A proposed amendment would let the 22-year-old future queen step in if King Harald and Crown Prince Haakon cannot serve.
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Norway’s parliament, the Storting, is reviewing a constitutional amendment that would name Princess Ingrid Alexandra as regent. It would apply if both King Harald and Crown Prince Haakon become unable to carry out their duties. A vote is set for 3 November 2026.
The measure was first introduced in autumn 2024. Six parties back it: Labour, the Progress Party, the Centre Party, the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party, and the Christian Democratic Party. It is now with the Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs, ahead of full debate this autumn. As a constitutional change, it needs a two-thirds majority.
Norway’s constitution has no existing regency provision. Under current rules, if the King became incapacitated while the Crown Prince was abroad, the government would have to assume the constitutional duties of the head of state. That gap is what the amendment is meant to close.
The proposed wording would let “the eldest child of the heir to the throne, upon reaching the age of 18, serve as regent if both the King and the heir are unable to perform their duties.” In practice, that means Princess Ingrid. Only Princess Ingrid. Her younger brother, Prince Sverre Magnus, is excluded under the current draft.
That narrow framing has drawn criticism. One Nettavisen opinion column argued the amendment solves an immediate problem rather than building a lasting framework. Labour’s Sverre Myrli, one of the proposal’s sponsors, sees it differently. He told Aftenposten the process doubles as preparation. Princess Ingrid will hold the throne one day. A regency role now gives her a head start.
Norway’s neighbours handle this differently. Denmark’s constitution, which partly inspired Norway’s approach, requires the monarch to name a regent any time they leave the country, even on official business. King Frederik keeps a standing list of family members who can step in. Sweden assigns regency by line of succession. Norway has never needed either system. Until now.
If the amendment passes on 3 November 2026, Princess Ingrid gains a formal constitutional role. The timing lands during her first semester at the University of Oslo, after a period studying in Sydney. It is also another step toward her eventual role as Norway’s first queen regnant in modern history.
For now, the proposal remains exactly that. A proposal. Broad political backing. No guaranteed outcome until the Storting votes.
Norway is not the only monarchy rewriting its rules for a new generation. Crown & Court covered a similar reckoning in Japan’s 1947 Imperial Household Law, the legislation now at the centre of Japan’s own succession crisis.
The Scandinavians: In Search of the Soul of the North covers the bigger picture here. Worth the read.
The Storting has until 3 November 2026 to decide. Princess Ingrid, for her part, has a university timetable to keep either way.
Marcus Webb is Crown & Court’s Royal News Correspondent. Fleet Street trained, with twenty years covering the British royal family, he has stood outside more palaces in the rain than he cares to count.
“The palace says nothing. Which tells you everything.”
