Norway Parliament agreed on monarchy after finding the royal involved with Epstein case

On February 3, 2026, Norway’s parliament had an overwhelming vote in favor of maintaining the monarchy, rejecting the proposal to change the regime to the republic. 141 votes, from all 169 votes, agreed on forming the monarchy, while 26 votes agreed on ending the reign of King Harald and his descendants.

Voters for the monarchy stated that under partisan politics, the monarchy brings stability to the regime and has served the country since the day Norway became an independent state from Sweden.

Republic proponents argued that political power already belongs to the elected parliament and government, which means the power of the royal, which is an inherited privilege, does not belong to the democratic society.

Nevertheless, on February 2, 2026, Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister of Norway, criticized Crown Princess Mette-Marit, saying that “she had displayed poor judgment in having contacts with Jeffrey Epstein, who is the U.S. sex offender.”

On January 31, 2026, after the Ministry of Justice of the United States unveiled further evidence in the Epstein case, Mette-Marit, the spouse of the heir to the throne, apologized regarding her contact with Epstein, which occurred years after he was found guilty of child sex crimes in 2008.

Then, an opinion poll conducted on February 2, 2026, showed that 61% of Norwegians agreed on monarchy, which is down from last year's 72%. While people who favor changing the regime to a republic increased to 27%, up 10% compared to last year.

The poll regarding the popularity of Mette-Marit indicated that 44% of Norwegians vote no for her to be the next queen, 33% vote yes, while a lot of people do not express any opinion.

SOURCE: Reuters