Norway’s Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra to return to Australia for university, palace confirms

Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway will return to Australia to resume her degree next year, Norway’s Royal House has announced.

The 22-year-old became crown princess and next-in-line to the throne on August 28 when her grandfather King Harald V died, aged 89. Her father was crowned King Haakon VIII in an official swearing in ceremony days later.

The royal will return to Sydney University in February for the start of the new semester in 2027 after having to cut short her stay in June this year.

Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra abruptly left Sydney to return to Norway as her family faced several unprecedented challenges.

Her mother, the now Queen Mette-Marit, received a lung transplant within days of her daughter’s return home after battling pulmonary fibrosis since 2018.

Also in June, Marius Borg Høiby − her half-brother and stepson to the now-king − was convicted of rape and assault and sentenced to four years in prison. The case has been appealed and will be heard again in February next year soon after Ingrid returns to Australia.

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The crown princess’ late grandfather had also been in and out of hospital towards the middle of the year before Harald V later died after contracting a serious blood infection.

The monarch, who reigned for 35 years, was farewelled at a state funeral on September 9 attended by foreign royalty and heads of state from around the world.

Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra joined her parents − Norway’s new king and queen − and her grandmother Queen Sonja on the palace balcony after the service for the first time.

The official mourning period for the Royal House will come to an end on Friday, allowing its members to resume their duties.

A statement from the palace on Thursday morning (Australian time) confirmed Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra would soon return to Australia.

“Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra will continue to prioritise her studies, and will participate in some official occasions until she returns to Australia to start her studies in February,” it said.

Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra had moved to Sydney in late July 2025 and in August began the three-year degree at Sydney University in social science, specialising in international relations and politics. 

Weeks later, she was visited by her parents who helped her settle into life on the other side of the world, taking up residence inside the prestigious St Andrew’s College, in a private room with a shared bathroom, where the annual fee is around $44,000 per year.

In an interview with Norwegian media, done on campus at Sydney University in November, Ingrid Alexandra said her course would be “relevant” for her future job as Queen of Norway. 

“I definitely think that my education will be very relevant to the job I will do in the future,” Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra said.

“I think it is important to have a basic understanding of the political system, of international relations, and how things work.”

This year - on May 17 - nine.com.au was there when the princess carried out her first public appearance in Australia, attending Norway’s National Day celebrations in Sydney.

Days later, a 63-year-old Australian man was issued with a two-year restraining order after sending the princess a letter to her university dorm, claiming he wanted to be her friend. 

But Ingrid Alexandra’s time in Australia was unexpectedly cut short when she left Sydney to return to Oslo on June 2 to be with her mother. Three days later, the Royal House announced Mette-Marit was officially on the transplant waiting list.

Mette-Marit received a lung transplant barely a week later and Ingrid Alexandra has been there to help with her mother’s recovery and rehabilitation.

On August 10, the young princess started at the University of Oslo where she is continuing her studies on exchange from Sydney University.

It was widely expected that Ingrid Alexandra would not return to Australia because of the obligations of her new role. The crown princess has been a visible and prominent figure alongside her father since he came to the throne in August and many thought she would be needed more in Norway to support her father.

The update from the palace on Thursday said Queen Mette-Marit was “still in rehabilitation after her lung transplant”. The 53-year-old will initially have no official program until mid-next year.

She has been forced to miss two major occasions since her husband’s accession to the throne because of infections related to her transplant.

The queen was absent from Haakon’s swearing in ceremony and the crown princess took her mother’s place at the historic event. Mette-Marit was also missing from the opening of parliament last week.

Queen Mette-Marit once lived in Australia before she married into the royal family 25 years ago. In the early 1990s, when she was known as Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, the now-queen came to Victoria on exchange.

She spent around six months at Wangaratta High School as part of the Youth for Understanding student exchange program, between 1990-1991.

Ingrid Alexandra makes royal history

Ingrid Alexandra is the first royal to benefit from a change to Norway’s succession laws in 1990 that made it possible for the eldest child of the monarch, of either sex, to inherit the throne.

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She is now first in the order of succession of the House of Glücksburg, which has ruled the Scandinavian country since 1905.

When the time comes, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra will make history by becoming the country’s first queen regnant in 600 years.

On September 1 when King Haakon took the oath of allegiance inside the Storting (Norway’s parliament) it was his daughter who was by his side.

Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra later signed her own oath of allegiance at the Royal Palace, making history in the process and allowing her to serve as regent, when needed.

Earlier this year, Norway’s parliament had put forth Ingrid Alexandra to serve as regent as her grandfather’s health declined, and her father was needed to care for Mette-Marit. Parliament was due to vote on the constitutional regency reforms in November.

However, as crown princess and now having signed the oath of loyalty, Ingrid Alexandra can serve as regent without parliament voting on the issue.

On Friday, following the opening of the new parliamentary year, the crown princess attended a Council of State meeting at the Royal Palace in Oslo which is expected to become one of her regular duties now she is heir.