Norway has been a constitutional monarchy since the Constitution of 1814, adopted at Eidsvoll and among the oldest written constitutions still in force. The monarch is head of state and performs largely ceremonial and representative functions, while executive power is exercised by an elected government headed by the prime minister. The Norwegian royal house belongs to the House of Glucksburg, a dynasty with branches that have supplied monarchs to Denmark, Norway and Greece. Succession is automatic: the heir apparent becomes monarch the moment the reigning king dies or abdicates, and the new sovereign then formally notifies the cabinet of his accession at an extraordinary meeting of the Council of State. There is no interregnum and no requirement of a coronation for the accession to take effect. The Royal Court of Norway administers the official duties of the monarch and the royal family.

For exam purposes this is a change in a head of state - a standard current affairs entry, and one that carries a useful cluster of static facts: the country, its capital, its form of government, its royal house and its rule of succession. It also offers a clean illustration of how a constitutional monarchy separates the head of state from the head of government, and of the modern shift to gender-neutral succession that Norway pioneered in 1990 and that several European monarchies have since followed. The public response - mourning declared by the prime minister, crowds outside the Royal Palace in Oslo, church bells across the country - reflects the ceremonial and unifying role such a monarch plays rather than any political power.