List of heirs to the Norwegian throne

Traditionally the Norwegian kings had been elected by the several things held around the country. This practise often led to there being several kings at the same time. After the civil wars in the 12th century, Erling Skakke introduced a new law that there would be only one king, and that the oldest surviving son of the previous king should inherit the throne. At the same time, Erling introduced a system where the most powerful men in the country would meet with the power to veto a candidate if they found him to be unsuitable.

Erling's son Magnus V had no heirs.

1184-1204

Heir	Status	Relationship to Monarch	Became heir	Reason	Ceased to be heir	Reason	Monarch
Sigurd Lavard	Heir apparent	Son	15 June 1184	Father became king	c. 1200	died	Sverre
Håkon	Heir apparent	Son	c.1200	Elder brother died	9 March 1202	Became king	Sverre
Guttorm	Heir presumptive	Nephew	9 March 1202	Uncle became king	1 January 1204	Became king	Håkon III

1204-1226

During the reign of Inge II there was never any clear heir, and after his death several relatives claimed the throne. At a church meeting in 1223 it was decided that the church was backing the candidacy of Håkon Håkonsson. There was no heir until his first son was born in 1226.

1226-1387

Heir	Status	Relationship to Monarch	Became heir	Reason	Ceased to be heir	Reason	Monarch
Olav	Heir apparent	Son	1226	Born	1229	Died	Håkon IV
Håkon	Heir apparent	Son	19 November 1232	Born	5 May 1257	Died	Håkon IV
Magnus	Heir apparent	Son	5 May 1257	Older brother died	16 December 1263	Became king	Håkon IV
Olav	Heir apparent	Eldest son	1262	Born	1267	Died	Magnus VI
Eric	Heir apparent	Son	1268	Born	9 May 1280	Became king	Magnus VI
Håkon	Heir presumptive	Younger brother	9 May 1280	Brother became king	15 July 1299	Became king	Eric II
Magnus	Heir presumptive	Grandson	1316	Born	8 May 1319	Became king	Håkon V
Erik	Heir apparent	Eldest son	1339	Born	15 August 1343	Treaty (brother became king)	Magnus VII
Olav	Heir apparent	Only son	1370	Born	29 July 1380	Became king	Håkon VI

1387-1665

Hereditary Kingdom of Norway#Unions with Denmark and Sweden

Norway became an elected kingdom, and joined several unions with Sweden and Denmark. However, the tradition arose that during his own lifetime the King would choose an heir among his sons and have him hailed as such, strongly influencing the electing council's choice.

Heir	Status	Relationship to Monarch	Became heir	Reason	Ceased to be heir	Reason	Monarch
Frederick	Heir elect	Son	1536	Elected	1 January 1559	Became king	Christian III
Christian	Heir elect	Son	1610	Elected	2 June 1647	Died	Christian IV

1665-1814

In 1665 Frederick III signed a new law, proclaiming the kingdom to be hereditary.

Heir	Status	Relationship to Monarch	Became heir		Ceased to be heir		Next in succession relation to heir, dates	Monarch
			Date	Reason	Date	Reason
Christian	heir apparent (previously heir elect from 1655)	son	14 November 1665	Hereditary succession established	9 Feb 1670	became king	George, brother	Frederick III
George	heir presumptive	brother	9 Feb 1670	brother became king	11 Oct 1671	son born to king	Anna Sophie, sister	Christian V
Crown Prince Frederick	heir apparent	son	11 Oct 1671	born	25 Aug 1699	became king	George, uncle, (1671–1672, 1673–1675)
							Christian William, brother, (1672–1673)
							Christian, brother, (1675–1695)
							Charles, brother, (1695–1697, 1698–1699)
							Christian, son, (1697–1698)
Charles	heir presumptive	brother	25 Aug 1699	brother became king	10 Dec 1699	son born to king	William, brother	Frederick IV
Crown Prince Christian	heir apparent	son	10 Dec 1699	born	12 Oct 1730	became king	Charles, uncle, (1699–1701, 1702–1703, 1704–1723)
							Frederick, brother, (1701–1702)
							George, brother, (1703–1704)
							Frederick, son, (1723–1730)
Crown Prince Frederick	heir apparent	son	12 Oct 1730	father became king	6 Aug 1746	became king	Louise, sister, (1730–1735)	Christian VI
							Christian, son, (1745–1746)
Crown Prince Christian	heir apparent	son	6 Aug 1746	father became king	3 Jun 1747	died	Sophia Magdalena, sister,	Frederick V
Sophia Magdalena	heir presumptive	daughter	3 Jun 1747	brother died	29 Jan 1749	son born to king	Wilhelmina Caroline, sister
Crown Prince Christian	heir apparent	son	29 Jan 1749	born	14 Jan 1766	became king	Sophia Magdalena, sister, (1749–1753)
							Frederick, brother, (1753–1766)
Frederick	heir presumptive	brother	14 Jan 1766	brother became king	28 Jan 1768	son born to king	Sophia Magdalena, sister	Christian VII
Crown Prince Frederick	heir apparent	son	28 Jan 1768	born	13 Mar 1808	became king	Frederick, uncle, (1768–1805)
							Christian, cousin, (1805–1808)
Christian	heir presumptive	cousin	13 Mar 1808	cousin became king	16 February 1814	became king	Ferdinand, brother, (1808)	Frederick VI
							Frederick, son, (1808–1839)
Frederick	heir apparent	son	16 February 1814	father became king	14 August 1814	King abdicated	Ferdinand, uncle	'Christian Frederick

1814–present

Heirs to the Norwegian throne

In personal union with the Kingdom of Sweden (Sweden-Norway); House of Holstein-Gottorp (1751–1818)
Monarch	Heir	Relationship to monarch	Became heir (Date; Reason)	Ceased to be heir (Date; Reason)	Next in line of succession
Karl II	Crown Prince Karl Johan	Adopted son	4 November 1814 Adoptive father elected as king	5 February 1818 Adoptive father died, became king	Prince Oscar, Duke of Södermanland, son
In personal union with the Kingdom of Sweden (Sweden-Norway); House of Bernadotte (1818–1905)
Monarch	Heir	Relationship to monarch	Became heir (Date; Reason)	Ceased to be heir (Date; Reason)	Next in line of succession
Karl III Johan	Crown Prince Oscar, Duke of Södermanland	Son	5 February 1818 Father became king	8 March 1844 Father died, became king	None, 1818–1826
					Prince Karl, Duke of Skåne, 1826–1844, son
Oscar I	Crown Prince Karl, Duke of Skåne	Son	8 March 1844 Father became king	8 July 1859 Father died, became king	Prince Gustaf, Duke of Uppland, 1844–1852, brother
					Prince Oscar, Duke of Östergötland, 1852, brother
					Prince Carl Oscar, Duke of Södermanland, 1852–1854, son
					Prince Oscar, Duke of Östergötland, 1854–1859, brother
Karl IV	Prince Oscar, Duke of Östergötland	Brother	8 July 1859 Brother became king	13 September 1872 Brother died, became king	Prince Gustaf, Duke of Värmland, son
Oscar II	Crown Prince Gustaf, Duke of Värmland	Son	13 September 1872 Father became king	7 June 1905 Father deposed, personal union dissolved	Prince Oscar, Duke of Gotland, 1872–1882, brother
					Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Skåne, 1882–1905, son
After the personal union with Sweden; House of Glücksburg (1905–present)
Monarch	Heir	Relationship to monarch	Became heir (Date; Reason)	Ceased to be heir (Date; Reason)	Next in line of succession
Haakon VII	Crown Prince Olav	Son	18 November 1905 Father elected as king, confirmed by referendum	21 September 1957 Father died, became king	None, 1905–1937
					Prince Harald, 1937–1957, son
Olav V	Crown Prince Harald	Son	21 September 1957 Father became king	17 January 1991 Father died, became king	None, 1957–1973
					Prince Haakon, 1973–1991, son
Harald V	Crown Prince Haakon	Son	17 January 1991 Father became king	Incumbent	Princess Märtha Louise, 1991–2004, sister
					Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 2004–present, daughter