I know you've wanted my thoughts on this for a LONG time, so here we go:
And to those who don't understand any of this? Well, this was originally discussed in the ''May 17th'' thread, so Tatiana Maria's quotes from my posts are from there.
Thank you for explaining this.
As people abroad have debated about the reasons Sverre Magnus was not given the HRH (and even about elevating him when Haakon ascends the throne), I had assumed there were no official answers. They and I undoubtedly did not see the interviews.
If anyone has the interviews, I would appreciate it.
You're very welcome!
I think the TV-interview with Haakon was done in connection with Sverre's birth, while the interview with Märtha was done in connection with her wedding in 2002, or when she started her ''Angel School'' in 2007.
Both these interviews were available on NRK's old NETT-TV, until it was replaced with a newer version in 2012.
But Märtha has also talked about why she lost her position as a member of the Royal House in other interviews with Newspapers/Magazines, which I think will still be available online. - And if I get over them, I will send them to you.
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Prince Sverre Magnus's yearly appearances on the balcony surprise me because they suggest he will have a more prominent role than the princesses who are not allowed on the balcony. It would be fairer to put him in a similar position to his aunt and great-aunt at least once he marries, and I hope you are proven right.
1. But as I wrote in post 579 in the ''May 17th'' thread, Ragnhild, Astrid, and Märtha was on the balcony until they married and then ceased to be members of the Royal House.
2. Sverre: Despite not being a member of the Royal House, he is (like his aunt and grand-aunts) a child of the heir/monarch, and will therefore stand on the balcony until he marries.
3. If the King and the CP couple had wanted him to have a more prominent role than the princesses, then he would have been a member of the Royal House with the style of Royal Highness from when he was born.
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I didn't know whether Ms. Versto meant that Sverre Magnus would have the freedom to choose between a career and full-time public duties, or that Sverre Magnus was bound to work at a career and would have the freedom to choose his job. What do you think was meant?
That the King (supported by the CP couple) thought it would give him greater freedom to choose his own future/career if he was not born as a member of the Royal House, especially since he will have to earn his own money, and would have lost his status as a Royal House member once he was married, anyway.
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Further, if Prince Sverre Magnus marries a non-royal woman with the consent of the King and has children who are in the line of succession, what role do you imagine his wife and children would have? Would the wife be a princess, would she give up her career once she marries, and would she perform public duties? Would the children be princesses/princes, would they have professional careers, and would they be offered patronages?
Would Sverre's wife be a princess? That is up to the monarch, but I don't think so. - Why? Most Norwegians (politicians, commentators, experts and myself included) are VERY keen on gender equality, and the criticism will therefore be ENORMOUS if Sverre's wife became a princess, while Erling Lorentzen, Johan Martin Ferner & Ari Behn didn't become princes.
The headlines will be something like this: ''The spouses of male non-Royal House members receives titles, while the spouses of female non-Royal House members does not. - Gender equality anyone?''
Would she give up her career once she marries? No, she won't (I will actually go so far as to say that I'm 100% sure about that). - Why? Well, because that woman will marry a prince who is not a member of the Royal House, and he will most likely have a career of his own. Their alternative is to live of a trust-fund, but the NRF isn't that rich, so that would be quite difficult.
Would she perform public duties? No, she won't (I will say that I'm 100% sure about that too). - Why? Same as above.
Would their children be princesses/princes? No, they won't (I will say that I'm 200% sure about that). - Why? Because their parents would not be members of the Royal House, not that they had received any titles, anyway (this is not Denmark or Sweden).
Would their children have professional careers? Yes, they would (I will say that I'm 200% sure about that too). - Why? Well, they will need something to live of.
Would their children be offered patronages? No way (and I couldn't be more sure). - Why? Because (as the children of Ragnhild, Astrid, and Märtha) they won't have any titles, or official functions at all.
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Thanks! I have learned a great deal about Princess Astrid from you. But I'm puzzled with regard to the source of her income and fortune, given that she did not receive state funding.
You're welcome!
Well, the numbers come from Norway's official tax lists.
Her income: The honorary pension was at 396.000 NOK in 2002, likely to be much higher now. The rest of her income comes from investments, funds, etc.
Her fortune: As I wrote in the ''May 17th'' thread, she was registered with a fortune worth over 40 millions NOK in 2015 and 2016.
This was down from 2007, when she was registered with 68,7 millions NOK.
Bad investments? Well, I doubt it. - She had probably just transferred some assets/money to her children/grandchildren.
P.S: Be aware that these numbers don't necessarily reflect reality. Published incomes are almost always far less than actual income, because they're adjusted for deductions, while net worth figures are also much less than actual net worth. That's because they also reflect assessed tax valuations of real estate, for example, not market value, and many other assets are depreciated.
Which means that this princess of ours is probably worth even more.
Where does her wealth come from? Well, she inherited a two-digit million amount after her father, King Olav in 1991 (that is what the court would say about it), so we must assume that most of her wealth comes from him. - And perhaps she has been lucky with her investments.
BTW, if some of you wonders: Did Princess Astrid and her late sister had to pay tax on their inheritance? No, the Ministry of Finance decided that they didn't have to pay a penny
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In other news:
Kjell Arne Totland @TV2KjellArne
ROYALS ON ARCTIC CRUISE #KingHarald & #QueenSonja of #Norway & their entire #family are currently cruising along the coast of #Spitsbergen on board the #royal #yacht #Norge.
Kjell Arne Totland @TV2KjellArne
WILL THEY SEE POLAR BEARS? #KingHarald & #QueenSonja of #Norway & their entire family are currently on a week-long #arctic #cruise around #Spitsbergen on board the #royal #yacht #Norge.
NRK article:
Kongefamilien til Svalbard -
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Blog post from Royal Expert, Kjell Arne Totland:
Hele kongefamilien på sommertokt til Svalbard -
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