Haakon VIII sworn in as king with daughter by his side, queen in hospital with complications

Norway’s King Haakon VIII has taken the oath of allegiance before parliament in the first major step of his new reign as monarch.

His daughter Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 22, signed a written oath of loyalty soon after − allowing her to serve as regent in her father’s absence − to become the first female since the Middle Ages to have the power to govern Norway.

But the historic day was marred by sadness as Haakon’s wife, the new Queen Mette-Marit, was forced to miss the formalities, suffering complications from a lung transplant in June.

King Haakon was photographed visiting his wife in hospital twice on Tuesday.

The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Storting (parliament) in Oslo, four days after King Harald V died aged 89, ending a 35-year reign.

Haakon, who automatically became king upon his father’s death on Friday, pledged to govern Norway “in accordance with its constitution and laws”.

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“I would like to express my hope that the good relationship that has existed between the Storting and my father, King Harald, my grandfather, King Olav, and my great-grandfather, King Haakon, can be maintained and then developed in line with the tasks that the country will face in the future,” he said.

“The queen and I would like to confirm that we are available to carry out our work for the country and the people. In this tradition, I, as King of Norway, have also adopted the motto ‘Everything for Norway’.”

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.

She is now next in line to the throne after the country’s succession laws were changed in 1990 to include women, and she’ll one day make history by becoming Norway’s first queen regnant in more than 600 years. 

The princess had been living in Australia for just under a year, and studying at Sydney University, but returned to Oslo in June.

King Haakon VIII travelled to the swearing-in ceremony inside the same car he used when he married Mette-Marit 25 years ago.

However, his wife is now back in hospital just months after she received a lung transplant.

The 53-year-old had been by Haakon’s side following the death of King Harald last week, taking part in several mourning events including the procession of the monarch’s coffin through the palace to the Royal Chapel on Monday.

Queen Mette-Marit’s son, Marius Borg Høiby, joined his stepfather King Haakon and his siblings and cousins in carrying the coffin, much to the surprise of many.

The 29-year-old was convicted of rape and assault in June and jailed for four years. His legal team has appealed the verdict.

Queen Mette-Marit was later seen outside the Royal Palace with the king, her mother-in-law Queen Sonja and sister-in-law Princess Märtha Louise to look at the sea of floral tributes to the late monarch, who is being remembered as Norway’s “grandfather”.

Hours later, she was admitted to hospital suffering complications from her transplant surgery in June.

A transplant, doctors said at the time, was her only chance at survival, and they had given her just two years, maximum, if she didn’t have the surgery.

“It is not uncommon for complications to occur after a lung transplant,” the National Hospital’s pulmonologist Are Holm said, via a statement, on Tuesday.

“The queen has had complications on some occasions since the operation, including today. As a result, the queen must be observed throughout the day.”

The queen had been expected to remain away from public-facing duties for a year.

Princess Märtha Louise was also seen visiting the hospital on Tuesday. Her husband, Shaman Durek Verrett, received a kidney transplant there last week.

The American healer, who starred in the Netflix documentary Rebel Royals with his wife last year, had been undergoing dialysis for several years before his surgery.

Support for the scandal-plagued monarchy rises

New polling done in the days after King Harald’s death has seen support for Norway’s monarchy rise significantly.

That’s despite the Royal House finding itself embroiled in a number of controversies, including the rape trial of the queen’s son and revelations about her past links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Support for the monarchy is now at 72 per cent, up from 64 per cent in May, according to the survey by national broadcaster NRK.

“It has often varied in connection with scandals or sensations,” journalist and author Harald Stanghelle told NRK.

“Fundamentally, the support is strong, and that we are now experiencing even stronger support in the time after King Harald’s death is to be expected.”

In February support for Norway’s monarchy plunged to 60 per cent, the lowest ever figure, because of the issues facing its key members.

“When it happens that a beloved king has passed away, I think many Norwegians want to express their support, also for the monarchy as a form of government.”

Harald’s widow, Queen Sonja, is the most popular member of the family followed by her son King Haakon and Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra.

Support for Queen Mette-Marit has increased from 4.4 to 5.2 per cent following a poll in February which found nearly half of Norwegians did not want her to be queen.

Similarly, Princess Märtha Louise, who has faced calls for her royal titles to be stripped, has risen in popularity from 3.3 to 3.5 per cent.