Strictly speaking, it’s not that surprising. But the new biography of Crown Prince Haakon, penned by Kjetil S. Østli, is suitable to reassure. Norway’s next king appears as a serious and responsible man. Thorough and curious. Preoccupied with being kind. It is primarily in one particular chapter of “Haakon” that the reader hears about uncontrolled emotions, about anger and despair. It concerns the time after the main character fell in love with Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, who almost overnight became Norway’s most famous single mother. ROYAL ENGAGEMENT: One of the few times the crown prince expresses anger is when he thinks back to the time when his girlfriend Mette-Marit was harshly criticized in the media and the public. Photo: Lise Åserud / SCANPIX The couple felt chased. They experienced that his integrity, her morals were questioned, that strangers firmly believed that it was wrong for them to be together. To this day, the crown prince knows that he failed those who were interested in house music, by taking part in a public narrative that assumed that the environment was overflowing with drugs. The Crown Princess found it terrible to have to go through penance and almost be cleansed of her youthful sins in public. It’s really fitting that this book comes out shortly after another account that addresses what it was like to be famous and hounded by the media at about the same time, namely Britney Spears’ autobiography. Both books are a reminder that not so long ago, especially the most tabloid sections of the press, thought they had almost carte blanche to do whatever they wanted in front of others, as long as they were famous enough. Little did they realize then that even very famous people can be very young, bewildered, about to do something they have never done before. FORCED TO CHOOSE: Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby and Crown Prince Haakon had to make the choice to bet on each other earlier than they might otherwise have done, because the pressure on them was so great. Photo: NTB But the crown prince also points to another paradox. In a way, it was not the case that he and the crown princess chose each other despite the opposition. It was almost the opposite, that they chose each other because of the critics. All the hoopla turned them into a Romeo and Juliet-like couple, the forbidden lovers. They were forced to get serious, forced to make fundamental choices, very early in the relationship. Partly because of her little son, but also because of the pressure. Because what would be the point of sacrificing so much for a love relationship, if it wasn’t the big thing, the thing that would last? Similar things have been written about the relationship between Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla, when Princess Diana had blown open the gate, which usually closed to the view of the royal apartments. “There were three of us in this marriage”, was her quote-friendly formulation. MATCHING QUARTET: The Crown Prince says that the most important things in life are his wife and three children, Prince Sverre Magnus and Princess Ingrid Alexandra, as well as Marius Borg Høiby, who is not in the picture. Photo: Jan Langhaug / NTB In her own way, the enraged princess helped make her husband and rival a couple in the eyes of the world, and bind them together in a shared destiny. After something like that, they would almost have to bet or break. Charles and Camilla bet. Haakon and Mette-Marit were in a less morally burdensome situation, it must be said. But they bet, they too. But the crown prince is probably also angry about other things. Like his mother, he must have a considerable temperament. His sister has described how he could rage over losing games, tearing down books and bookshelves in his room. Perhaps this was primarily the anger of a young man. But even now he can get very upset about injustice. There are many places you can channel this commitment, if you are royal. Wherever you go, the cameras follow. You can make these cameras go into the rooms where they are, those who are having a hard time, those who you think should have a better lot in life. LOYAL: The Crown Prince has a close relationship with Princess Märtha Louise, and expresses support for his sister. Photo: NTB But in matters of injustice, there is often an enemy. There are some who deal with differences, some who maintain the unjust structures. Who are they? In this account, they are hardly to be found, apart from those who came up with harsh characteristics of the crown princess over twenty years ago. Their absence highlights another side of royalty: You can be angry on behalf of others, but you can’t be angry at anyone. Crown Prince Haakon seems to have made this work for himself by cultivating a balance, in his life as well as in his world of ideas, and avoiding extremes. He maintains that no one is evil, that it is the world that has pushed the evil buttons in them. But it also makes the reader formulate some questions for himself. How does the Crown Prince relate to the many people who want to stand for a few seconds in the royal sun, and who might want to use close contact with them to appear more polite than they might be? How can one avoid ending up at the home of convicted rapist Jeffrey Epstein, something the Crown Princess had to regret in 2019? What overview can one expect them to have of who they meet? Who should be excluded? The crown prince has not entered into such dilemmas. NOT JUST GOOD: In 1980, Prince Haakon Magnus started at Smestad School. It was not only successful, and in his biography he describes classmates who were not always kind. Photo: Sigurdsøn / SCANPIX There is something symptomatic about this that we know that the crown prince can get angry, that he can be provoked, but little about what, in concrete terms, arouses such feelings. This is a paradox in the relationship between the royals and the public. By all accounts, there is a great appetite for royal material, for information about the royals’ private lives. This appetite has paid for the fat cars and big houses of celebrity magazine editors all over the world. But do we really want to know that much? Imagine if the crown prince had answered honestly to questions about what really bores him. Imagine if the answer, for example, had been fish and the fishing industry. Then he would never be able to visit a fish reception again, because then everyone would think he hated being there. Imagine if he had busted out with what complexes he had, what demons he never got rid of. Then at every opportunity people had tried to calm him down, then they would think about him and whether he was okay, and not about the work he does. LESS RARE: Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s illness means that they are seen together less often now than before, but this week they were award presenters at the presentation of the Nordic Council’s awards at the Opera in Bjørvika. Photo: NTB The royals are completely dependent on us being able to project emotions into them. They have to make everyone feel valued, to feel interesting. It may be that some of them, like the crown prince, are actually so open-minded by nature and training that they see the interesting in all things. But if he had been too familiar with us, it would have been a direct obstacle to carrying out the job he is set to do in a good way. There are also other apparent contradictions he has had to live with. The Crown Prince has spoken many times about the need to be convinced that he is doing something right, something authentic. This was probably particularly important to him when he was young. It is a tough demand to make for someone who is so governed by rites and duties in everyday life. The way he has reconciled this seems to be to focus on the possibilities. FAR AWAY: Crown Prince Haakon wanted far away from Norway when he studied, and ended up at the liberal Berkeley. The many discussions at the famous university greatly fascinated him. Photo: AP In some ways, he lives with far less freedom than you and me. But in this regulated life there are opportunities to accomplish something he would otherwise not be able to accomplish, in the face of people he would otherwise not get to meet. So it is interesting that he, a searching soul, has landed exactly where he really had to land in order to be able to become Norway’s next king. But it seems a good thing for the monarchy that he has insisted on going these rounds in his own head, and has become so sure of what the course is going forward.
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You don’t want to know as much about the crown prince as you think – Statement
