The Scandinavian Royals Message Board: Re: Queen Sonja being downgraded?

Thanks Dag for clarifying. It clearly was a decision taken some time ago and Sonja was well aware of the implications.

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After the death of her husband Queen Sonja has lost her style of Her Majesty and is now no longer a part of the Royal House. How do Norwegians feel about this treatment of a woman who for nearly six decades has been their First Lady?

Queen Sonja could still be referred to as Majesty abroad.

My earlier comments given at Nobiliana:

The communications director commented on this yesterday [i.e. 12 October 2026] in Aftenposten, here quoted by Dagbladet, https://www.dagbladet.no/kjendis/fjernet-tittelen-na-svarer-slottet/85276795

It is correct to say that King Haakon has chosen to continue his father’s practice regarding the use of titles and styles. However, there is a certain statutory basis for this - for instance, Section 2-30, first paragraph, litra a of the Tax Act, which states: "Exempt from tax liability are [...] the King, the Queen, the person next in line of succession to the throne in each subsequent generation, and the spouses of these persons, as well as their joint children who have not reached the age of 20 by the end of the income year."

Prior to 1 January 2002, litra (a) read: "Exempt from tax liability are [...] the King and the Royal Family". The taxation act was changed in connection with the appanage and civil list reform taken place at the same time. Among other things, the reform led to a clarification regarding what was to be covered by the Royal House’s appanage and what was to be covered by the Civil List (for the Royal Court). It also meant that King Harald's sisters and daughter had to start paying taxes from 2002. Consstitutionally speaking those without a style (or lesser style) have another role than those with styles.

One can of course say it is "unfair" to Queen Sonja to lose the style Majesty, but even if people disagree on the matter (some people just can't understand that monarchies do things differently, some of the reactions have in my opinion been rather hysterical), one could still see the logic behind how the terms royal house and royal family/other royals are defined. Members of the royal house are Majesties or royal highnesses, but also limited to the monarch and the monarch's wife and those closest to the throne in each generation. Queen Sonja is not married to the monarch and thus cannot be styled Majesty anylonger. Personally I would have preferred a more traditional system, but this is the way it has been decided a long time ago.

DTH