No abdication for King Harald

King Harald of Norway has no abdication plans and the population has no wish to see him go.

A survey for Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) showed that 72 per cent of the population supported the monarchy.  Although this has dropped from 81 per cent in 2017 and 78 per cent in 2022, only 16 per cent of Norwegians want to replace the country’s constitutional monarchy with a republic.

The remaining 11 per cent admitted that they were undecided.

At the same time, support amongst the 18-29 age group has declined from 82 per cent in 2018 to 62 per cent in 2024.

The poll’s findings, which coincided with King Harald’s 87th birthday on February 21, revealed that 64 per cent of Norwegians do not want him to abdicate in favour of his son, Prince Haakon.

Harald has made it clear that he has no intention of following the lead of Queen Margarethe of Denmark who at the age of 83 abdicated in favour of her son, Frederik on January 24 this year, exactly 52 years after coming to the throne.

“I swore an oath to parliament and it is for life,” the King has said on more than one occasion, although he has been admitted to hospital several times in recent months with respiratory infections. He underwent successful cancer treatment in 2003 and in October 2020 had surgery to replace a heart valve after being treated for breathing difficulties.

Even Norway’s leftwing press had praise for the King on his birthday.  Despite lacking political power, Harald possessed “moral authority”, the historian, philosopher and author Rune Slagstad wrote.