Norwegian Opening of Parliament

Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra joined King Haakon VIII of Norway as he presided over the Formal Opening of the 171st session of the Storting (Parliament) and delivered a speech from the Norwegian Throne at the Stortingsbygningen in Oslo on October 2nd, for the first time since his Accession to the Norwegian Throne.

View this post on Instagram

King Haakon VIII of Norway was joined byCrown Princess Ingrid Alexandra as he presided over the Formal Opening of the 171st session of the Storting (Parliament) and delivered a speech from the Norwegian Throne at the Stortingsbygningen in Oslo.

The ceremonial opening marks the start of a new session of the Storting. It is also usually the only occasion during the year when the three branches of government are gathered in one place. Members of the Storting, the Government and the Supreme Court are all present when the King conducts the ceremonial opening.

King Haakon and Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra drove in a motorcade from the Palace to the Storting, accompanied by a motorcycle escort from the Armed Forces. At the Storting, the King and Crown Princess were welcomed by a deputation of seven designated Storting representatives. The seven accompany the King and his entourage as long as they are in the Storting building.

The Storting representatives stood while King Haakon read the Speech from the Throne. The King delivers the speech on behalf of the government and explains the plans for the coming period. The fact that it is the government’s speech is emphasized by the Prime Minister handing the speech to the King in the Storting Hall.

The speech from the throne is followed by the “state of the nation report”. It is an unwritten tradition that this is given by the youngest member of the government. This year, Minister of Transport and Communications Kamzy Gunaratnam gave this report. Unlike the speech from the throne, it is given in Nynorsk – a tradition that goes back to 1932.

This 171st Storting is the first to be opened by King Haakon VIII. It is 35 years to the day since King Harald V opened the Storting for the first time: the 136th Storting on 2 October 1991. And in the same way that King Haakon has opened the Storting once before, as Crown Prince Regent in 2020, King Harald had performed the ceremonial opening once before – as Crown Prince Regent in 1990.