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Norway

Surfing, video games and a very popular film pick – Norway’s birthday prince reveals his passions to his big sister

It wouldn’t be considered a hard-hitting interview by journalistic standards, but the charming royal siblings in Norway hit social media with an 18th-birthday interview for Prince Sverre Magnus over the weekend.

The Prince, who turned 18 on Sunday, was interviewed by his older sister, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, in their home, giving the public a chance to learn a little bit about the younger brother of a future queen.

“I had to answer these questions when I turned 18, so you have to do it as well,” Ingrid tells her younger brother, before wishing him a happy birthday.

From there, the siblings devolve into typical banter: talking about their time away at school—both attended Elvebakken, where Sverre Magnus is still studying and where Ingrid graduated earlier this year—and his interests.

Wondering what Sverre Magnus’s favourite animal is? A dog. The Crown Prince Family have a labradoodle named Molly Fiskebolle, the latest in a line of pets.

His favourite film is The Shawshank Redemption and his favourite television programme is the American comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He also likes playing Minecraft and skiing, and the first thing on his ‘bucket list’ after turning 18 is to do a parachute jump, which he’s lining up to do with one of his best friends.

Ingrid is there to humble him as well as interview him. He points out that she already knows what it’s like to parachute jump when she asks why he’s so interested in it, and she tells him, “It’s cool.”

Sverre Magnus jokes back with his sister, too. When she asks him to name reasons it’s great being her brother, he pretends that he can’t think of an answer. Ultimately, he tells her that she’s a good skier and has taught him a lot about life and friendship and that despite a lot of childhood bickering, they’ve become closer as they’ve grown up.

Back to the sibling ribbing: Ingrid asks him why he dabbed on the Royal Palace balcony in 2017, during celebrations for their grandparents’ 80th birthdays. Sverre Magnus chalks it up to a sugar rush.

“I had eaten a lot of ice cream. I think there were five ice creams down, and then I had the sugar kick just as we were going out,” the prince recalled. “We went out, and then ‘Wow!’ I thought it was all really fun.”

The moment went viral on social media, with Sverre Magnus quipping that he’d learned his lesson. Ingrid recalled that a week later, when the Royal Family were on the balcony again for a children’s engagement, “I have never seen so many children dabbling in the children’s train before.”

Like any journalist worth her salt, Ingrid asks at the end if Sverre Magnus felt she didn’t ask any questions he wanted to answer. Earlier, he’d said that he was looking forward to getting his driver’s license, and tells her that she should have asked what car he wants.

“Which car do you want?” she asks him.

“I don’t know,” he laughs.

Prince Sverre Magnus celebrated his 18th birthday with a gala luncheon at the Royal Palace in the presence of his immediate family and representatives from Norway and Norwegian youth organisations. The Royal Court also released new official portraits of the Prince.

However, unlike his father and older sister, Prince Sverre Magnus is not a member of the Royal House and is not expected to undertake official duties in the future. He is third in line to the Norwegian throne.

About author

Jess Ilse is the Assistant Editor at Royal Central. She specialises in the British, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish Royal Families and has been following royalty since Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee. Jess has provided commentary for media outlets in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Jess works in communications and her debut novel THE MAJESTIC SISTERS is now available.