Crown Prince Haakon of Norway

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway; Credit – Royal House of Norway

Crown Prince Haakon Magnus of Norway was born on July 20, 1973, at the Rikshospitalet in Oslo, Norway, the second of the two children and the only son of King Harald V of Norway and Sonja Haraldsen. He was born during the reign of his grandfather King Olav V of Norway.

Three days after his birth, King Olav V announced his new grandson would be called Haakon Magnus but only Haakon would normally be used. Both names are closely linked to Norwegian royal history. Seven Norwegian kings had the name Haakon, and Magnus, Latin for Great, was the name of many Norwegian kings in the Middle Ages.

Haakon was baptized in the Royal Chapel in the Royal Palace in Oslo on September 20, 1973. His godparents were the three Scandinavian monarchs:

Haakon has one elder sister:

Haakon was raised at the Skaugum Estate in Asker, Norway, the traditional home of the Crown Prince, and attended primary and secondary school in Oslo. He enrolled in the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy, graduating in 1995. The following year, he moved to the United States to attend the University of California at Berkeley, graduating in 1999 with his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. He served as a member of Norway’s third delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in 2000 and then enrolled in a program for diplomats at the Foreign Ministry. He completed his education in 2003, graduating from the London School of Economics and Political Science with a Master’s Degree in development studies, specializing in International Trade and Africa.

Sometime in the mid-1990s, Haakon met Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby at a music festival. They met again in 1999 and began a relationship. In late 2000, their engagement was announced by the Royal Palace. This came as a surprise to many Norwegians, as they had kept their relationship very private. At first, the news did not go over very well with many people because of Mette-Marit’s past and the fact that she was a single mother. The couple was also living together, which did not sit well with the church. However, with the full support of the King and Queen, Haakon and Mette-Marit gave a series of interviews in which she addressed her past and managed to win over many of their detractors. The couple was married on August 25, 2001, at the Oslo Cathedral.

The couple had two children, in addition to Mette-Marit’s son Marius from a previous relationship:

The Crown Prince undertakes many official duties, both within Norway and around the world. In addition to several patronages in Norway, since 2003 he has served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and has been very involved with Young Global Leaders (YGL) since its establishment in 2005. He served as a member of The Foundation Board of the YGL Community.

Together, Haakon and Mette-Marit have established the Kronsprinsparets Fond (Crown Prince Couple’s Foundation), which focuses on youth and ensuring that all young people are able to reach their full potential. These are issues that are very important to both the Crown Prince and Crown Princess.

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