Finances and Employees of the Norwegian Royal Family


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Thank you as ever!

I have to say I can more and more see why people may be unhappy. If it has so much cultural historical value that the Court felt able to pay for its upkeep out of official funds then couldn't the same be said for Märtha Louise not being able to sell it?

I have to say I think this is why its much easier to either have a property as State owned or privately owned, blurring the lines created situations like this.
One way might be for her to give some of the money from the sale back to the state? Ah who knows.
 
tommy100 said:
Thank you as ever!

I have to say I can more and more see why people may be unhappy. If it has so much cultural historical value that the Court felt able to pay for its upkeep out of official funds then couldn't the same be said for Märtha Louise not being able to sell it?

I have to say I think this is why its much easier to either have a property as State owned or privately owned, blurring the lines created situations like this.
One way might be for her to give some of the money from the sale back to the state? Ah who knows.
Click to expand...
You're welcome! ?

But as wrote in post 24: The property has been refurbished several times, and has (according to experts on this field) no significant cultural historical value.

So why did the court pay for its upkeep? Because, as I said above, neither Märtha nor the King had money to do it.
 
ROYAL NORWAY said:
You're welcome! ?

But as wrote in post 24: The property has been refurbished several times, and has (according to experts on this field) no significant cultural historical value.

So why did the court pay for its upkeep? Because, as I said above, neither Märtha nor the King had money to do it.
Click to expand...

If the royals didn't have money to take care of private property why wasn't it sold earlier?
 
:previous: Well, when the King inherited Bloksberg from his father in 1991, he wished that the property should be retained within the royal family.
So what happened? It stood unused for the next 10 years without any maintenance-work being done, and when Märtha took over in 2002, the property had to be renovated for large sums (money, which she and the King didn't have).
So the court went in and helped her - and have continued to do that since, despite the fact that it was against the rules.
 
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ROYAL NORWAY said:
Some facts:
1. The property was purchased by CP Olav for private money, which he inherited from his mother, Queen Maud.
2. Märtha does not have enough income to sit on such a property, and the King doesn't have enough cash to help her (his private fortune of around 100 million NOK is, according to the court, placed in two crisis fund to keep the NRF independent from the government if a war or something like that should occur). And the court has repeatedly had to spend money from its state grants (the Civil List) to maintain the property, which has been heavily criticized by the republican tabloid newspaper Dagbladet, but no politicians have so far demanded that Märtha should pay back anything after the sale.
3. The property has been refurbished several times, and has (according to experts on this field) no significant cultural historical value.
Click to expand...
In addition to this, she has (according to TV2 News Channel) taken out loans with security in her two properties, Bloksberg and her home in Bærum, for over 25 million NOK.
Why? Well, to invest in the ''angel-school'' - and to pay for her London adventure (from 2012 to 2014) with Ari and the children.
 
Do we know anything about how the angel-school is doing financially?
 
:previous: Yes, plenty!

2016:
3.7 million NOK in revenues.
397.000 NOK in surplus before taxes.

2017:
3.3 NOK million in revenues.
87.000 NOK in deficit before taxes.
Märtha and Elisabeth Nordeng (with whom she owns and runs the company) took out a total salary of 900.000 NOK each.
 
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Well, the 58-year-old republican Kristin Halvorsen, MP (1989-2013), leader (1997-2012), Minister of Finance (2005-2009) and Minister of Education (2009-2013) for the republican Left-winged Socialist Left Party, has been appointed Chairman of the Board at the CP-Couple's Foundation (from January 1st, 2019).
She takes over after businessman Odd Christopher Hansen, who has been part of the Board since 2009, and Chairman since 2017.

About the Foundation in English (link from the Royal House of Norway website).

Statement about the appointment in Norwegian (link from the Foundation's own website).

Halvorsen said: ''Jeg er veldig glad for dette vervet, og ser fram til å bidra til Fondets formål. Det er svært positivt at Kronprinsparet løfter fram arbeid som bidrar til å inkludere ungdom i fellesskap og gir dem mulighet til å realisere sine drømmer og mål. Jeg gleder meg til å bruke mine erfaringer til å støtte opp om dette viktige ungdomsarbeidet.''
Translated to: ''I am very pleased with this position and look forward to contributing to the Foundation's purpose. It's very positive that the CP-Couple focuses on work that helps to include young people in communitys - and gives them the opportunity to realize their dreams and goals. I am looking forward to using my experiences to support this important youth-work.''

Hmm, a republican thanking yes to such a position? Yes, I know. - But not surprising at all here, since they're always the ones crawling for the royals. I.e. whether it is their mega-deep bows/curtseys, or when Halvorsen (as Minister of Finance) defended the then Stoltenberg-government's decision to give millions to refurbishment of private royal properties. No, not that strange. But if I remember the media-reports right, she was the one who suggested it and convinced other ministers to support her, because the royals didn't had cash do it themselves. - And if my memory is correct, she even admitted it herself in an interview.
(BTW: I understand it when it comes to Skaugum, since the state doesn't provide the heir with an official residence, but I'm not so understanding in regards of the King's private holiday-retreats.)

Reactions/criticism: Well, pre October 24th (when we got the news about CP MM's illness), there would've been a lot of noise from the media and MPs from the Right-winged Progress Party about ''the CP-Couple socialising and handing out positions to left-sided politicians.''
But now, nothing! - Why? Oh, that's not difficult to explain, because as I also wrote in the ''lung disease'' thread: No one is going to criticize a severely ill Crown Princess who has vowed to still do her duty, or a Crown Prince with a severely ill wife.

--------------------

In other news:

The court is now advertising for three positions: Ledige stillinger - kongehuset.no

1. Newly established permanent position, as digital communication-advisor with special expertise in photo/video.

2. Due to maternity-leave, a one-year permanent vacancy as communications-advisor.

3. Newly established permanent position, as chief of The Royal Collections.

--------------------

BTW: Bloksberg (Märtha's holiday retreat, which we discussed back in August/September in posts 24-35) is still not sold.
Why? Well, according to real-estate-agents used by the media, it's due to the ''high price'' and some 350 meter with high-voltage-cables, which are now being set up over the property (see this photo).
 
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News from November 7th:

Norway's official tax-lists for 2017 are out, and since both Princess Märtha Louise and Princess Astrid are taxpayers (due to them not being members of The Royal House), their numbers are available for everyone to see.

Märtha:
Net income: 1.874.810 NOK (heavily up from just 179.268 in 2016).
Net worth/fortune: 4.947.213 NOK (up from 3.800.000 in 2016).

Where does it come from? Soulspring (the Angel-School) and book-sales.

Astrid:
Net income: 881.885 NOK.
Net worth/fortune: 38.335.719 NOK.

Where does it come from? Read more about that, and her previous financial-years in this post (link).

Shall we take Ari as well? Hmm, yes, let's do it:
Net income: 2.114.471 NOK (up from just 554.341 in 2016).
Net worth/fortune: 987.537 NOK (up from nothing, yes, ZERO).

Where does it come from? Mainly from his art.

P.S: Be aware that these numbers don't necessarily reflect reality:
1. Published net-incomes are almost always far less than actual income, because they're adjusted for deductions.
2. Published net-worth figures are much less than actual net-worth, because they also reflect assessed tax valuations of real estate, for example, not market value (and the fact that many other assets are depreciated).

Article: Firedoblet inntekten etter skilsmissen - Dagbladet.

--------------------

News from November 26th:

The CP-Couple's Foundation received a record-high 7.5 million NOK in gifts and grants last year, bringing in about 1.8 million NOK in profit.

The Danish Egmont Foundation stood for the largest single contribution of 4.75 million NOK, while DNB gave 1.3 million NOK. Other contributors came from Telia, Skanska, Stormberg, Selvaag Gruppen and some smaller amounts from lectures - and royalties from book-sales. - There were no gifts from individuals during this period.
(BTW: If one wants to know more about the companies listed above, just click on each word, which is posted as links.)

Grants awarded: 5.9 million NOK to four youth-projects supported by the Foundation, down from 6.9 million in the record year of 2016.

Savings: About 20 million NOK in securities-funds, and almost four million NOK in the bank.

Aricle: Kronprinsparet fikk 7,5 millioner kroner i gaver - Hegnar.
 
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Thanks, Royal Norway.

Even taking deductions and various tax-stunts into account Märtha hardly seem rich, and certainly not taking expenses in Norway into consideration.
 
Muhler said:
Thanks, Royal Norway.

Even taking deductions and various tax-stunts into account Märtha hardly seem rich, and certainly not taking expenses in Norway into consideration.
Click to expand...
You're welcome! :flowers:

Or that she, according to TV2 News Channel, has 25 million NOK in debt.

And to those who haven't done it already, well, one can read more about it in post 35. ?
 
Signing a pledge of discretion? How can that be controversial anywhere else than in this newspaper?

It's normal to sign a pledge of discretion when working in say a retirement home. Or in many other instances where you have access to private information or the private lives of people, in a working capacity. Privacy of the client takes precedent.
Who would employ someone who is allowed to tell a number of details about your personal life afterwards?

And as for not being allowed to voice a public political opinion. That's the case in many positions.
It would be unfortunate if a senior employee for the political neutral head of state has a high political profile. - That would raise questions as to how politically neutral the head of state really is.

It's pretty much the same as the head of the police or a general has a high political profile. That's inconsistent with the work - for governments who often have very different political views of the police or military.

- So I think this article is an attempt to stir the pot - when there is nothing in the pot.
 
I just posted this article so can anyone be a waiter there.
 
Blog Real said:
According to the state budget, the royal couple will receive 13.9 million in appanage, while the crown prince couple will receive 11.6 million.

The royal court receives 240 million.

https://www.seher.no/studio/kjendisdognet-/664?post=109002
Click to expand...


Just to put into perspective, the royal court budget at today's exchange rate would be approximately 22.76 million US dollars.

Does that also include security and maintenance of the royal residences, or are those items placed in a separate budget as in some other European monarchies?
 
:previous: It includes indoor maintenance of the Royal Palace, the main house at Bygdø Royal Farm and Oscarshall Palace, but not security.

--------------------

After reading King Frederik's thoughts on the future of the Danish Royal Court in his new book Kongeord, I've been thinking about the Norwegian Royal Court and how it functions. So let's write about it!

The court when King Olav V died in 1991:
1) Consisted mostly of men with a military background.
2) Didn't even have a communication staff.

The court during the reign of King Harald V:
1) Right after he took the throne, the King and Queen reorganised the court and got in more women and people without a military background.
2) They also took a more hands-on approach to how the court was run.

And in 2012, the King decided to merge his court with the court of the CP-Couple, which meant that the secretariats of the Regent-Couple and the CP-Couple were turned into one secretariat (a process that was led by CP Haakon).
Why was it done?
1) Because the King wanted to work more closely with the CP-Couple, something he has said in interviews that he himself missed during the reign of his father King Olav.
2) To make the future transition from Harald V to Haakon VIII as smooth as possible.

And today, the court is a modern organisation where the Regent-Couple and the CP-Couple (as a team) make decisions in so-called board meetings (although the King retains the last word).
The proportion of women is over 50%, and the military guys are long gone.

And it is CP Haakon's former private secretary Olav Heian-Engdal who is court-chief (translated in English to Lord Chamberlain), so everything is in a way ready for the next reign.
BTW, Engdal succeeded Gry Mølleskog, who was the world's first female court-chief.
 
ROYAL NORWAY said:
After reading King Frederik's thoughts on the future of the Danish Royal Court in his new book Kongeord, I've been thinking about the Norwegian Royal Court and how it functions. So let's write about it!

The court when King Olav V died in 1991:
1) Consisted mostly of men with a military background.
2) Didn't even have a communication staff.

The court during the reign of King Harald V:
1) Right after he took the throne, the King and Queen reorganised the court and got in more women and people without a military background.
2) They also took a more hands-on approach to how the court was run.

And in 2012, the King decided to merge his court with the court of the CP-Couple, which meant that the secretariats of the Regent-Couple and the CP-Couple were turned into one secretariat (a process that was led by CP Haakon).
Why was it done?
1) Because the King wanted to work more closely with the CP-Couple, something he has said in interviews that he himself missed during the reign of his father King Olav.
2) To make the future transition from Harald V to Haakon VIII as smooth as possible.

And today, the court is a modern organisation where the Regent-Couple and the CP-Couple (as a team) make decisions in so-called board meetings (although the King retains the last word).
The proportion of women is over 50%, and the military guys are long gone.

And it is CP Haakon's former private secretary Olav Heian-Engdal who is court-chief (translated in English to Lord Chamberlain), so everything is in a way ready for the next reign.
BTW, Engdal succeeded Gry Mølleskog, who was the world's first female court-chief.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the interesting post! It's wonderful that the King Couple and Crown Prince Couple and their courts have worked together apparently successfully for 12 years.

Which sorts of professional backgrounds are today's courtiers recruited from, now that the "military guys are long gone"?
 
Tatiana Maria said:
Thank you for the interesting post! It's wonderful that the King Couple and Crown Prince Couple and their courts have worked together apparently successfully for 12 years.
Click to expand...
You're welcome! :flowers:

Since 2012, there is just one court!


Tatiana Maria said:
Which sorts of professional backgrounds are today's courtiers recruited from, now that the "military guys are long gone"?
Click to expand...
Let's take the leaders of the court:

Court-chief Olav Heian-Engdal: He has a background from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he was stationed at the embassies in Washington and the Palestinian Authority.

Chief of staff Tone Rinden: She has a background in finance.

Communication-chief Guri Varpe: She has a background in communications consultancy, journalism and politics.

Leader of The Royal Secretariat Gry Ulverud: She has, among other things, a background from the Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
 
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Operations Coordinator
The Royal Court
We are looking for an Operations Coordinator for Skaugum Hovedgård
The Royal Court is looking for a skilled and quality-conscious Operations Coordinator for a 100% permanent position.
As one of two operations coordinators at Skaugum, you have a varied working day and an important role with responsibility for construction and technical operation of the properties as well as janitorial services in unique surroundings.
The position is part of the Crown Prince Couple's private staff, organized under the Royal Household. Daily place of work is at Skaugum in Asker, but also at other royal properties.
Evening, weekend and public holiday work, as well as travel activities, must be taken into account.
www.finn.no

Vi søker Driftskoordinator til Skaugum Hovedgård | FINN.no

Det kongelige hoff søker dyktig og kvalitetsbevisst Driftskoordinator til 100 % fast stilling. Som en av to driftskoordinatorer på Skaugum har du en variert
www.finn.no www.finn.no
 
Content producer - photographer/editor
The Royal Court has a 100% permanent position available as a content producer - photographer/editor.
We are looking for an enterprising employee who will deliver content to the Royal Palace's own channels. Place of work is the royal palace and other royal state and private properties. A good deal of travel must be expected.
Work assignments
  • Photograph, film and edit
  • Plan and produce content for the Royal Palace's channels
  • Text production
  • Other tasks within the communications staff's areas of responsibility
www.finn.no

Innholdsprodusent - fotograf/redigerer | FINN.no

Det kongelige hoff har ledig 100 % fast stilling som innholdsprodusent – fotograf/redigerer. Vi søker etter en initiativrik medarbeider som skal levere
www.finn.no www.finn.no
 
A lovely post about a very dedicated employee - 71 years, very impressive!!


For 71 years, and under three kings, Viktor has worked at the Royal Court. Today was his last day here at the Palace 👑When he started, at just 17 years old, King Haakon was King of Norway. Later, Viktor worked closely with King Olav as his valet. In recent years, he has had a lot of responsibility in the Palace's silver chamber.We thank Viktor for his efforts for the Royal Court 🤗
Click to expand...


Det Norske Kongehuset on Instagram: "I hele 71 år, og under tre konger, har Viktor jobbet ved Det kongelige hoff. I dag hadde han sin siste dag her på Slottet 👑 Da han begynte, bare 17 år gammel, var Kong Haakon konge av Norge. Senere jobbet Viktor

1,047 likes, 12 comments - detnorskekongehus on November 28, 2024: "I hele 71 år, og under tre konger, har Viktor jobbet ved Det kongelige hoff. I dag hadde han sin siste dag her på Slottet 👑 Da han begynte, bare 17 år gammel, var Kong Haakon konge av Norge. Senere jobbet Viktor blant annet...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
iceflower said:
A lovely post about a very dedicated employee - 71 years, very impressive!!





Det Norske Kongehuset on Instagram: "I hele 71 år, og under tre konger, har Viktor jobbet ved Det kongelige hoff. I dag hadde han sin siste dag her på Slottet 👑 Da han begynte, bare 17 år gammel, var Kong Haakon konge av Norge. Senere jobbet Viktor

1,047 likes, 12 comments - detnorskekongehus on November 28, 2024: "I hele 71 år, og under tre konger, har Viktor jobbet ved Det kongelige hoff. I dag hadde han sin siste dag her på Slottet 👑 Da han begynte, bare 17 år gammel, var Kong Haakon konge av Norge. Senere jobbet Viktor blant annet...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
Click to expand...
I think we can safely say ”Viktor has seen it all” 😆👏👏
 
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