When you read about the Danish and Norwegian Councils of State they seem very similar: The members of the government present the new law proposals and the Monarch signs those passed by parliament.
But no minister has (ever?) been appointed in a Danish Council of State. This is only for those who are already members (Or royals who are about to become members (Crown Prince Frederik) or royals who are about to be appointed regents (Latest: Benedikte, Ingrid, Joachim, Mary)). But it means that Ministers have to be already appointed in order to attend, and the Queen (or regent) does that whenever necessary. Tgere are of course also civil servants attending, and the Permanent Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office is the Secretary of the Council of State (The first woman has just been appointed to that position).
Danish Councils of State are held on Wednesdays "whenever needed", normally when the Parliament is sitting and when there are lots of law proposals to present or sign. The Queen or regent also sign laws, decrees or appointments between the Councils.
It seems that the Norwegian Council of State takes place every Friday. (Did I get that right - are there so many laws to present and sign?) And Ministers are appointed during the Meetings of the Council of State, as far as I understand, though I cannot se that as one of the duties of the Council. But it is probably something not mentioned in the Constitution but somewhere else.
In Norway, the only royals to be present in the Council is the Monarch and the heir to the throne, which obviously means that Princess Ingrid will not become a member until her father becomes King. If the King and Crown Prince are both absent or incapcitated the Government acts as regent.
Was there only one reason for the resignations? As this is OT a simple yes or no will suffice.
BTW, nice to see Bjarne's name on the board😊
The Norwegian Constitution can be read here:
https://lovdata.no/NLE/lov/1814-05-17
The Council of State normally takes place every Friday, but there are exceptions - such as in January, when the Council of State usuaally takes place every second Friday, and after the summer break until the Storting is opened in early October. The last few years no Council of State have taken place between St. John's Day (24 June) and the first Friday of August.
The average of acts being signed is 118 (from 2001 to 2019). But the king also signs many other documents which are forwarded to the Council of State. For practical reasons the king doesn't physically sign the acts etc. during the actual council, but afterwards. he only says "yes" on the question whether he will give consent to this or that.
Concerning the king's right to appoint ministers, see Article 12.
DTH
1