Norwegian royal expert proposes reinstating coronation tradition

Ole-Jørgen Schulsrud-Hansen, a royal expert, has suggested that King Haakon should be crowned to provide him with a stronger start in his role as monarch. He argues for reviving a 120-year-old tradition that has been absent from Norwegian royal successions for over a century.

The constitutional provision for coronations was abolished on February 29, 1908. Since the coronation of King Haakon VII and Queen Maud in Nidaros Cathedral in 1906, subsequent monarchs, including King Olav and King Harald, have undergone a simpler signing ceremony instead of a full coronation.

While the public has largely expected King Haakon to continue the down-to-earth and popular style established by his predecessors, Schulsrud-Hansen believes a formal coronation would have significantly simplified the King's role.