Members of the Norwegian royal family are people related to

King Harald V of Norway Harald V (, ; born 21 February 1937) has been King of Norway since 1991. A member of the House of Glücksburg, Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the Succession to t ...

or former

Norwegian monarchs The list of Norwegian monarchs ( or ''kongerekka'') begins in 872: the traditional dating of the Battle of Hafrsfjord, after which victorious King Harald Fairhair Unification of Norway, merged several Petty kingdoms of Norway, petty kingdoms int ...

who are royals and who hold royal titles. The term does not include non-royal relatives. The current family who holds the throne are members of the

House of Glücksburg The House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, also known by its short name as the House of Glücksburg, is the senior surviving branch of the German House of Oldenburg, one of Europe's oldest royal houses. Oldenburg house members hav ...

who ascended to the Norwegian throne after the election of Prince Carl of Denmark as

King of Norway 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 king ...

(regnal name

Haakon VII Haakon VII (; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was King of Norway from 18 November 1905 until his death in 1957. The future Haakon VII was born in Copenhagen as Prince Carl of Denmark. He was the second son of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess ...

) during the dissolution of the Swedish-Norwegian union in 1905. The Norwegian monarch holds the title

while his Royal consort is

Queen of Norway The list of Norwegian monarchs ( or ''kongerekka'') begins in 872: the traditional dating of the Battle of Hafrsfjord, after which victorious King Harald Fairhair merged several petty kingdoms into that of his father. Named after the homonymous ...

with the style

Majesty Majesty (abbreviated HM for His Majesty or Her Majesty, oral address Your Majesty; from the Latin , meaning ) is used as a manner of address by many monarchs, usually kings or queens. Where used, the style outranks the style of ''(Imperial/Roy ...

. The

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

to the

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 kingdom ...

holds the title

Crown Prince of Norway Traditionally the King of Norway, Norwegian kings had been elected by the several thing (assembly), things held around the country. This practise often led to there being several kings at the same time. After the civil wars in the 12th century, Er ...

while his wife is Crown Princess of Norway with the style

Royal Highness Royal Highness is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Kings and their female consorts, as well as queens regnant, are usually styled ''Majesty''. When used as a direct form of a ...

. The children of the reigning

Monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

and the children of the

are granted the title Prince of Norway or Princess of Norway. Only the eldest child is a

, while the others do not have any styles in Norwegian, although the style of Highnesses may be used informally in foreign languages. In Norway there is traditionally no distinction between the royal house (''kongehuset'') and the royal family (''kongelige familie''). Both are informal terms. The Constitution specifically recognizes only those who hold royal titles such as prince or princess, or those who are in the line of succession. Since the 2000s, the term royal house has been used on the website of the royal family to refer only to the monarch and his spouse, the

and his spouse, and the heir apparent's eldest child. The royal family was from the same time used to refer to other princes or princesses, but did not include untitled relatives of the royal family. In the 2020s, the royal family's association with accused serial rapist

Marius Borg Høiby Marius Borg Høiby (born 13 January 1997) is the son of Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway, born before she married Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway. While Høiby was once presented as a member of the royal house on their website, he remains a ...

, nicknamed "Little Marius," and American conspiracy theorist

Durek Verrett Durek Verrett (born November 17, 1974, as Derek David Verrett) is an American conspiracy theorist, convicted felon, alternative therapist, and self-professed shaman as a practitioner of Neoshamanism. He has been widely described by media and o ...

have been cited as contributing to a "decimation of the Norwegian royal family's reputation" and a doubling of membership in the Norwegian republican association.

History

The Norwegian monarchy traces its history and origin back to the

unification Unification or unification theory may refer to: Computer science * Unification (computer science), the act of identifying two terms with a suitable substitution * Unification (graph theory), the computation of the most general graph that subs ...

and founding of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, as well as Norway's first king, Harald I of the

Fairhair dynasty The Fairhair dynasty () was a family of kings founded by Harald I of Norway (commonly known as "Harald Fairhair", ''Haraldr inn hárfagri'') which united and ruled Norway with few interruptions from the latter half of the 9th century. In the tr ...

. With the introduction of the

Norwegian Law of Succession The Norwegian Law of Succession (''Tronfølgeloven av 1163'') was first introduced in 1163 during the Civil war era in Norway. The Succession law was an accord between Erling Skakke and Øystein Erlendsson, Archbishop of Nidaros. Erling Skakke ...

in 1163, the legal framework established that only one monarch and one royal family was, through succession, allowed to rule. Norway, Sweden and Denmark had joint monarchs during the

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden as designed by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret of Denmark. From 1397 to 1523, it joined under a single monarch the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden (then in ...

in the late Middle Ages, and Norway remained in union with Denmark after Sweden left the union in 1523. Following the

reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

a joint Danish-Norwegian state was established 1536–37, which was ruled from

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

by the

House of Oldenburg The House of Oldenburg is a Germans, German dynasty whose members rule or have ruled in Danish Realm, Denmark, Kingdom of Iceland, Iceland, Kingdom of Greece, Greece, Norway, Russian Empire, Russia, Sweden, United Kingdom, the United Kingdom, King ...

until Norway was ceded to Sweden at the

Treaty of Kiel The Treaty of Kiel () or Peace of Kiel ( Swedish and or ') was concluded between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Kingdom of Sweden on one side and the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway on the other side on 14 January 1814 ...

in 1814 following Denmark-Norway's defeat in the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. Norway was briefly independent with its own king in 1814, but forced into a new union with Sweden under the rule of the

House of Bernadotte The House of Bernadotte is the monarchy of Sweden, royal family of Sweden, founded there in 1818 by King Charles XIV John of Sweden. It was also the monarchy of Norway, royal family of Norway between 1818 and 1905. Its founder was born in Pau, Py ...

. Upon becoming independent in 1905, Norway decided through a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

to remain as a monarchy, with its first monarch being the Danish-born

King Haakon VII Haakon VII (; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was King of Norway from 18 November 1905 until his death in 1957. The future Haakon VII was born in Copenhagen as Prince Carl of Denmark. He was the second son of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess ...

, whose family consisted of the British Princess Maud and their son Olav. It is King Haakon's descendants that today make up the current royal family of Norway. Through marriages and historical alliances, the Norwegian royal family is closely related to the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

and Danish royal families as well as being more distantly related to royal families of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The current king Harald V descends from all of the four kings belonging to the

(1818–1905) that preceded the House of Glücksburg on the throne and is the first Norwegian monarch to be a descendant of all previous Norwegian monarchs since 1818. The royal family's association with American conspiracy theorist

has been cited as contributing to a deterioration in its reputation. Norwegian media criticized King

Harald V Harald V (, ; born 21 February 1937) has been King of Norway since 1991. A member of the House of Glücksburg, Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the line of succ ...

for legitimizing and endorsing the exploitation of national values and symbols for Märtha Louise's and Verrett's personal financial gain. The royal family is defined as those who hold a royal title. , the website of the royal family stated that the royal house consisted of King Harald, Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, and Princess Ingrid Alexandra, and that the extended royal family consists Prince Sverre Magnus, Princess Märtha Louise, Princess Ragnhild and Astrid. The website mentioned that Märtha Louise has the children Maud Angelica Behn and Leah Isadora Behn, but did not describe them as royal or part of the royal house or royal family, as they are commoners and do not hold any title. The website did not describe

Ari Behn Ari Mikael Behn (; , or ; 30 September 1972 – 25 December 2019) was a Norwegian author, playwright, and visual artist, best known for his marriage to Princess Märtha Louise of Norway from 2002 to 2017. He held no title or special status, an ...

as part of the royal family, only as the father of Märtha Louise's children, in line with traditional practice. The website made no mention at all of

, Mette-Marit's son from a previous relationship. In September 2024, three days after Märtha Louise married conspiracy theorist

, the royal court removed the term "royal family" from the website (of the royal court) and clarified that

is not royal. Jan Bøhler wrote that "organized crime is today a greater threat to our country than terrorism, and we are allocating increasingly larger resources to combat it. At the same time, a member of the royal family has for years vacationed and partied with central figures in drug-related crime. Individuals known for involvement in serious money laundering cases and violent gangs, including the Hells Angels, have also participated in the festivities. These enemies of society have been allowed to roam freely on the Crown Prince couple's properties during events referred to as "Skaugum festivals."

Members

Members of the Royal House are: *HM The King of Norway (The Monarch)
HM The Queen of Norway (The Consort) **HRH The Crown Prince of Norway (The King's son and heir apparent)
HRH The Crown Princess of Norway (The King's daughter-in-law) ***HRH

Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway (born 21 January 2004) is the elder child of Crown Prince Haakon and the second child of Crown Princess Mette-Marit, and a grandchild of Harald V of Norway, King Harald V. She is second in line of succession ...

(The King's granddaughter) Other royals are: *HH

Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway 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 Ingrid ...

(The King's grandson) *HH

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway Princess Märtha Louise of Norway (born 22 September 1971) is a Norwegian self-described clairvoyant, businesswoman and a member of the Norwegian royal family, although she is not a member of the royal house and has no public role. She is marri ...

(The King's daughter), married firstly to

and secondly to

*HH Princess Astrid of Norway, Mrs. Ferner (The King's sister), married to Johan Ferner

Non-royal grandchildren of Norwegian kings

The following are grandchildren of Norwegian kings who are not royal themselves and who hold no title. In each case they are children of "other royals", that is other people than the king or the crown prince. *Children of Princess Ragnhild ** Haakon Lorentzen (b. 1954) ** Ingeborg Lorentzen (b. 1957) ** Ragnhild Lorentzen (b. 1968) *Children of Princess Astrid ** Cathrine Ferner (b. 1962) ** Benedikte Ferner (b. 1963) ** Alexander Ferner (b. 1965) ** Elisabeth Ferner (b. 1969) ** Carl-Christian Ferner (b. 1972) *Children of Princess Märtha Louise **

Maud Angelica Behn Maud Angelica Behn (born 29 April 2003) is a member of the Norwegian royal family, however, she is a private citizen and holds no royal title. She is the firstborn child of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and her late husband Ari Behn, and the ...

(b. 2003) **

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. Sh ...

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

Deceased royals

*HM Queen Maud (The King's grandmother; died in 1938) *HRH

Crown Princess Märtha ''Crown Princess Märtha'' is a bronze statue of Crown Princess Märtha of Norway, by Kirsten Kokkin. It is located at the Norwegian residence at Massachusetts Avenue and 34th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. It was unveiled 18 September 2005. A ...

(The King's mother; died in 1954) *HM

(The King's grandfather; died in 1957) *HM

King Olav V Olav V (, ; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was born at Sandringham House in England, the only child of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud of Wa ...

(The King's father; died in 1991) *HH Princess Ragnhild, Mrs. Lorentzen (The King's sister; died in 2012), married to

Erling Lorentzen Erling Sven Lorentzen (28 January 1923 – 9 March 2021) was a Norwegian shipowner and industrialist. He founded Aracruz Celulose in 1968. He was the widower of Princess Ragnhild, the eldest child of King Olav V of Norway. In addition to being ...

Family tree of members

;Notes * Member of the Royal House

Royal coat of arms

The

coat of arms of Norway The coat of arms of Norway is the arms of dominion of King Harald V of Norway, and as such represents both the monarch and the Norway, kingdom (nation and the state). It depicts a standing Or (heraldry), golden lion (heraldry), lion on a Gules, r ...

is one of the oldest in Europe and serves both as the coat of arms of the nation and of the Royal House. This is in keeping with its origin as the coat of arms of the kings of Norway during the Middle Ages.A web page featuring the history of the coat of arms of Norway
Retrieved 21 November 2006 Håkon the Old (1217–1263) used a shield with a lion. The earliest preserved reference to the colour of the arms is the King's Saga written down in 1220. In 1280 King Eirik Magnusson added the crown and silver axe to the lion. The axe is the martyr axe of St. Olav, the weapon used to kill him in the battle of

Stiklestad Stiklestad is a village in Verdal Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located east of the town of Verdalsøra and about southeast of the village of Forbregd/Lein. The village is mainly known as the site of the Battle of St ...

in 1030. The specific rendering of the Norwegian arms has changed through the years, following changing heraldic fashions. In the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the

axe An axe (; sometimes spelled ax in American English; American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for thousands of years to shape, split, a ...

handle gradually grew longer and came to resemble a

halberd A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge), is a two-handed polearm that was in prominent use from the 13th to 16th centuries. The halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on a long shaft. It may have a hook or ...

. The handle was usually curved in order to fit the shape of shield preferred at the time, and also to match the shape of coins. The halberd was officially discarded and the shorter axe reintroduced by royal decree in 1844, when an authorized rendering was instituted for the first time. In 1905 the official design for royal and government arms was again changed, this time reverting to the medieval pattern, with a triangular shield and a more upright lion. The coat of arms of the royal house as well as the

Royal Standard In heraldry and vexillology, a heraldic flag is a flag containing coat of arms, coats of arms, heraldic badges, or other devices used for personal identification. Heraldic flags include banners, standards, pennons and their variants, gonfalons, ...

uses the lion design from 1905. The earliest preserved depiction of the Royal Standard is on the seal of Duchess Ingebjørg from 1318. The rendering used as the official coat of arms of Norway is slightly different and was last approved by the king 20 May 1992.Web page on rules for the use of the coat of arms (Norwegian)
Retrieved 21 November 2006 When used as the royal coat of arms the shield features the insignias of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

around it and is framed by a royal ermine

robe A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. Unlike garments described as capes or cloaks, robes usually have sleeves. The English word ''robe'' derives from Middle English ''robe'' ("garment"), borrowed from Old French ''robe'' ("booty, spoil ...

, surmounted by the

crown of Norway The Crown of Norway is the crown of the King of Norway and was made in Stockholm in 1818 by goldsmith Olof Wihlborg. The crown is a ''corona clausa'' (closed model) consisting of a ring carrying eight hoops made of gold and surmounted by a mo ...

. The royal coat of arms is not used frequently. Instead, the king's

monogram A monogram is a motif (visual arts), motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbo ...

is extensively used, for instance in military insignia and on coins. File:Blason Norvège.svg, Arms of Norway File:Greater royal coat of arms of Norway.svg, Royal Coat of Arms of Norway File:Coat of Arms of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Norway.svg, Coat of Arms of the Crown Prince of Norway File:Royal Monogram of King Haakon VII of Norway.svg, Royal Monogram of King Haakon VII of Norway File:Royal Monogram of Queen Maud of Norway.svg, Royal Monogram of Queen Maud of Norway File:Royal Monogram of King Olav V of Norway.svg, Royal Monogram of King Olav V of Norway File:Royal Monogram of Princess Martha of Norway.svg, Royal Monogram of Princess Märtha of Norway File:Royal Monogram of King Harald V of Norway.svg, Royal Monogram of King Harald V of Norway File:Royal Monogram of Queen Sonja of Norway.svg, Royal Monogram of Queen Sonja of Norway File:Royal Monogram of Prince Haakon of Norway.svg, Royal Monogram of Crown Prince Haakon of Norway File:Royal Monogram of Princess Metta-Merit of Norway.svg, Royal Monogram of Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway File:Royal Monogram of Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway.svg, Royal Monogram of Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway File:Royal Monogram of Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway.svg, Royal Monogram of Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway

References

External links

The Royal Family and the Royal House of Norway
- Official Site of the Norwegian Royal Family (in English)
The Royal House of Norway
- Official Site of the Royal House of Norway (Entire Site in English) {{European Royal Families Monarchy of Norway