Haakon VIII, born Haakon Magnus on 20 July 1973 at The National Hospital in Oslo, is the King of Norway.
He ascended the throne on 28 August 2026 following the death of his father, King Harald V.
He is the only son and second child of the late King Harald V and Queen Sonja, and represents the fourth generation of Norway’s modern royal family from the House of Glücksburg.
Named in honour of his great-grandfather King Haakon VII, among others, he was known as Prince Haakon Magnus at birth and became Crown Prince upon his grandfather King Olav V’s death in 1991.
He married Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby in 2001; the couple have two children, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus, and he is stepfather to Marius Borg Høiby.
Siblings
Haakon VIII has one sibling, his older sister Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, born in 1971.
Although Märtha Louise is the elder child, the Norwegian constitution’s change to absolute primogeniture in 1990 was not applied retroactively, so Haakon remained ahead of her in the line of succession as the eldest son.
The siblings grew up together at the Skaugum estate in Asker, where their parents sought to give them an upbringing as close as possible to that of other Norwegian children.
Princess Märtha Louise has pursued her own public and private path, including marriage and family life outside the core working royal duties in more recent years.
Career
Haakon followed a path that combined military service, higher education and preparation for royal duties.
He trained in the Royal Norwegian Navy, graduating from the Norwegian Naval Academy in 1995 and serving aboard naval vessels.
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He later rose to the rank of Admiral in the Navy and General in the Army and Air Force.
For university studies he chose the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science, deliberately seeking distance from the intensity of royal life at home.
He continued his education with an MSc in development studies from the London School of Economics, specialising in international trade and Africa.
As Crown Prince he carried out extensive official duties, represented Norway internationally, served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme, and participated in the Young Global Leaders network.
Upon becoming king he assumed the formal role of Supreme Commander of the Norwegian Armed Forces and the constitutional duties of the monarch, which in Norway’s parliamentary system are largely ceremonial and representative.
Accolades
As a member of the Norwegian royal family, Haakon holds numerous national and foreign orders and decorations, including the Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of St. Olav and other high Norwegian honours, as well as various foreign orders of chivalry.
He has received recognition for his international engagement, including involvement with the United Nations Development Programme as a Goodwill Ambassador.
He is also associated with sporting and cultural patronage, and a horse race, Kronprins Haakons Pokalløp, has been named in his honour.
His military ranks and long service as Crown Prince further form part of the formal recognition of his role.
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