Eight out of ten Norwegians approve of keeping the monarchy as a form of government, and the greatest support King Harald and his family has comes from the younger Norwegian population. This emerges from a major survey conducted by Norway’s state TV channel NRK.
The King celebrates his 80th birthday on Tuesday 21 February and will travel abroad with his family to celebrate. In an interview, conducted earlier this week, the King refused to abdicate. The Norwegian people support the King in this decision. In the survey, which was published earlier today, 81% of the Norwegian population wanted to retain the monarchy, while only 15% thought Norway should become a republic.
It was slightly more women than men who support the monarchy, and the support for the monarchy is highest in northern Norway and on the South Coast. The support is lowest in the capital, Oslo with 69% in favour of the monarchy. 82% of those people below 30-years-old want to have a monarchy, while 79% of the respondents over 50 years support the monarchy.
King Harald and Queen Sonja anniversary monogram for their birthdays in 2017. Photo: The Royal Court / Det Kongelige Hoff.
For the occasion of his birthday, His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen granted an interview to NTB (Norwegian News Agency) where they talked about what it is like being monarchs. The King said he has no plans to abdicate; he feels healthy and says that age is only a number. “To step back is out of the question unless I receive a clear message from my children that it is time,” he remarked.
King Harald will have no public celebration next week. He and his family will celebrate the day together on holiday abroad. Her Majesty the Queen is also celebrating her 80th birthday this year, and the King and Queen will, therefore, have a joint celebration this summer.
Royal Central will have a broad coverage of this celebration.
If, as I believe, they have a constitutional monarchy then that is not a form of government any more than our British Monarchy.
You’re mostly right. The Norwegian King and PM both have to sign laws in order for them to become valid. The King meets his full cabinet every week. The role is mostly symbolic, but he does have a veto.