Monarchy of Norway

Prior to and in the early phase of the Viking Age Norway was divided into several smaller kingdoms. These are thought to have followed the same tradition as other Germanic monarchies of the time: the king was usually elected by the high-ranking farmers of the area and served mainly as a judge at popular assemblies, as a priest on the occasion of sacrifices, and as a military leader in time of war.

Harald Fairhair was the first king of Norway. The date of the first formation of a unified Norwegian kingdom is set as 872 when he defeated the last petty kings who resisted him at the Battle of Hafrsfjord; however, the consolidation of his power took many years. The boundaries of Fairhair's kingdom were not identical to those of present-day Norway, and upon his death, the kingship was shared among his sons. Some historians emphasise the actual monarchial control over the country and assert that Olaf II, alias Saint Olaf, who reigned from 1015 to 1028, was the first king to control the entire country. Olaf is generally held to have been the driving force behind Norway's final conversion to Christianity. Furthermore, he was in 1031 revered as Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae ("Eternal King of Norway"), and subsequently, the 1163 Succession Law stated that all kings after Olaf II's son, Magnus I, were not independent monarchs, but vassals holding Norway as a fief from Saint Olaf.[4]

Mainland Norway during the reign of Saint Olav c. 1020 AD. The Finnmarken ("Marches of the Sami"), most of which paid tribute to the kings of Norway, are shown in pink.

In the 12th and 13th centuries the Norwegian kingdom was at its geographical and cultural peak. The kingdom included Norway (including the now Swedish provinces of Jemtland, Herjedalen, Særna, Idre and Båhuslen), Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Shetland, Orkney and other smaller areas in the British Isles. The king had diplomatic relations with most of the European kingdoms and formed alliances with Scotland and Castile, among others. Large castles such as Haakon's Hall and cathedrals, the foremost being Nidaros Cathedral, were built.

In the tradition of Germanic monarchy the king had to be elected by a representative assembly of noblemen. Men eligible for election had to be of royal blood; but the eldest son of the previous king was not automatically chosen. During the civil war era the unclear succession laws and the practice of power-sharing between several kings simultaneously gave personal conflicts the potential to become full-blown wars. Over the centuries kings consolidated their power, and eventually a strict succession law made Norway a principally hereditary kingdom. In practice the king was elected by the Riksråd in a similar way to Denmark. He adhered to a håndfæstning and governed in the council of Norwegian noblemen according to existing laws.

After the death of Haakon VI of Norway in 1380, his son Olav IV of Norway succeeded to the thrones of both Norway and Denmark and was also elected King of Sweden. After his death at the age of 17 his mother Margrethe united the three Scandinavian kingdoms in personal union under one crown, in the Kalmar Union. Olav's death extinguished the Norwegian male royal line; he was also the last Norwegian king to be born on Norwegian soil for the next 567 years.[4]

The Black Death of 1349–51 contributed to the decline of the Norwegian monarchy, as the noble families and the population in general were gravely affected. However, the most devastating factor for the nobility and the monarchy in Norway was the steep decline in income from their holdings. Many farms were deserted and rents and taxes suffered. This left the Norwegian monarchy weakened in manpower, noble support, defensibility and economic power.[4]

The Kalmar Union was not only possible due to the complex history of the royal dynasties of Scandinavia but was also, among other things, a direct reaction to the expansive and aggressive policies of the Hanseatic League.[4]

On 6 June 1523 Sweden left the union permanently, leaving Norway in an unequal union with a Danish king already embarked on centralising the government of the union.

In the following centuries the Norwegian monarchs mostly resided abroad. This weakened the monarchical governing structures of Norway: the Riksråd, for example, was gradually undermined as the Norwegian nobles did not have the King's confidence to the same extent as their Danish counterparts. The King was also less able to govern according to Norwegian needs, as the distance meant he and his advisors had less knowledge of conditions in Norway.[5]

Norway was one of few countries where the archdiocese was coterminous with the national territory. The church was an important factor in trying to maintain the separate Norwegian monarchy. In the 16th century the power struggle between the Norwegian nobles and the king culminated at the same time as the Protestant Reformation. This prompted a set of events in which the struggle against Danish dominance in Norway was coupled with the struggle against the Reformation. When both failed the effects were harsh. The Norwegian Catholic bishops were replaced with Danes and the Norwegian church was subdued and made wholly Danish. The Norwegian Riksråd was abolished in 1536, and more and more foreigners were appointed to important positions in Norway.[5]

King Frederick III

The Danish nobles pushed the king to reduce Norway to a Danish province in order for them to gain more control in the election of future kings. However, the hereditary nature of the Norwegian monarchy meant that the King had to maintain the basic principle of Norway being a separate and extant kingdom. If the Danish nobles were to elect as king someone other than the next in line to the throne the Union would be dissolved. This gave the king the upper hand in the negotiations for the håndfesting. Potential heirs to Norway were present in both the royal dynasties of Sweden and Schleswig-Holstein, so if the King of Denmark did not assert his position as King of Norway they would.[5]

During this time the Danish kings were more preoccupied with securing the traditionally Danish fringe territories, and therefore paid little attention to and made few attempts at maintaining Norwegian interests. As a result, Jemtland, Herjedalen, Båhuslen, Shetland and Orkney were lost to Sweden and Scotland. In addition all contact with Greenland ceased.

In 1661 Frederick III introduced absolute monarchy in Denmark and Norway and introduced new laws in both countries to that effect. Until then the law of Magnus the law-mender given in 1274 and 1276 had been the law of Norway. Christian IV's Norwegian law was in effect a translation into Danish of that older law. 1661 also marks the point when the last remnants of representational local government were removed and had to be rebuilt. However, that process started almost immediately when local men of means started putting pressure on local governors in order to gain or regain influence on local matters.[5]

The Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814.

During the Napoleonic Wars the King aligned Denmark–Norway with France. When Napoleon lost the war, the king was forced to cede Norway to the king of Sweden under the Treaty of Kiel in 1814. It was initially proposed that the Norwegian dependencies of Greenland, Iceland and the Faroes would remain with Norway, but that point was dropped during the negotiations, so they became Danish.[6]

On hearing news of the treaty, the Prince of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway, Christian Frederick, the resident viceroy in Norway, participated in founding a Norwegian independence movement. The independence movement was successful, partly due to clandestine support from the Danish Crown, but also because of the strong desire for independence in Norway. On 10 April, a national assembly met at Eidsvoll to decide on a constitution. Norway declared independence on 17 May 1814, electing Christian Frederick as King. A short war with Sweden later that year ended with the Convention of Moss. This led to the ousting of Christian Frederick, and the Norwegian Storting electing Charles XIII of Sweden as King of Norway, creating the union between Sweden and Norway.[6] In turn the king recognised the Norwegian constitution, which was only changed to facilitate the union.

The end result was that the Norwegian monarchy became a constitutional monarchy. In this new union the King was much more a King of Norway than under the previous Danish system. The only area of policy not in the hands of the Norwegians was foreign policy.

Norway had been brought along into the new developments of the world as they arrived in Denmark. However, with the break the Norwegians were able to forge a more progressive political development than was the case in Denmark. Denmark introduced a constitutional monarchy 35 years after Norway. Parliamentarism was introduced in Norway 17 years before Denmark and 33 years before Sweden.[7] The union with Denmark also had its adverse effects on the monarchy: among other things it resulted in the Crown of Norway losing territory which today amounts to 2 322 755 km² (although most of this was uninhabited areas of Greenland).[8] Very little royal activity had been relocated to Norway; the country thus lacks the monumental palaces of the period which can be seen in Copenhagen and other parts of Denmark.

Royal Standard of Norway during the Union with Sweden

The Treaty of Kiel stipulated that Norway was to be ceded by the king of Denmark–Norway to the king of Sweden. This was however rejected in Norway, where calls for self-determination were already mounting. A Norwegian constituent assembly was called, and a liberal constitution was adopted on 17 May 1814. A short war ensued, ending in a new agreement between the Norwegian parliament and the Swedish king.

Jean Baptiste Bernadotte [a.k.a. King Charles XIV John], Marshal of France, King of Sweden (1818). Joseph Nicolas Jouy, after François Kinson. As Crown Prince, Jean Baptiste Bernadotte was primarily responsible for establishing the union.

The Convention of Moss was from a Norwegian point of view a significant improvement over the terms dictated to Denmark-Norway at the treaty of Kiel. Notably, Norway was no longer to be treated as a Swedish conquest but rather as an equal party in a personal union of two independent states. Both the principle and substance of the Norwegian Constitution were preserved, with only such amendments as were required to allow for the union with Sweden. Norway retained its own parliament and separate institutions, except for the common king and foreign service.

The Norwegian Storting would propose Norwegian laws without interference from Sweden, to be approved by the common King in his capacity as King of Norway. The King would occasionally enact laws unfavourable to Sweden. As the Norwegian movement towards full independence gained momentum, the King approved the building of forts and naval vessels intended to defend Norway against a Swedish invasion.

The union was nevertheless marked by the Norwegians' constant and growing discontent with being in a union of any kind. The Storting would propose laws to reduce the king's power or to assert Norwegian independence. These would most often be vetoed by the king, but as he only had the power to veto the same law twice, it would eventually be passed. The constitution of 1814 already specified that Norway would have a separate flag, and the present design was introduced in 1821. The flags of both kingdoms were defaced with the union mark in 1844 to denote their equal status within the union. Despite royal objections, this was removed from the Norwegian flag in 1898. In 1837 local self-government in certain areas of policy was introduced in rural areas as well as towns.[9] A Parliamentary system was introduced in 1884.[10]

The Royal House of Bernadotte tried hard to be a Norwegian royal house as well as a Swedish one. The Royal Palace in Oslo was built during this period. There were separate coronations in Trondheim, as stipulated in the Constitution. The royal princes even had a hunting lodge built in Norway so that they could spend more private time there.[11] King Oscar II spoke and wrote Norwegian fluently.

King Haakon VII early during his reign.

In 1905 a series of disputes between parliament and the King culminated with the matter of separate Norwegian consuls to foreign countries. Norway had grown into one of the world's leading shipping nations, but Sweden retained control of both the diplomatic and consulate corps. Although businessmen needed assistance abroad, the Swedes had little insight into Norwegian shipping, and consulates were not even established in several important shipping cities. The demand for separate Norwegian consuls was seen as very important by the Norwegian parliament and society. The Storting proposed a law establishing a separate Norwegian consulate corps. King Oscar II refused to ratify the law and subsequently the Norwegian cabinet resigned. The king was unable to form any other government that had the support of parliament, and so it was deemed on 7 June that he had failed to function as King of Norway.[6][12]

In a plebiscite of the Norwegian people on 13 August, there were an overwhelming 368,208 votes (99.95%) in favor of dissolution of the Union, against 184 (0.05%) opposed, with 85% of Norwegian men voting. No women voted, as universal suffrage was not granted until 1913; however Norwegian feminists collected more than 200,000 signatures in favor of dissolution.[6][12]

During the summer a Norwegian delegation had already approached the 33-year-old Prince Carl of Denmark, the second son of the Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark. The Norwegian parliament had considered other candidates but ultimately chose Prince Carl, partly because he already had a son to continue the line of succession, but more significantly because he was descended from independent Norwegian kings and Carl was also married to Maud of Wales, the daughter of King Edward VII. By bringing in a king with British royal ties, it was hoped that Norway could court Britain's support.[12]

Prince Carl impressed the delegation in many ways, not least because of his sensitivity to the liberal and democratic movements that had led to Norway's independence. Though the Norwegian constitution stipulated that the Storting could choose a new king if the throne were vacant, Carl was aware that many Norwegians – including leading politicians and high-ranking military officers – favored a republican form of government. Attempts to persuade the prince to accept the throne on the basis of Parliament's choice failed; Carl insisted that he would accept the crown only if the Norwegian people expressed their will for monarchy by referendum and if the parliament then elected him king.

On 12 and 13 November, in the second constitutional plebiscite in three months, Norwegian voters decided by a nearly 79% majority (259,563 to 69,264) to keep the monarchy rather than establish a republic.[12] The parliament, by an overwhelming majority, then offered Carl a clear mandate to the Norwegian throne on 18 November. The prince accepted the same evening, choosing the name Haakon, a traditional name used by Norwegian kings. The last king with that name had been Haakon VI, who died in the year 1380.

Thus the new king became Haakon VII, King of Norway. His two-year-old son Alexander, the heir apparent, was renamed Olav and became Crown Prince Olav. The new royal family arrived in the capital Kristiania (later Oslo) on 25 November. Haakon VII was sworn in as king of Norway on 27 November.[12]

Royal Standard of Norway since 1905

The early years of the new Norwegian monarchy were marked by a shortage of funds. The Norwegian state was poor and funds were needed elsewhere than in the upkeep of a large court. In that sense it was a stroke of good fortune that Prince Carl had set as a condition for accepting the throne that he would not be forced to keep a large court. However, the royal travels and the upkeep of the royal residences, after the initial refurbishment in 1905, were to some extent neglected. One example of the negative financial situation is that Prince Carl had been promised a Royal Yacht when he accepted the throne, but this was not fulfilled until 1947.[13]

One important incident in the early years of the new monarchy was in 1928 when the King appointed the first Labour government. The Norwegian Labour Party was at that time quite radical, and even had the abolition of monarchy as part of their programme. It was the custom for the King to rely on the advice of the previous Prime Minister in deciding whom to give the assignment as new Prime Minister. In this case, the previous conservative Prime Minister was opposed to giving power to the radicals, and advised the appointment of someone else. However, the King adhered to the established practice of parliamentarism and decided to appoint Christopher Hornsrud as the first Labour Prime Minister. The Labour Party later dropped the abolition of monarchy from their programme.

During the German occupation of World War II, the King was an important symbol of national unity and resistance. His steadfast opposition to the German demands of surrender was important for the fighting spirit of the Norwegian population. The constitutional powers granted to the King in the Norwegian monarchial system made his position very important and enabled the government in exile to continue its work with the utmost legitimacy.

After the war, the Norwegian royal house succeeded in maintaining a balance between regality and approachability. King Olav V was deemed the people's king and the spontaneous show of mourning from the population upon his death in 1991 demonstrated the high standing he had among the Norwegian people. Even republicans were among the masses lighting candles in front of the Palace.[14]

In later years the marriages of the then Crown Prince Harald in 1968 and of Crown Prince Haakon in 2001 sparked considerable controversy, but the lasting effect on the popularity of the monarchy has been minimal. Although decreased from its level of above 90 percent after the war, support for the monarchy seems to remain stable around and mostly above the 70 percent mark.[15] In an opinion poll in 2012 93% of the people agreed the current Monarch does a good job for the country.[16]

Article 5 stated: The King's person is sacred; he cannot be censured or accused. The responsibility rests with his Council.[17]

This article applies to the king personally. The king has legal sovereign immunity, though his status as sacred was dissolved on 8 May 2018.[18]

Article 37 states: The Royal Princes and Princesses shall not personally be answerable to anyone other than the King, or whomever he decrees to sit in judgment on them.[17]

This means that the Princes and Princesses also have immunity on the discretion of the king. He could decide to let them be judged by the regular courts or he could decide to judge them himself. This has never been tested in practice.

The Council of State consists of the King, Prime Minister and other members, all of whom are appointed by the King on the advice of Prime Minister. The Council of State is the Government of Norway and is chaired by the King. It meets under the King's chairmanship at least once a week usually on Fridays. The King also orders the holding of extraordinary sessions of the council of state in situations that require urgent actions that cannot wait for the next scheduled meeting. Parliamentarism has been in place since 1884 and entails that the cabinet must not have the parliament against it, and that the appointment by the King is a formality. In practice, the monarch will ask the leader of a parliamentary block that has a majority in the Storting to form a government. The King relies on the advice of the previous prime minister and the President of the Storting in this question. The last time the King appointed a new prime minister contrary to the advice of the previous was in 1928 when he appointed the first Labour government.

Article 12 states: The King himself chooses a Council from among Norwegian citizens who are entitled to vote. [...] The King apportions the business among the Members of the Council of State, as he deems appropriate.

Article 30 states: [...] Everyone who has a seat in the Council of State has the duty frankly to express his opinion, to which the King is bound to listen. But it rests with the King to make a decision according to his own judgment. [...][17]

The King has to sign all laws in order for them to become valid. He can veto any law. However, if two separate Stortings approve the law, it becomes valid even without the King's consent. The Crown has not vetoed any law since the dissolution of the union with Sweden.

Article 78 states: If the King assents to the Bill, he appends his signature, whereby it becomes law.[17]

If he does not assent to it, he returns it to the Storting with a statement that he does not for the time being find it expedient to sanction it. In that case the Bill must not again be submitted to the King by the Storting then assembled. [...][17]

Until 2012 the constitutional head of the Church of Norway, also known as the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway, was the King. The Church of Norway professes the Lutheran branch of Christianity, and is a member of the Porvoo Communion.

Since 2012 the Church has been self-governing, although it remains the established state church, which 86% of Norwegians are members of. In accordance with the constitution, the Norwegian King as head of state must be a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway.

Article 20 states: The King shall have the right in the Council of State to pardon criminals after sentence has been passed.[17]

A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it. It may be given if new information on the crime or criminal has come to light after sentencing has begun. A pardon may entail a complete or partial withdrawal of punishment. The practical execution of this right has been delegated to the Ministry of Justice which may dismiss an application for a pardon.[19] The formal approval of a pardon has to be done by the King in Council. In 2004 a total of 51 applications for pardon were approved and 274 were denied.[20]

In impeachment proceedings, the King cannot pardon a defendant without the consent of the Storting.

Article 21 states: The King shall choose and appoint, after consultation with his Council of State, all senior civil, and military officials.[17] The appointment is made by the Monarch after having been advised by the council of state and having received its consent.

Article 22 states: The Prime Minister and the other Members of the Council of State, together with the State Secretaries, may be dismissed by the King without any prior court judgment, after he has heard the opinion of the Council of State on the subject.[17]

Article 23 states: The King may bestow orders upon whomever he pleases, as a reward for distinguished services[...][17]

Norway has two chivalric orders: the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav and the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit. In addition the King awards several other distinguished medals for a wide range of accomplishments.

Article 25 states: The King is Commander-in-Chief of the land and naval forces of the Realm.[17] The King is also Commander-in-Chief of the Norwegian Air Force: but it is not explicitly mentioned because there was no Air Force in 1814.

Article 26 states: The King has the right to call up troops, to engage in hostilities in defence of the Realm and to make peace, to conclude and denounce conventions, to send and to receive diplomatic envoys.[17]

The King is treated by the armed forces as their highest commander, but there is, beyond legal fiction, no doubt that the complete control of the armed forces is actually held by the elected government of the day. The Kings of Norway have traditionally received an extensive military training and to some extent pursued a career within the armed forces before acceding to the throne. During World War II the King took a more active role in the decision-making and while the government still had the last word the King's advice was given much weight. On one occasion during the invasion the King was given an ultimatum by the Germans demanding Norway's surrender. King Haakon VII told the government he would abdicate if they decided to accept. In 1944 Crown Prince Olav was appointed Chief of Defence based on his military leadership abilities.

The Royal Palace in Oslo functions as the main official residence of the monarch. Built in the first half of the 19th century as the Norwegian residence of Norwegian and Swedish king Charles III (Carl Johan, Charles XIV of Sweden, reigned 1818–1844), it serves as the official residence of the present Norwegian Monarch.[26]

Gamlehaugen is a mansion and estate which functions as the monarch's residences in Bergen. Originally the home of Prime Minister Christian Michelsen, the estate became the royal family's residence in 1927.

Stiftsgården in Trondheim

Stiftsgården in Trondheim is a large wooden townhouse which has been used by the royal family since the early 1800s. The building has been the setting for the main festivities during coronations, benedictions and weddings which traditionally have taken place in the Nidaros Cathedral.

Ledaal is a large manor house in Stavanger. The manor originally belonged to the influential Kielland family but has been the property of Stavanger Museum since 1936 and a became royal residence in 1949.

Oscarshall palace

Akershus Castle and palace was often used as a royal residence by the Dano-Norwegian kings

Bygdøy Royal Estate, the official summer residence, is situated in Oslo. Bygdøy has been under extensive restoration and has therefore not been used regularly since the accession of King Harald V in 1991. The restoration was finalized in 2007 and has been frequently used by the royal family ever since.[27] The Royal Lodge or Kongsseteren is located in Holmenkollen, and used by the Royal Family as a residence for Christmas and Holmenkollen Ski Festival each year. Oscarshall palace, a maison de plaisance, also situated in Oslo, but seldom used.

The crown princely couple resides at Skaugum Manor in Asker municipality outside of Oslo, while the three princesses of Norway live on estates in Oslo, Fredrikstad and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Both Skaugum and Bygdøy Royal Estate are working farms producing grain, milk and meat; the profits are re-invested in the farms themselves.[28] In 2004 the King transferred management of the farming activities on Bygdøy to the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History.[29]

The King owns a royal yacht bearing the name HNoMY Norge. Manned and maintained by the Royal Norwegian Navy, it is used both for official and private travels in Norway and abroad.[30] The Norwegian Railway Museum maintains a royal train carriage.[31]

The royal family also possess several other holiday homes of a private nature.[32]

• Paléet. A magnificent townhouse which was as a royal residence between 1801 and 1849 prior to the construction of the Royal Palace.
• Akershus Fortress. The castle in Oslo was converted into a palace by King Christian IV during the union between Denmark and Norway
• Bergenhus Fortress. Originally, the medieval castle was a residential palace while Sverresborg provided defence for the city.
• Tønsberg Fortress. The castle in Tønsberg was used as a residence by several kings, including Håkon V Magnusson who was the last king of Norway prior to the establishment of the Kalmar Union.
• Various Kongsgård estates were used by the Norwegian kings during the Viking Age and early Middle Ages. This includes significant estates like Alrekstad, Avaldsnes Kongsgård estate and the Oslo Kongsgård estate.