On October 2, 2020, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway chaired the opening of the 165th session of Norwegian Parliament (Storting). At the opening ceremony, Queen Sonja accompanied Crown Prince Haakon. For the first time in 30 years, the solemn and traditional opening of the Norwegian Parliament has been made by a crown prince and not the king of the nation. King Harald is on sick leave until Sunday, October 4th. This is the reason why King Harald did not open parliament this year.
The last time a Crown Prince opened the Norwegian Parliament was in 1990. Back then it was King Harald who opened the parliament as Crown Prince. His father, King Olav V, was then seriously ill and died only a few months later.
