The death of a monarch can increase national unity and support for the king.
Norway’s new king, King Haakon VIII, hopes his wishes will be echoed in the wake of the death of his father, King Harald, who died on Friday after 35 years on the throne, the latest blow for a family rocked by scandal.
Earlier this year, the royal family was thrust into the global spotlight after Haakon’s wife of 25 years, Queen Mette-Marit, revealed her past relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and the son of a former non-royal partner went on trial for rape.
A spate of scandals has sparked an open debate in the country about the Queen’s suitability for the role, with some experts even suggesting options that could see her step down from royal duties.
However, recent criticism seems to have softened. Instead, experts now suggest that the death of Europe’s oldest reigning monarch, Harald V, could spark a new wave of support and sympathy for the clan.
“People will probably remember the Epstein scandal, but I think the worst will be behind us,” Ketil Alstadheim, political editor of Norway’s leading newspaper Aftenposten, told CNN.
Alstadheim said the death of the late king could also “help the new king and queen take up their roles and positions, as people will gather around institutions and families.”
Or, as Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gare Stoer said Friday after the news broke, “the whole country is in mourning.”
Harald’s death was officially announced on Friday at an extraordinary State Council meeting held at Norway’s Royal Palace, where the new king’s full title was formally announced. Haakon decided to live up to his personal motto: “Everything for Norway.”
In his first comments since his father’s death, Haakon thanked the Norwegian people for their “support and sympathy for the royal family during this time.”
Haakon, 53, has previously reflected on the unifying power of inheritance when talking about her grandfather’s death.
“I was impressed,” Haakon told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK in 2023. “It gave me something in terms of understanding what this was going to do for me. It was also a clear expression that people were happy with my grandfather and the facility.”
At that moment, he said, “my life changed.”
Haakon met Mette Marit in the late 1990s and they married in 2001 at Oslo Cathedral in front of 800 guests and millions of television viewers.
At the time, young Mette Marit’s frankness about what she described as a “wild life” was especially popular among young Norwegians.
“It mobilized a younger generation who felt that this was a modern monarchy, and they were able to identify with it,” Alstadheim previously told CNN. “She managed to build trust and gain respect.”
But some felt she was unconventional, given her joining one of Europe’s oldest royal families as a single mother and her reputation as a party animal.
Haakon described Mette-Marit as “confident and worldly” in the early days of their relationship.
“As soon as Mette enters the room, I notice her,” Haakon told NRK. “The fact that she had young children told me that she was not afraid of responsibility and responsibility.”
The young child would cause a major PR crisis for the royal family years later. In June, Marius Borg Hojbi, 29, was found guilty of rape and domestic violence and sentenced to four years in prison after a seven-week trial that further damaged his family’s reputation.
Mr Huibe has pleaded not guilty to the most severe charges, including rape, but has admitted to some of the lesser charges. His lawyer, Petar Sekulić, told CNN that he is currently under house arrest in Norway’s royal estate of Skaugum as he awaits a court decision on whether his appeal will be considered.
Around the same time that Hoiby’s trial began, a second scandal broke out, this time involving Mette-Marit herself.
Epstein’s files revealed that she continued to correspond extensively with the disgraced financier even after pleading guilty to soliciting sexual acts from a minor. She later expressed regret about the association, stating that it “did not represent the person I wanted to be.”
Royal historian Ed Owens said the royal family has undoubtedly suffered a “certain amount of reputational damage” as a result and the royal family faces a “difficult moment in terms of succession”.
Alstadheim cited the severe shortage of working royals, saying one of his concerns was the family’s “decreased capacity” due to a “lack of manpower.”
Princess Mette-Marit was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic progressive lung disease with a poor prognosis, in 2018, and it was announced earlier this year that she would be temporarily stepping away from royal duties to undergo a lung transplant.
But her absence “put things into perspective for a lot of people,” said Tove Taalesen, royal correspondent for news outlet Nettavisen.
“It doesn’t erase what happened, and it shouldn’t erase it, but I think there’s a lot more sympathy for her now,” she told CNN. “I’m now more interested in what happens to Mette-Marit after everything she’s been through than in continuing to punish her for the mistakes she’s already admitted.”
Despite the challenges ahead, royal commentators agree this could be a moment to unite the country and support the monarchy, with Owens calling it a “reinvigoration of national identity”.
Haakon, a king with a passion for the outdoors and more energy than any other European royal family, remains at the helm of a monarchy that has been hit hard by recent scandals but still enjoys great support among its people.
Polls in February during Mr. Whiby’s trial showed that his popularity had fallen to an all-time low, but has since rebounded. Debate over abolishing or reducing the system has occasionally raged in the UK and other countries, but is unusual in Norway.
As Alstadheim puts it, Haakon’s natural ability to “stand by the people” is what gives hope for the future of the monarchy, and his ability to modernize with the times.
In 2023, Haakon said he is often asked what he would do if he were not a member of the royal family. “I think I would have been a pro surfer on the World Tour,” he told NRK.
The new king also earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Berkeley, and credits his experience there for introducing him to people from diverse backgrounds.
“The Norwegian royal family has gradually succeeded in modernizing itself,” Alstadheim said. “Building on King Harald’s popularity, Haakon will have a strong foundation for his reign.”
Mr. Talesen agreed. “I believe in him, and I believe that the Norwegian monarchy will survive after King Harald. After all, this is the very idea of a monarchy: people change, but institutions survive,” she added.
The new king and queen have two children, and their eldest son, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra (22), is the heir to the Norwegian throne.
