As comfortable in a duffel coat as in ceremonial dress, Norway's King Haakon is the new face of a monarchy long praised for its modernity and modesty, but now beset by woe and scandal.Haakon automatically succeeded to the throne Friday after his father, King Harald, passed away peacefully earlier in the day. He is due to swear an oath before the government later Friday.
He has increasingly seen his family's affairs plastered across front pages: his wife's lung transplant, revelations about her ties to convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a rape conviction against his stepson, and the escapades of his eccentric sister and her American self-proclaimed shaman husband.
Haakon, a tall, bearded and stately 53-year-old, is as modest and measured as most Norwegians -- reflecting a society that shuns opulence and ostentation.
Married to Mette-Marit, a commoner who was a single mother, Haakon has focused his attention on issues that concern many of his generation, including environmental protection and fighting racism and homophobia.
"It's important that we protect who we are and for Norway to be a country where we're allowed to love and be with whoever we want," he said the day after a bloody attack against the gay community in Oslo in June 2022.
