Truly the sport of kings. Photo: The Royal Court
When surfing is called the “sport of kings,” it harkens back to its Hawaiian roots when it was reserved for chiefs and royal members of the islands’ tribes. And Norway’s new monarch is certainly living up to the term’s historic context. On Friday, August 28, King Harald V, Europe’s oldest reigning monarch, passed away. In his place, King Haakon VIII ascended to the throne, and he turns out to be a very different sort of royal than we’re used to.
For one thing, Haakon is an avid adventure sportsman. The royal has long been a surfer and skier, and even told Norwegian news outlet NRK in 2023 that he would have had aspirations of going pro, if it weren’t for his royal pedigree. “I often get asked what I would have done if I weren’t Crown Prince,” he said. “I would have been a professional surfer on the World Tour. Maybe an ex-pro, by the way, because now I’m almost 50.”
Haaken breaks with the classic picture of a royal in other ways, too. He listens to rap and rock, plays guitar, and in his younger days was known to frequent European music festivals. It was at one of those festivals that he met the current queen of Norway, Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby – a commoner who Haaken had to win permission from his father to marry. Norwegian newspaper VG wrote in 2000 that Haakon “lives closer to the people than any other heir to the throne before him.”
However, despite the king’s glamorous image and action sports bonafides, his tenure has also been marred by controversy. In June, his stepson Marius Borg Høiby was sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of rape, assault and abuse in a close relationship. Mette-Marit has also undergone public scrutiny for her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Though she was never accused of any wrongdoing, she has publicly apologized for her association with him.
One thing’s for sure, though. Haaken’s probably going to have a lot less time to hit the lineup going forward.
