– There was a period where I met ex-criminals and the crown prince on the same day, so there was quite a big gap in my working life for a while, says writer Kjetil Østli. – What is he like as a person? – He has a wonderful, dark sense of humour, which doesn’t come across much otherwise. It’s fun that he’s not so self-congratulatory. Kjetil Østli is partly known as an award-winning Aftenposten journalist, but he has also written books about crime and terror. Almost 15 years ago, he published “Police and robbers”, which is about how a criminal circle from Tveita in Oslo ended up as participants in the Nokas robbery and the murder of a policeman. He has also written “Justice is just a word”, a book about the trial after 22 July. Now he is again in book news, with the story about the crown prince: “Haakon. Stories of an heir to the throne”. The man behind the monarchy The 48-year-old from Gol in Hallingdal says that he is fundamentally curious and that he wanted to get to know the man behind the royal staff. – I like getting to know people who live a different life than me, and hearing about how they live, what their everyday life is like and what they think about. How do we end up the way we do? Therefore, in a way, the transition between the various sources was not that great. – What are people afraid of, what do they yearn for, what makes them happy? What are you trying to achieve, regardless of whether you are a crown prince or wildling? The universal mechanisms are the same, says Østli. – How big a difference is there between the crown prince and a criminal gang leader? – We are all people. He was born into something completely unique, so the two human stories are wildly different, so I won’t even try to compare them. On a trip both out – and down into the dark In addition to the books mentioned, Østli has also written the book “The Godfather” about the B gang and the criminal underworld. When he has not dived into the dark, Østli has been out in the open air. Not as a recently released from prison, but as a reporter and author, including by catching “The new fish” or collecting the story of Lars Monsen between two covers, in the book “Mitt liv”. – What surprised you the most in working on the book about the crown prince? – I have learned to be prepared. He knows something about everything. The Crown Prince is invited all over Norway and the world and is read aloud and given briefings. If you are not prepared, you will be undressed. He is extremely thorough, says Østli. And speaking of clothes. – At the start I thought of him as a normal interview subject, but I noticed that along the way I started to put on nicer clothes, because I felt a bit sloppy and stupid sometimes.
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Kjetil Østli with a new book about Crown Prince Haakon – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
