‘As far away as possible’: Why Norway’s new King Haakon once fled royal life for California

Norway’s new King Haakon VIII has spent most of his life preparing for a role he once wanted to escape.

Long before he inherited the throne following the death of his father, King Harald V, Haakon was a reluctant royal who found the attention surrounding his family name deeply uncomfortable.

As a schoolboy, being recognised as a prince made him anxious. As a young man, he chose a university thousands of miles from home, heading to California rather than following the well-worn path taken by earlier generations of his family.


He wanted, as he later put it, to be “as far away as possible.”

Now, at 53, Haakon has become Norway’s king at a difficult moment for the royal family. His accession follows the death of King Harald, who died aged 89, and comes as the monarchy faces intense scrutiny over controversies involving Queen Mette-Marit and Haakon’s stepson, Marius Borg Høiby.

A prince who did not want the attention

For Haakon, growing up as the future king did not always feel like a privilege.

In his 2023 autobiography, Haakon, he described the unease he felt at a state primary school in Oslo, where his identity made him stand out. He preferred keeping a low profile and avoiding the kind of attention that came with being the son of Norway’s monarch.

That instinct to disappear from the spotlight later shaped one of the most significant decisions of his early adult life.

Rather than follow his father and grandfather to the University of Oxford, Haakon crossed the Atlantic and enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley. The distance was deliberate. California offered something Norway could not: the possibility of living, at least for a while, beyond the constant expectations attached to the royal family.

The choice also opened the door to another life.

California, concerts and the freedom of the ocean

Haakon arrived in California in the 1990s, drawn not only by university life but also by the state’s music culture and the Pacific Ocean.

He attended concerts and immersed himself in a world far removed from palace duties, including a memorable performance by rapper Nas during the tense years of the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop rivalry.

But surfing offered perhaps the clearest escape.

In the water, Haakon later recalled, he could simply be himself. Away from cameras, ceremonies and public expectations, the future king found a sense of freedom that would remain important to him long after his California years ended.

His time abroad did not change the fact that he was destined for the throne. It did, however, appear to give him the distance he needed to gradually accept it.

Haakon would eventually return to Norway and take on an increasingly prominent role as King Harald’s health declined. On Friday, that long period of preparation ended when he automatically succeeded his father as Norway’s new monarch, taking the name King Haakon VIII.

The woman who helped bring him out of his shell

Shortly after returning to Norway in 1999, Haakon met Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby at a music festival.

Their relationship quickly became one of the most closely watched royal romances in Europe.

Mette-Marit was a commoner and a single mother, and her past became the subject of intense media attention.

Yet King Harald, who had himself fought to marry Sonja Haraldsen despite objections from his own father, publicly embraced her.

Haakon and Mette-Marit married in 2001 and went on to have two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus. Mette-Marit’s son from an earlier relationship, Marius Borg Høiby, also became part of the wider royal household.

For Haakon, the relationship brought a personal change as well.

He has described himself as analytical and less comfortable socially, while portraying Mette-Marit as someone able to connect effortlessly with people. Over time, the prince who once preferred to avoid attention appeared to grow more at ease with the public role he had spent years resisting.

A new king takes the throne amid family turmoil

Haakon’s first days as king are unlikely to resemble the quiet family life he once sought in California.

The Norwegian royal family has been under pressure following renewed scrutiny of Mette-Marit’s past contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Separately, her eldest son, Marius Borg Høiby, was convicted in June on two rape counts and one count of domestic violence and sentenced to four years in prison. Both the prosecution and Høiby have appealed the sentence, according to Reuters.

Throughout the turmoil, Haakon has publicly stood by his family while also expressing sympathy for alleged victims.

Speaking about the strain on his family, he said his priority was to look after “the flock” — a phrase that also reveals something about the king’s view of his role.

Haakon may once have wanted to put as much distance as possible between himself and royal life. But decades later, the instinct to protect and hold his family together has become central to his public identity.

From reluctant prince to King Haakon VIII

Haakon is the fourth king of modern Norway, following a royal line established after the country chose monarchy over a republic when it became fully independent from Sweden in 1905.

His great-grandfather, Denmark’s Prince Carl, became King Haakon VII, reviving the historic Norwegian royal name. More than a century later, his great-grandson has now inherited the same mantle.

For the man who once escaped to Berkeley, surfed California waves and tried to live outside the glare of royal life, the journey to the throne has been anything but straightforward.

Yet Haakon eventually came to see purpose in the position he had struggled to accept.

He still speaks fondly of being in the water with his family, describing the sea as a place of calm and connection. It is a striking image for a king beginning his reign under turbulent circumstances: the reluctant prince who once ran from royal expectations now finds himself at the centre of Norway’s monarchy, with his family and the institution both facing an uncertain new chapter.