Last week, Norway’s parliament voted on keeping the monarchy, causing much debate and some controversy. The proposal to establish a republic in Norway came from the country’s sitting Minister of Culture, who only a year ago took an oath of loyalty to the King. However, the proposal fell through with 134 votes in favour of the monarchy against 35 votes in favour of a republic.
As a result of the massive opposition to the vote, the newspaper “Nettavisen” has conducted a major survey of the population. It shows that support for the Norwegian monarchy has been further strengthened in recent months. Of the 20,000 asked in the survey, 84% say they want to keep the monarchy. Only 16% answered that they are unsure or that they want a Norwegian republic.
Only once before has the support been as strong as it is now. When King Harald marked his Silver Jubilee, 84% of the population supported the monarchy.
In an extensive survey conducted around the King’s birthday in February of this year, 78% of the population wanted to keep the monarchy in Norway. In January 2022, in connection with Princess Ingrid’s 18th birthday, 76% of the population supported the monarchy.
The Norwegian royal family has been popular for a long time, and the royals have emerged as unifying figures. There have not been any major ideological debates around the royal house in recent years, nor have major scandals damaged their reputation. However, like all monarchies, they cannot take ongoing support for granted.
The worst poll for the Norwegian monarchy was in 2001, when there was a lot of debate about the marriage of Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit. At that time, support was only 58%.
