Norway’s eccentric royals make Britain’s look mundane

It’s not hard to see why the 93-year-old, wheelchair-bound Princess Astrid of Norway might feel that now is the moment to remind Norwegians ‘I can still be useful for something’, as she did in a rare interview last month. The Princess, who is the sister of 88-year-old King Harald, was awarded an honorary pension by the government two decades ago; last year, her official diary shrank to 20 engagements. But 2024 was not kind to Norway’s ruling house. More than once, the royal family was reduced to a single working member: Harald’s heir, Crown Prince Haakon. Norway’s monarchy, once notable for its remarkable popularity, is now beset by crises, including ill health, criminal proceedings and Meghan-and-Harry-style spoke-in-the-wheels stuff. Nonagenarian Princess Astrid could well find her offer taken seriously.

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Slimmed-down monarchies, as Britain’s royal family has been forced to recognise, pose challenges every bit as tricky as their more bloated equivalents. Just how does a small team carry out a programme of public engagements devised for a significantly longer batting order? At what point does a monarch’s illness prompt concern about the stability of the institution itself? And what’s the deal with state funding for a dwindling public presence?

In Britain’s case, the King could call on two reliable siblings, including his indefatigable sister the Princess Royal, as well as his son and those unshowy royal stalwarts the Gloucesters – the late Queen’s youngest royal cousin and his Danish-born wife Birgitte. In Norway, Harald has a single surviving sibling, Princess Astrid, and no working royal cousins. Both he and his 87-year-old wife Queen Sonja have recently spent time in hospital.