The

line of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Norwegian throne The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingdoms ...

consists of people entitled to become

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The succession is currently governed by Article 6 of the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

, altered most recently in 1990 to introduce

absolute primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

among the grandchildren and further eligible descendants of

King Harald V Harald V ( no, Harald den femte, ; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He acceded to the throne on 17 January 1991. Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the lin ...

. The King's children are still ranked according to

male-preference cognatic primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

, which was the norm between 1971 and 1990;

Crown Prince Haakon Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway (; Haakon Magnus; born 20 July 1973) is the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne. He is the only son of King Harald V and Queen Sonja. Haakon represents the fourth generation of the sitting Norwegian royal famil ...

and his eligible descendants thus take precedence over his older sister,

Princess Märtha Louise Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

, and her eligible descendants. Only legitimate descendants of the reigning monarch and the reigning monarch's siblings and their legitimate descendants can be in line to the throne. However, the King's elder sister, Princess Astrid and her descendants, along with descendants of the King's deceased eldest sister, Princess Ragnhild, are excluded from the line of succession due to the

agnatic primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

which was the norm prior to 1971. In the event that there is no-one in the line of succession, the

Storting The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

(Parliament) has the right to elect a successor under Article 7 (if the king is alive) or Article 48 (if the king has died). Upon acceding to the throne (and being of age), the Norwegian monarch is required by Article 9 of the Constitution to take an oath before members of the Storting.

Line of succession

The Crown Prince and Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway

(born 1937) ** (1)

(b. 1973) *** (2)

Princess Ingrid Alexandra Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway (born 21 January 2004) is the eldest child of Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, and the grandchild of King Harald V. She is second in line of succession to the Norwegian throne after her fat ...

(b. 2004) *** (3)

Prince Sverre Magnus Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway (born 3 December 2005) is the younger child of Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit. He is third in line to succeed his grandfather King Harald V, after his father and elder sister Princess Ingri ...

(b. 2005) ** (4)

(b. 1971) *** (5)

Maud Angelica Behn Maud Angelica Behn (born 29 April 2003) is a member of the Norwegian Royal Family. She is the first child of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and her late husband Ari Behn and the eldest grandchild of King Harald V of Norway and Queen Sonja. ...

(b. 2003) *** (6)

Leah Isadora Behn Leah Isadora Behn (born 8 April 2005) is a member of the Norwegian Royal family. She is the second daughter of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and her late former husband Ari Behn, and a grandchild of King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway. S ...

(b. 2005) *** (7) Emma Tallulah Behn (b. 2008)

References

{{Orders of succession by country

Norwegian throne The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingdoms ...

Norwegian monarchy Succession

Line of succession

See also

References