crowned?
- 9. Why were the Kings of Sweden also Kings
of Norway 1814-1905?
- 10. Which Monarch reigned for the longest period?
- 11. Which Monarch reigned for the shortest
period?
- 12. Can a Prince/Princess of Norway marry whomever
he/she wants?
- 13. What power does the King have today?
- 14. Which are the Norwegian noble titles?
- 15. What is the Norwegian Coat of Arms?
- 16. Which are the Royal Regalias?
- 17. Which is the finest Norwegian Order?
- 18. How is King Harald V related to other European
Monarchs?
- 1. What is the name of
the Norwegian Royal Family and how did this family gain the throne?
- The name is Oldenburg, the branch Schlesvig-Holstein-Sønderborg-Glücksborg.
In 1905 the union between Norway and Sweden ended. The crown was first
offered to the deposed King Oscar II's third son Carl, but that was not
acceptable to the Swedish Royal Family. Instead the crown was offered to
Prince Carl of Denmark, second son of King Frederik VIII. The Prince demanded
that his election should be approved by the people in a referendum, and
it was. Prince Carl became King of Norway under the name Haakon VII.
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- 2. Can a woman become Queen
Regnant in Norway?
- Yes, the Constitution was changed in 1990. Before that Salic Law applied,
but now Norway has cognatic succession, which means that the oldest child
inherites the throne. But it doesn't effect members of the Royal Family
born before 1990. Therefore Harald V's son Haakon is still Crown Prince,
even though his sister Märtha Louise is older.
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- 3. Have there been any
Queen Regnants in Norway?
- Yes, once.
- Margareta, Queen 1380-1412. Born 1353 at Söborg, Denmark.
Parents: King Valdemar Atterdag of Denmark and Helvig of Sönderjylland.
Ruled Denmark from 1376 and Norway from 1380 in the name of her son Olav.
Defeated Albrekt 24 of February 1389 and was recognized as Queen of Sweden
(a title she had used since 1375). She later ruled in the name of Erik,
who in 1389 had been elected King of Norway and in 1396 King of Denmark
and Sweden. She died 28 of October 1412 onboard her ship in the port of
Flensborg. Married 9 of April 1363 at Copenhagen's Palace to King Håkan
VI of Norway. Child: Olav (1370-1387).
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- 4. Where can I find the
part of the Constitution that regards the succession in English?
- You can find it right here.
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-
- 5. Who are in line of succession
to the Norwegian throne?
- The list is very short:
- 1. Crown Prince Haakon (b. 1973). The King's son.
- 2. Princess Märtha Louise (b. 1971). The King's daughter.
- 3. Maud Angelica Behn (2003). Princess Märtha Louise's daughter.
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- 6. If the current Act of
Succession with cognatic succession had applied when the House of Oldenburg
became the Royal House of Norway in 1905, who would then have been Sovereign
of Norway today?
- Princess Ragnhild, Mrs Lorentzen. If cognatic succession had applied,
Olav V would have been succeded by his daughter Ragnhild in 1991, instead
of by his son Harald. All provided, of course, that her marriage to Erling
Lorentzen had been approved by the King.
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- 7. If Christian Frederik
had managed to remain King of Norway, who would then have been King of
Norway today according to Salic law?
- No one! When Denmark lost Norway to Sweden, Prince Kristian Frederik
was elected king. Norway was though forced but Sweden to elect the Swedish
King Carl XIII (in Norway Carl II) and Christian Frederik left for Denmark.
In 1838 he succeeded his uncle, King Frederik VI, as King of Denmark. But
his son, Frederik VII, had no sons and a new Royal House was elected in
Denmark. Noone can tell, what Norway would have done in 1863, when Frederik
VII died.
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- 8. Who was the last King
to be crowned?
- That was Haakon VII. He was crowned as King of Norway in the Cathedral
of Trondheim in 1906.
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- 9. Why were the Kings of
Sweden also Kings of Norway 1814-1905?
- In 1810 Jean Baptiste Bernadotte was elected Crown Prince of Sweden.
The Swedes hoped that he would regain Finland, that had been lost to Russia
in 1809. Bernadotte, however, had other plans. In 1814 he and the army
defeated Denmark, and the Danes had to leave Norway to Sweden. The Norwegians
opposed this and elected a King of their own, Kristian Frederik. Therefore
Bernadotte attacked Norway and forced Kristian Frederik to give up his
claim. Sweden accepted the new Norwegian Constitution of May 17, 1814,
and Norway agreed to have the King of Sweden (Carl XIII) as their King
(but in Norway he was called Carl II.) When the King died in 1818, Bernadotte
became King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden and Carl III of Norway. In the end
of the 19th century the Norwegians became more and more nationalistic and
they wanted to end the union. In 1905 the Norwegian Parliament deposed
King Oscar II. A war was avoided, and the negotiations in Karlstad resulted
in a peaceful separation. The Danish Prince Carl was elected King of Norway.
He took the name Haakon VII.
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- 10. Which Monarch reigned
for the longest period?
- That was Harald I, who reigned for abt 68 years in 865-933.
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- 11. Which Monarch reigned
for the shortest period?
- Christian Frederik, who was elected in 1814, but was forced by the
Swedes to abdicate.
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- 12. Can a Prince/Princess
of Norway marry whomever he/she wants?
- No, he/she needs the consent of the King.
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- 13. What power does the
King have today?
- According to the Constitution he is quite powerful, but in reality
he has the same position as e.g. the British Queen. He appoints the Prime
Minister, but he always appoints the one that he knows will be accepted
by the Parliament.
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- 14. Which are the Norwegian
noble titles?
- The Norwegian Nobility is abolished.
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- 15. What is the Norwegian
Coat of Arms?
- A Golden lion with a Silver Ax on a red background. You find a picture
here:
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- 16. Which are the Royal
Regalias?
- The King's crown, sceptre and apple, the sword, the Queen's crown,
sceptre and apple, and the Heir's crown.
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- 17. Which is the finest
Norwegian Order?
- That is the Order of Saint Olav.
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- 18. How is King Harald
V related to other European Monarchs?
- Denmark
- King Harald V and Queen Margrethe II are second cousins twice. They
are descendants of the Danish King Frederik VIII. These are the lines:
Frederik VIII - Haakon VII - Olav V - Harald V and Frederik VIII - Christian
X - Frederik IX - Margrethe II.
- And also: Frederik VIII - Ingeborg - Märtha - Harald V and Frederik
VIII - Christian X - Frederik IX - Margrethe II.
- Sweden
- King Carl XVI Gustaf and King Harald V are second cousins once removed.
They are descendants of the Swedish (and Norwegian) King Oscar II. These
are the lines: Oscar II - Gustaf V - Gustaf VI Adolf - Gustaf Adolf - Carl
XVI Gustaf and Oscar II - Carl - Märtha - Harald V.
- Belgium
- King Harald V and King Albert II are first cousins. They are descendants
of the Swedish Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland. These are
the lines: Carl - Märtha - Harald V and Carl - Astrid - Albert II.
- United Kingdom
- King Harald V and Queen Elizabeth II are second cousins. They are descendants
of the British King Edward VII. These are the lines: Edward VII - Maud
- Olav V - Harald V and Edward VII - George V - George VI - Elizabeth II.
- Spain
- King Harald V and King Juan Carlos are third cousins. They are descendants
of the British Queen Victoria. These are the lines: Victoria - Edward VII
- Maud - Olav V - Harald V and Victoria - Beatrice - Eugenie (Ena) - Juan
- Juan Carlos.
- Luxembourg
- King Harald V and Grand Duke Henri are first cousins once removed.
They are descendants of Carl, Duke of Västergötland. These are
the lines: Carl - Märtha - Harald V and Carl - Astrid - Joséphine-Charlotte
- Henri.
- The Netherlands
- King Harald V and Queen Beatrix are third cousins once removed. They
are descendants of Wilhelm of Nassau-Weilburg. These are the lines: Wilhelm
- Sofia - Carl - Märtha - Harald V and Wilhelm - Helene - Adelheid
Emma - Wilhelmine - Juliana - Beatrix.
- Liechtenstein
- King Harald V and Prince Hans Adam II are fourth cousins once removed.
They are descendants of King Maximilian I Josef of Bavaria. These are the
lines: Maximilian I Josef - Augusta - Josephine - Oscar II - Carl - Märtha
- Harald V and Maximilian I Josef - Karl Ludwig - Elisabeth - Franz Josef
II - Hans Adam II.
- Monaco
- King Harald V and Prince Rainier III are sixth cousins once remove.
They are descendants of Ludwig IX, landgrave of Hessen-Darmstadt. These
are the lines (Harald V is a descendants of Ludwig IX in four different
ways. This is one of them): Ludwig IX - Friederike - Friedrich Wilhelm
III - Louise - Louise - Louise - Haakon VII - Olav V - Harald V and Ludwig
IX - Amalie Frederike - Karl Ludwig - Marie Elisabeth - Mary Vicotia Douglas-Hamilton
- Louis II - Charlotte - Rainier III.
- Bulgaria
- King Harald V and King Simeon II are fourth cousins once removed. They
are descendants of Franz Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. These
are the lines: Franz Friedrich - Ernst I - Albert - Edward VII - Maud -
Olav V - Harald V and Franz Friedrich - Ferdinand - August - Ferdinand
I - Boris III - Simeon II.
- Greece
- King Harald V and King Constantinos II are are third cousins. They
are descendants of the Danish King Christian IX. These are the lines: Christian
IX - Frederik VIII- Haakon VII - Olav V - Harald V and Christian IX - Giorgios
I - Konstantinos I - Giorgios II - Konstantinos II.
- Portugal
- King Harald V and Prince Duarte Pio are fifth cousins. They are descendants
of Franz Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. These are the lines:
Franz Friedrich - Ernst I - Albert - Edward VII - Maud - Olav V - Harald
V and Franz Friedrich - Ferdinand - Victoria - Gaston - Pierre - Maria
Francisca - Duarte Pio.
- Romania
- King Harald V and King Mihai I are third cousins. They are descendants
of the British Queen Victoria. These are the lines: Victoria - Edward VII
- Maud - Olav V - Harald V and Victoria - Alfred - Marie - Carol II - Mihai
I.
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