Haakon now assumes his new role during a challenging period, as the royal family has endured health difficulties and scandals throughout the year.
Earlier this year, now-Queen Mette-Marit faced scrutiny after it emerged that she had maintained a three-year friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, for which she publicly apologized.
Later in the year, she underwent a lung transplant after being diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis since 2018; doctors have not declared her stable and will do so only next year, requiring her husband to manage both his new official responsibilities and her care.
Meanwhile, Mette-Marit’s son from a prior relationship, Marius Borg Høiby, was convicted in June of rape and related offenses, receiving a four-year prison sentence; he is currently appealing the verdict.
Although Høiby is not a royal family member, he grew up with them since age four, after Haakon married his mother.
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