Prince Sverre Magnus full-time job is no longer just a matter for the palace but for politicians, after Norway’s Conservative Party (Høyre) asked the government to discuss offering the 20-year-old prince a paid, full-time role within the Norwegian royal family. The proposal, framed as a birthday “gift”, has reopened the debate on how many working royals Norway needs – and where to draw the line between public duty and private business.
A birthday proposal for a full-time royal job
The initiative comes from Tage Pettersen, a member of parliament for Høyre, who used Prince Sverre Magnus’ 20th birthday to call for a formal conversation between the government, the Royal Court and the prince about his future role. In his view, Norway should offer the young prince a full-time royal job with a salary, rather than leaving him in a grey zone between public figure and private citizen.
Pettersen argues that the royal household needs more capacity at a time when Crown Prince Haakon increasingly represents Norway abroad. If the heir to the throne spends more time on state visits, international conferences and foreign policy events, someone else must be available at home to carry out openings, anniversaries and regional visits. A younger royal with a clear, full-time role could help distribute the workload more evenly across the family.
The move is also politically unusual. Norwegian political parties traditionally avoid commenting on how the royal house organises its internal affairs. By openly calling for a new position for Prince Sverre Magnus, the Conservatives are signalling that questions about the size and visibility of the royal family have become a matter of broader public interest, not just palace protocol.
Learning from the Märtha Louise controversy on role mixing
Behind the proposal lies a deeper concern about role mixing between royal status and commercial activity. Pettersen has explicitly referred to the long-running debate around Princess Märtha Louise, who for years combined occasional royal representation with extensive private business, often using her title in connection with courses, books and later a wellness brand.
Critics argued that this blurred the line between taxpayer-funded royal duties and personal income, raising questions about conflicts of interest, transparency and fairness towards businesses without royal titles. Over time, the princess stepped back from official duties and agreed not to use the title “princess” in commercial contexts, but the episode left a lasting mark on public perceptions of the monarchy.
Høyre now wants a clearer principle: either a person is a full-time working royal with defined duties and public funding, or they run a private business without representing the state. For Prince Sverre Magnus, this would mean choosing between a structured career inside the royal house and a life as an entrepreneur or professional with a more limited, private use of his title.
A royal house short of people
The question does not only concern one prince. In recent years, commentators and historians have warned that the Norwegian monarchy is at risk of being understaffed. King Harald V and Queen Sonja have, with age, reduced their external engagements. Crown Prince Haakon has become the main public face of the monarchy, while Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s chronic illness limits how many official duties she can take on.
At the same time, Princess Astrid is now in her nineties, and Princess Märtha Louise no longer represents the royal house because of the controversy around her commercial activities. This leaves a small group of active royals shouldering most of the work. In a widely read op-ed, royal historian Trond Norén Isaksen argued that Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus will be essential if the royal family wants to maintain a visible presence across Norway.
Isaksen warned that allowing a prince or princess to live largely as a private person while keeping their title is “the worst possible option”, because it risks creating a perception of privileges without corresponding duties. The Conservatives’ proposal can be read as a political response to the same concern: if the royal family is to retain public support, every titled member needs a clearly defined role, whether inside or outside the institution.
From secret jobs to Italy: Sverre Magnus’ search for a role
The debate also reflects Prince Sverre Magnus’ own unsettled position. He is third in line to the throne after Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Ingrid Alexandra, but he is formally part of the wider royal family, not of the smaller Royal House that receives public funding and carries out most official duties. This status has contributed to the ambiguity around how visible he should be.
In his late teens, the prince attracted attention for holding an undisclosed job in Trondheim, while still appearing at national events such as Norway’s Constitution Day and selected royal engagements. The Royal Court shared little detail, arguing that the prince was entitled to some privacy as he explored work and education.
More recently, the palace has confirmed that Prince Sverre Magnus has moved to Italy to explore opportunities in film and photography, and has registered a small production company. The move underlines his wish to gain experience outside the palace – but it also intensifies the question of how a young royal can combine entrepreneurship, private life abroad and a potential future as a working member of the monarchy.
So far, the prince has not publicly commented on Høyre’s proposal. Any decision would require agreement between the government, the Royal Court and the royal family itself, and would likely involve revisiting earlier plans that assumed he would not have a full-time official role.
Nordic and European debates on working royals
The discussion around Prince Sverre Magnus sits at the crossroads of two broader trends in European monarchies. On one side, several royal families – including those of Sweden and Denmark – have deliberately reduced the number of titled or publicly funded royals, for example by removing “Royal Highness” status from some grandchildren. The aim has been to modernise the institution and limit costs.
On the other side, monarchies across Europe rely on a team of younger, visible royals to stay present in public life. Spain’s Crown Princess Leonor combines university studies and military training with regular official engagements, while younger royals in Denmark, Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands often appear at national celebrations, sports events and international visits. These figures help share the workload and connect the institution with younger generations.
Norway’s situation is specific, but the underlying dilemma is familiar: if the royal family becomes too small, it may struggle to cover national ceremonies, regional tours and international commitments. If, at the same time, princes and princesses use their titles mainly in private business, public support for the monarchy could erode.
For now, Høyre’s call to give Prince Sverre Magnus a full-time royal job is only the opening move in a wider conversation. How the government and the Royal Court respond will help determine whether Norway continues down the path of a slimmed-down monarchy, or whether a new generation of working royals – including Sverre Magnus – is brought more fully into the spotlight.
