The Norwegian Royal Court. Annual report 2012

The annual report of the Norwegian Royal Court for 2012 was submitted to the Presidium of the Storting, the Ministry of Government Administration, Reform and Church Affairs, and the Office of the Auditor General of Norway, on Friday 5 April 2013. I left for England that day and have since not had much time to comment on it, but even if the news is now somewhat old, it is worth commenting on.

The Royal Court issued the following summary of the report:

The annual report provides an overview of the official programme carried out by the Royal Family and presents the Royal Court and its activities. It also contains the accounts for the Civil List, the staff of Their Royal Highnesses The Crown Prince and Crown Princess, and the Cultural outreach activities.

During 2012, His Majesty The King attended 225 official events in Norway and abroad, while Her Majesty The Queen attended 102 official events, His Royal Highness The Crown Prince attended 161 official events and Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess attended 90 official events.

The Royal Family visited 53 municipalities in 17 counties and Svalbard in Norway, and paid several visits abroad. The King and Queen carried out their annual county visit in Vestfold county in June, while the Crown Prince and Crown Princess visited Møre og Romsdal county in May.

The King and Queen conducted a State Visit to Poland in May, while the Crown Prince and Crown Princess travelled to Indonesia for a State Visit in April.

A report on the use of the funds allocated to the Royal Court (the Civil List) and the staff of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess (official budget) by the Storting is submitted annually. The allowances provided to the King and Queen and to the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, respectively, are meant to cover the management, operation, maintenance and development of the private properties, as well as official attire and private expenses.

The accounts for the Civil List showed a deficit of NOK 3 699 858. This is a planned deficit that will be covered by appropriations from the surplus in 2011, NOK 1 286 853 from appropriations to special projects, and NOK 2 413 005 from ordinary appropriations.

The accounts for the staff of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess showed a deficit of NOK 466 072. This is a planned deficit and will be covered by appropriations from previous years.

The accounts for "Åpent Slott" (Cultural outreach activities) showed a deficit of NOK 44 162. This deficit is carried forward in its entirety. The Civil List will supply the Section for Culture with adequate liquidity for its future operations.

Most comments I read on Twitter seem to focus on the deficit, but forgot to add the word "planned" in front of it...

The annual report also contained a survey of the orders and medals awarded by the king. 27 persons received the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 2012, compared to 30 in 2011 (all classes combined). Among those were the President of Finland, Sauli Väinämö Niinistö, and the former private secretary to the king, Berit Tversland (Grand Cross), Fylkesmann (Governor) Hans Johan Røsjorde (Commander) and the members of the former pop group Aha, Morten Harket, Paal Waaktaar-Savoy and Magne Furuholmen (Knight First Class).

105 persons received the Order of Merit (all classes combined), among them Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk (Grand Cross). The Medal of St. Olav was given to 3 persons, while there were 174 recipients of the King's Medal of Merit (down from 348 inn 2011). Finally 16 persons received the King's commemorative medal, including slottsknekt (palace receptionist/gatekeeper) Vidar Aamodt.

Check out the Royal Court's website for more information on the Norwegian orders and medals.

The annual report 2012 can be downloaded here. For earlier annual reports, go here. See also my earlier blog articles The Norwegian Royal Court. Annual report 2011 (published 11 April 2012) and 2010 (published 12 April 2011).