Prince Sverre Magnus News & Current Events Part 1: December 2023 -


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It will be interesting to see what he will be doing with his life as The King and The Crown Prince keeps insisting that he will not become a working royal… He will obviously not go to the military, and his time to get deeper knowledge in film and photography in Milano seems to have ended as soon as the relationship was over…

If he doesn’t have the grades to obtain a spot at a university, there are other educations available to either help him fix that, or to help him embark on other career opportunities…

But as the norwegian royal court has already decided that his life is not our business and defends that line almost hostile and aggressively when they are met with routinely and fully justified media questions - don’t expect any formal announcements from their part ! We’ll probably find out by papz pics and Se&Hør…
 
The Conservative Party asks the government to sit down with the Palace and Sverre Magnus for a real job talk. The party believes that SM should be offered a full-time job as a royal with a salary. Conservative MP Tage Pettersen said to NTB that SM is now entering a new phase of adulthood with both more freedom, but also more responsibility. And responsibility is the key word. Because the royal family needs people, says the Conservative Party.
He is not the only one who believes that SM must be given a clear role in the royal family. Royal expert Trond Norén Isaksen urged a greater role for SM in Aftenposten.
Pettersen believes SM should know what his future as part of the royal family could look like, if he wishes. This is not about giving more money and privileges, but about ensuring that the royal house can maintain its duties to the Norwegian people. Pettersen believes there should be one clear rule: Either you are a full-time royal or you run a business. Not both.

Trond Norén Isaksen at a chronicle:
The Royal House needs Sverre Magnus. The question is whether they have realized it themselves.
A prince isn't a private person, and who he works for and who he has commercial ties to isn't a private matter.
There has been much talk about the role of royal "reserves", i.e. siblings of the heir to the throne.
The hard-working and deeply respected Princess Anne of Great Britain. Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, who, together with his wife Sofia, is a resource and contributes to the Swedish royal house. The Belgian king's sister, Princess Astrid, who leads efforts to promote the country's business interests abroad. Prince Joachim of Denmark fills the role of defense industry attaché in Washington.
The best thing for the royal family would be if Prince Sverre Magnus took a job as a prince. Both his father and sister will need him to keep the wheels turning. There is no one else who can fill that role but him.
 
Can't say I disagree with that assessment. The NRF needs to decide whether Magnus is a private person or a prince. So far he hasn't shown any inclination to be a working royal. Fair enough, if so he must give up his title, stay low and find his own happiness. He can't have both. There is after all the risk that he too may marry a witch/Wigan...
 
Can't say I disagree with that assessment. The NRF needs to decide whether Magnus is a private person or a prince. So far he hasn't shown any inclination to be a working royal. Fair enough, if so he must give up his title, stay low and find his own happiness. He can't have both. There is after all the risk that he too may marry a witch/Wigan...
Is this an allusion to his aunt?
 
I think the proposal isn´t fully honest in its reasoning. In Belgium Pss Astrid may have a role, but she will be the last ´spare´ to have one. Her husband has always worked BTW. The younger children of King Philippe will all be expected to work. In Spain and in the Netherlands this is already the case and will be the case in the future. In Denmark Joachim was sidelined a few years ago. The real problem may be that the Crown Princess unfortunately due to health reasons, can not have an agenda as active as others may have.

The trend for all monarchies is to cut away the spares and others and focus on the main players only, that way minimizing risks and costs and hopefully manage public perception of the monarchy being expensive, extravagant and wasteful.
 
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The problem as I see it is that the CP-Couple seemingly don't want to put pressure on Magnus to do royal work if he doesn't want to. Again, fair enough. Then he can live his own life as a private person, because that is obviously what he want.
The second this is that Magnus, apart from the odd balcony appearance, haven't done any work for the NRF. Other spares his age have been out and about even if they are destined to have a minimal role.
Well, he went to Milan to study something about film and media but now that his girlfriend broke or whatever happened, he isn't interested anymore, so it can't have been that big a passion for him. And the thought that this was an extended holiday abroad has popped up in my head.
And that makes me wonder; is he too expecting to live an idle life supported by his family?
And that also makes me wonder: Apart from Ingrid, are there any adults in the NRF?!?

Magnus is an adult now. He can't be both a prince and not be held accountable for what is he doing or not doing and not be subjected to criticism. So what is he? Magnus the Prince or Magnus the private citizen?
Entitlement seems to run deep among the younger generations of the NRF. How deep, I wonder?
 
Treating a partner of one year like a member of the Royal Family, through the whole Crown Prince Family posing for news media photographers with her at a royal wedding (at a time when said partner was a minor of 17 and negative attention was already concentrated on the family due to Marius Borg Høiby’s arrest), and dressing her in the Crown Princess’s wedding gala gown for the occasion, is apparently no guarantee that the partner will indeed become a member of the Royal Family.

Hopefully Amalie Gievær Macleod will avoid accepting any “royal consultant” jobs à la Juliane Snekkestad, and hopefully the Crown Prince Family will rethink their approach towards partners who are not yet engaged to be married.


In the article, the editor of Se og Hør also indirectly criticizes the Royal House’s double standard - publicizing the couple’s relationship yet refusing to comment on the breakup.

“We have also been in contact with the palace on this matter, but they do not wish to answer our questions.​
‘When the relationship is made public through a royal wedding, it’s natural that people talk about it when it’s over. We think the public needs to know’, says Ulf André Andersen, editor in chief of Se og Hør.​

At that age they are too young for a serious commitment as if we were in the 18th century. I bet they were both love struck and that's why she was dolled up in Mette's outfit for the wedding to blend in. But when reality kicks in and at that age you want to be free and enjoy your youth, he was a difficult catch to keep. Hope she can move on and be left alone by the press.

Or, who knows if Sverre will have a cousin William of Wales moment? William and Kate separated and reunited, same could happen to Sverre and Amalie after both spend time apart?

Still, with their lifestyle they are too young for such a commitment.
 
I think the proposal isn´t fully honest in its reasoning. In Belgium Pss Astrid may have a role, but she will be the last ´spare´ to have one. Her husband has always worked BTW. The younger children of King Philippe will all be expected to work. In Spain and in the Netherlands this is already the case and will be the case in the future. In Denmark Joachim was sidelined a few years ago. The real problem may be that the Crown Princess unfortunately due to health reasons, can not have an agenda as active as others may have.

The trend for all monarchies is to cut away the spares and others and focus on the main players only, that way minimizing risks and costs and hopefully manage public perception of the monarchy being expensive, extravagant and wasteful.
In Spain, it appears that Infanta Sofia will be working at the Royal Household; that seems to be the goal.
 
The problem in Norway is indeed that Crown Princess Mette-Marit is chronically ill and will sadly never be able to ”scale up” and have a full time diary… With The King and Queen soon turning 89 and Princess Ingrid Alexandra soon turning 22 and as the heir of the heir is in need of educating herself and not take on a full time responsibility already now, it leaves the monarchy totally dependant on Haakon for several years…

That was certainly not the plan when it many years ago was decided to draw the line after Ingrid Alexandra… Mette-Marit was then expected to become the full time working royal that she sadly never will be…

The NRF are historically used to being few people so that is nothing new but currently and in todays society that requires lots of foreign travel in addition to the work at home they are understaffed with at least one full time position and it shows repeatedly…

Here in Sweden Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine undertakes some royal duties, but they also have other jobs, and only gets paid by the apanage when they does royal duties… That should be an accessible route for Sverre Magnus too if they want to… But i think the real problem is that his parents and grandfather doesn’t want it to be…. He is another human than his aunt and cannot be punished for her actions, and he has shown over the few royal engangements he has done that he is more than capable doing them… But i think the real problem here is not his own will, but rather that he is not allowed to…
 
Prince Sverre Magnus has already performed some official duties (as did Princess Märtha Louise before her recent demotion) and will likely continue to do so. His father has also voiced support for this arrangement:

Interviewer: We know what's expected for Princess Ingrid Alexandra, but what role will Prince Sverre Magnus have when he's grown?

Haakon: As I see it, he has to find his own path. It's Ingrid who will take over the role. Magnus will certainly participate in some things, but I think he probably won't have a full-time official role. That's not the plan. So he has to find something he's interested in pursuing in life.


So the debate is not whether he should become a part-time working royal (he is), it is whether he should become a full-time working royal living off the taxpayer.

A major problem with asking Prince Sverre Magnus to forgo a private income-earning career and become a full-time taxpayer-funded working royal is that recent events in Norway and similar monarchies illustrate very starkly that these days, it is entirely unsafe to assume future monarchs, governments, or publics will feel obligated to stand by any arrangements made for junior princes(ses) even a few years ago, let alone two reigns ago - especially if said princes(ses) and/or their partners have become unpopular, rightly or wrongly.

Would it be fair to ask the prince to commit to full-time royal life today knowing he could easily be kicked out and need to start a career from scratch to support himself and his possible spouse or children in 2035, 2045 or 2055?

Also, I hope those who support Prince Sverre Magnus becoming a full-time working royal would say the same for a future female “spare”.

In Spain, it appears that Infanta Sofia will be working at the Royal Household; that seems to be the goal.

But presumably only until her father dies or abdicates; then she will become a completely private citizen, as happened to her aunts on their father's abdication.
 
Prince Sverre Magnus has already performed some official duties (as did Princess Märtha Louise before her recent demotion) and will likely continue to do so. His father has also voiced support for this arrangement:
If I remember it right, Princess Märtha Louise was offered for being in an active role as a Royal the tiny sum of 1500 Dollars or Euros. 1500!

So, what can Prince Sverre Magnus do, if he gets such an offer too? Well, the same like Märtha Louise: Trying to milk the Royal connection....
 
IMO only I think that the only person that has been raised properly is Ingrid Alexandra. It looks as if she has all the responsibility and the education whereas her two brothers look to be unemployed freeloaders. I was hoping that Magnus would have decided on a career by now or at least done his military duties, but he seems to be as adrift as his elder brother. I just hope that he doesn't get into that same lifestyle of drugs and gangsters. I know parents only do the best they can and still end up having children that did not turn out the way they intended but . . . .
 
The Conservative Party asks the government to sit down with the Palace and Sverre Magnus for a real job talk. The party believes that SM should be offered a full-time job as a royal with a salary. Conservative MP Tage Pettersen said to NTB that SM is now entering a new phase of adulthood with both more freedom, but also more responsibility. And responsibility is the key word. Because the royal family needs people, says the Conservative Party.
He is not the only one who believes that SM must be given a clear role in the royal family. Royal expert Trond Norén Isaksen urged a greater role for SM in Aftenposten.
Pettersen believes SM should know what his future as part of the royal family could look like, if he wishes. This is not about giving more money and privileges, but about ensuring that the royal house can maintain its duties to the Norwegian people. Pettersen believes there should be one clear rule: Either you are a full-time royal or you run a business. Not both.

Trond Norén Isaksen at a chronicle:
The Royal House needs Sverre Magnus. The question is whether they have realized it themselves.
A prince isn't a private person, and who he works for and who he has commercial ties to isn't a private matter.
There has been much talk about the role of royal "reserves", i.e. siblings of the heir to the throne.
The hard-working and deeply respected Princess Anne of Great Britain. Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, who, together with his wife Sofia, is a resource and contributes to the Swedish royal house. The Belgian king's sister, Princess Astrid, who leads efforts to promote the country's business interests abroad. Prince Joachim of Denmark fills the role of defense industry attaché in Washington.
The best thing for the royal family would be if Prince Sverre Magnus took a job as a prince. Both his father and sister will need him to keep the wheels turning. There is no one else who can fill that role but him.

The NTB article says that Tage Pettersen's intervention breaches the convention that political parties should refrain from meddling with the functioning of the Royal House. So, is Mr. Pettersen commenting for the entire Conservative Party, as the start of the article implies, or only on his own behalf? The former would seem more constitutionally significant.


For both Mr. Pettersen and Mr. Norén Isaksen, the availability of working hands is not the only issue. They both argue it is problematic for a person to have a royal title and privileges, but use their royal title and privileges to grow their own commercial career rather than to serve their country. Both cite Princess Märtha Louise as an example to avoid repeating.


I agree with them that this is a true concern. Unfortunately, it seems to me that public opinion is putting many royal families in a no-win position regarding “spares” and other royals outside of the main line:

  • If they are full-time royals, the public is outraged that their taxpayer money is subsidizing overprivileged adults who should be earning their own living, not stealing tax dollars away from the truly needy.

  • If they balance part-time royal activities with private commercial work to pay their bills, the public is outraged that they are leveraging their royal status to enrich themselves, commercializing the monarchy, and entangling the country and public resources into their business deals.

  • If they live as entirely private citizens, the public may still be outraged about all of the above if they are still perceived as privileged royal family members, and the public will also be outraged if they unexpectedly succeed as head of state, regent, or senior royal, are naturally completely unprepared for the job, and make a rightful mess of it.

To be clear, I think all the above complaints do have merit – but both royal families and their publics will need to adjust their expectations to escape these no-win situations.
 
By the end of the year Sverre Magnus will have attended 12-13 events, one solo, some family/national day and some with another member of his family. I see Isaksen writers that this is much less than other royals in his position, but is it really? Compared to Infanta Sofia yes, but compared to Alexia and Isabella, not really much different. And I see no trace of any royal family preparering a young royal of 19-20 to be a part time working royal at this age like he seems to want, 1-2 days a week. Probably Sverre Magnus should focus on what he wants to study and not just explore, and then it will be easter for the court to answer what he is doing and not sound so Clumsy … and this discusssion can be put off until we have a new King who can then consider what he has to work with… probably only himself and his daughter…not unlike King Olav had…
 
While Trond Norén Isaksen have some points, i also think is overexaggerating in other ways…

Yes the NRF is far less visible than they was 10-20 years ago but are they so invisible that the monarchy is threatened ? No i don’t think so… The constitutional duties are being upheld and the patronages are being visited… And on and off we see mostly Crown Prince Haakon and Queen Sonja, and occasionally also King Harald representing outside of Oslo.

Isaksen often repeats what was said to be Queen Elizabeth II’s mantra ”i have to be seen to be belived” and argues that it means that the royals must take on loads of patronages and be out on the street several days every week if they want to be belived by their people (=survive)….. Well it may have been Queen Elizabeth II’s and Prince Philip’s way of ”doing monarchy” but it is certainly not how it is everywhere…

I think it’s entirely right and fair that people have demands and expectations at Prince Sverre Magnus for as long as he carries a the word ”Prince” in his name and wants to know what he plans to do with his life… Both he himself and the court has a responsibility to not make it sound like he’s spending his days doing nothing living off the tax payers money… But there is also no need to force a young man to drop or lessen his studies and future plans (whatever they are) to traveling around Norway to give inagural speeches, cutting ribbons and attend gala dinners…. He most likely will have to help his father and sister doing that at some point - but that time is not now…
 
It’s also not fair to Magnus (I seem to keep saying this) — he didn’t ask to be a Prince and was certainly not raised as the spare to his sister or with the same sorts of expectations or public interest until now, and he has an excessively unfortunate older brother and is being tarred with the same brush; if he is isn’t completing university like Ingrid then he must certainly be an imminent criminal wastrel like Marius.

If he wants to live his life discreetly, not as an embarrassment to his dad or big sister, and most importantly, legally, that’s pretty much his right.
 
The reality is that having spare royals hanging around to cut ribbons and attend a few events a year to 'support the heir and monarch' is out dated. And I highly doubt that Harry is the only spare who feels the confinement and posibly resentment.

There is no reason anyone but the monarch and heir, and their spouses, need to devote their lives fully to being royal. They can easily balance careers, and having patronages, attending big events as well. Within some guideline so we don't end up with a Martha Louise situation.

Sverre Magnus has been raised to be a part time royal. His father's comments make that clear. He has been allowed to pursue his interests. There is no reason he shouldn't be allowed to go into film etc while still supporting his dad and sister one day.

Honestly it would make royals look more up to date and less a burden. People always complain about 'royal moochers' living off people. Showing minor royals actually working, and not just relying on a royal income, would help that image as well.
 
Perhaps he simply needs a little more time to figure out which profession or course of study interests him. Not every school leaver knows immediately what they want to do in the future. Some start several courses of study or do apprenticeships and then realize that none of them were right for them. There are even people who have worked in one profession for years and then eventually want to do something different, and do so.

He's still young, and he should be given some time; he's not in a situation where he absolutely has to earn money.
I hope his parents are advising him and not leaving him on his own.

Comparing him to Marius in any way is unfair and inappropriate.
 
I’d say the number of engagements is indeed not the problem. His perceived general lack of direction in life is. He already spend a year in Trondheim without any clear purpose (other than be with his girlfriend), then followed her to Italy where he was supposedly was exploring his interest in film (although it is unclear how and why Milano would be a good place for that) and returned when he broke up with his girlfriend. All signs that he has very little clue what he wants to do with his life. And yes, people might change but it would be wise to make a real effort.
 
I think the best thing for Prince Sverre Magnus would be to have his own job/business (without it being controversial) and combine that with work for the Norwegian royal family. He could support some cause/institution, for example.

Now, continuing like this without a defined direction is not good for his image, and people will start to question him.
 
I’d say the number of engagements is indeed not the problem. His perceived general lack of direction in life is. He already spend a year in Trondheim without any clear purpose (other than be with his girlfriend), then followed her to Italy where he was supposedly was exploring his interest in film (although it is unclear how and why Milano would be a good place for that) and returned when he broke up with his girlfriend. All signs that he has very little clue what he wants to do with his life. And yes, people might change but it would be wise to make a real effort.
I had not known about the year in Trondheim, then it would be 2 years since he has finished high school? In that case, yes, it would be time to start something.
 
It’s also not fair to Magnus (I seem to keep saying this) — he didn’t ask to be a Prince and was certainly not raised as the spare to his sister or with the same sorts of expectations or public interest until now, and he has an excessively unfortunate older brother and is being tarred with the same brush; if he is isn’t completing university like Ingrid then he must certainly be an imminent criminal wastrel like Marius.

If he wants to live his life discreetly, not as an embarrassment to his dad or big sister, and most importantly, legally, that’s pretty much his right.
I do indeed suspect there is an underlying worry around the Norwegian coffee-table that Magnus may turn out similar to his aunt and in the worst case scenario may be a a waster like his half-brother.
The problem with Magnus is that you can't both be a prince and a totally private person at the same time. So people, IMO, certainly have the right to expect something from him and criticize him if need be.
Right now the NRF's reputation is nothing to write home about and it will be a lot worse next year, both during the trial but also when the press really starts digging afterwards. - The foreign press will not be restrained like the Norwegian press appears to be.
The foreign press will not only send tabloid and gossip reporters to Norway, they will send serious journalists as well, who will ask unpleasant questions

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It's normal for young people Magnus age to take a gap year, even two years, where they travel (a formative journey) or get a job, earning money for when they start their studies or apprenticeship or get a job as an intern in order to learn more about a future possible career o sign up for voluntary conscription (challenge themselves).
But Marius went to Trondheim to do something media-whatever and then he went to Milano to study media-something only to return home when it wasn't fun being there without his girlfriend.
So what does he want with his life? And what does the NRF want with Magnus?
I suspect the underlying question is: Is Magnus - too - going to be idling about, while enjoying the privileges of being royal?
Especially as everybody and their pet turtle can see that Haakon and by extension Ingrid really could need help! For the next ten years Ingrid can only be a part-time working royal, because she has her education and training to take care of. And as the Regent-Couple are getting older and more frail and MM too is getting more frail, the NRF will be reduced to 1½ active member. Perhaps more correctly ½+½ working members, because I doubt Haakon will do much traveling as M&M become more affected by her illness.
That's an awful few to handle all the ceremonial, administrative and representative roles expected of a royal family - while at the same time staying relevant.
A royal family cannot become almost "invisible" for too long. That's a luxury a representative president can have, because you can always replace a president by appointing someone else to take over.
So Magnus is actually needed. And if he doesn't want to be working royal, then say so, so that the Norwegians can grit their teeth for the next ten-fifteen years. Because once Ingrid marry someone and hopefully have children, things will change radically and assuredly for the better.
 
I was looking into the Norwegian school system and upper secondary school nowadays includes two different routes: general and vocational. Sverre Magnus' program at Elvebakken (Information Technology & Media Production) was part of the 'vocational' stream.

According to wikipedia the vocational stream is set up in different ways: "Vocational studies usually follow a typical structure named the "2+2 model": after two years of school training (with workshops and a short internship in industry), the student does an apprenticeship for two years in an enterprise or a public institution. The apprenticeship is divided into one year of training and one year of practical work. Some vocational curricula are nonetheless entirely school-based, and others include three years of apprenticeship instead of two."

Here is the structure at Elvebakken (you can click on the various options and it shows the courses offered and options for the next year of study).
Given that the prince was at the school for 3 years it seems he did the two vocational years followed by a year focused on more general education (for example this route (with the supplementary programme) as my guess would be that he picked media production over IT) which would allow him access to higher education if he would be interested. He clearly didn't do the 2-year apprenticeship.
 
Because once Ingrid marry someone and hopefully have children, things will change radically and assuredly for the better.
I don’t want to start this discussion in her brother’s thread, but you’re assuming that that marriage works, and isn’t, say, entered into over-hastily given the pressure, her responsibilities, and everything with her family. (Marriage history and the need for someone solid and “boring” included.)

There may be no clear “endgame” to this in sight, whatever Magnus does or does not do.
 
I don’t want to start this discussion in her brother’s thread, but you’re assuming that that marriage works, and isn’t, say, entered into over-hastily given the pressure, her responsibilities, and everything with her family. (Marriage history and the need for someone solid and “boring” included.)

There may be no clear “endgame” to this in sight, whatever Magnus does or does not do.
It's difficult to make predictions, especially about the future...

I choose to believe Ingrid has more sense and better luck in finding a spouse. Otherwise I may live to see the Norwegian monarchy end.
 
Prince Sverre Magnus’s official profile has been updated to read “He undertakes duties on behalf of the Royal House.”


Hopefully that will clarify for foreign royal watchers that Prince Sverre Magnus is officially a part-time working royal (though even Crown Prince Haakon explicitly saying in a major interview in 2023 that Sverre Magnus would "participate in some [royal] things" didn’t seem to end the speculation).

The biography still contains no information on how the prince has been spending his time since graduating from high school in June 2024.

 
In the year with the royal family Ingrid says when asked:

I think I will always need Magnus, but he must find his own road, and what he wants to do in life. I think this is a conversation we (she and he) will have in the future, what will work for us, and how it will be a good solution.

Haakon was also more open in his answers when he said beeing three geneations at work was nice and showed the long lines/generations.
 
These words from Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Crown Prince Haakon regarding the future of Prince Sverre Magnus show that the royal family is beginning to react to all the unfortunate events that have occurred. It's good to see this change in attitude from the Royal Family.
 
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