Norway’s crown prince returns to Skaugum estate after secret state council meeting

A classified state council meeting was held at the Royal Palace in Oslo on Wednesday, with Crown Prince Haakon returning to the Skaugum estate just 76 minutes after the session began, Dagbladet reports.

The extraordinary meeting, convened at 3:30 PM, was not listed on the palace’s official schedule earlier that day. According to Anne Kristin Hjukse, communications director for the Prime Minister’s Office, the session addressed a “gradert sak” (classified matter), with no public record of the proceedings or attendees released.

Crown Prince Haakon was photographed driving alone from central Oslo back to Skaugum, the royal family’s residence in Asker, at 4:46 PM. The estate is roughly a 30-minute drive from the palace.

Neither the palace nor the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed which government ministers attended. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre was in Stockholm at the time, while Deputy Prime Minister Jan Christian Vestre’s office declined to comment. Former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s team also referred all inquiries to the Prime Minister’s Office.

Norway’s state council, typically held on Fridays, is the formal meeting where the government convenes under the king’s leadership to make decisions. Wednesday’s unscheduled session marks a rare departure from protocol.