King Haakon VIII of Norway’s reign has begun. He succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, King Harald V, on August 28 2026. The new king has spent decades preparing for the role he has now assumed.
Haakon Magnus was born on July 20th 1973, at the National Hospital of St Hanshaugen in Oslo. He was the second child and first son of Harald and Sonja, then Crown Prince and Princess of Norway and was second in line to the throne at the time of his birth. Norway had been ruled since 1957 by his grandfather, King Olav V, but the decision was made to name the new royal after his great-grandfather, King Haakon VII, who had taken the throne in 1905 following a referendum approving the decision to name him as monarch.
Haakon was christened at the Chapel of the Royal Palace in Oslo on September 20th 1973. The young prince was educated in Oslo, and, following the completion of his schooling, he attended the Norwegian Naval Academy, graduating in 1995 before going on to study political science at the University of California. He later studied at the London School of Economics.
In 1990, the Norwegian constitution was altered to allow absolute primogeniture, but it was decided this wouldn’t be retrospective. Haakon remained in direct line to the throne with his older sister, Martha Louise, one step behind him in the succession.
On January 17th 1991, King Olav V died. He was succeeded by his son, who became King Harald. Haakon Magnus, then 17 years old, became Crown Prince of Norway.
In the three decades he spent as heir to the throne, Haakon developed a deep interest in a wide range of areas, including cultural matters, education and the environment. He was made a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme in 2003. He carries out a wide range of engagements.
In recent years, he has been regent for his father on a number of occasions as King Harald’s health necessitated.
Haakon married Mette-Marit Tjessem Hjoiby on August 25th 2001, in Oslo. The first major royal wedding of the 21st century, it had proved controversial as the bride already had a child from a previous relationship and admitted to being involved in the Oslo ‘’party’’ scene in her youth. A tearful apology in a televised interview ahead of the marriage proved a turning point, and the couple have gone on to enjoy solid popularity.
Their first child, Ingrid Alexandra, was born in January 2004, while a son, Sverre Magnus, followed in December 2005. Crown Princess Mette-Marit scaled back her public engagements after being diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and underwent a lung transplant in the summer of 2026. In the months beforehand, she had attracted criticism when her friendship with convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.
King Haakon VIII and Queen Mette-Marit will now lead their country’s monarchy into a new chapter. The heir to the throne, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, will assume more responsibilities while her brother, Prince Sverre Magnus, is now second in line.
King Haakon VIII once said that his father had tried to guide him as much as he could as he prepared to one day assume his throne. The responsibility of monarchy, laid out for him by Harald V, now falls to Europe’s newest king.
