Editing Harald V (section)

=== Constitutional role ===
{{Main|Monarchy of Norway}}[[File:Harald of Norway.jpg|thumb|King Harald, [[Laura Bush]], [[George W. Bush]], and Queen Sonja, 2005]]
[[File:Harald V of Norway and Mauricio Macri March 2018.jpg|alt=|thumb|King Harald V with [[Mauricio Macri]], [[President of Argentina]] in [[Buenos Aires]], 2018]]
While the Constitution vests the King with executive power, he is not politically responsible for exercising it. This is in accordance not only with provisions of the Constitution, but with conventions established since the definitive establishment of parliamentary rule in Norway in 1884. His acts are not valid without the countersignature of a member of the [[Council of State (Norway)|Council of State]] (cabinet)–usually the [[Prime Minister of Norway|Prime Minister]]–and proceedings of the Council of State are signed by all of its members. Although he nominally has the power of veto, no Norwegian king has exercised it since the dissolution of the union with Sweden in 1905. Even then, the King's veto power is suspensive, not absolute as is the case with British monarchs. A royal veto can be overridden if the Storting passes the same bill following a general election.

While the Constitution nominally vests the King with the power to appoint the government, in practice it is impossible for a King to keep a government in office against the will of [[Storting|Parliament]]. By convention, the King appoints the leader of the parliamentary bloc with the majority as prime minister. When the parliamentary situation is unclear, the King relies on the advice of the [[President of the Storting|President of Parliament]] and the sitting prime minister. Unlike most constitutional monarchs, Harald does not have the power to dissolve Parliament; the Constitution does not allow snap elections.

The King meets with the Council of State at the [[Royal Palace, Oslo|Royal Palace]] every Friday. He also has weekly meetings with the Prime Minister and the [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Norway)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]. He receives foreign envoys, and formally opens parliament every October delivering a [[speech from the throne]] during each opening. He travels extensively throughout Norway and makes official [[List of state visits made and received by Harald V of Norway|state visits]] to other countries, as well as receiving and hosting guests.

Until 2012, the King of Norway was, according to the constitution, the formal head of the [[Church of Norway]]. The constitutional amendment of 21 May 2012 made the King no longer the formal head, but he is still required to be of the Evangelical Lutheran religion.

On 8 May 2018, the King's [[Constitution of Norway|constitutional]] status as [[Sacred|holy]] was dissolved, while leaving his [[sovereign immunity]] intact.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nrk.no/norge/fra-tirsdag-er-ikke-kongen-lenger-hellig-1.14039929|work=[[NRK]]|agency=[[Norsk Telegrambyrå|NTB]]|date=7 May 2018|title=Fra tirsdag er ikke kongen lenger hellig|language=no|trans-title=From Tuesday, the king is no longer holy|access-date=8 May 2018|archive-date=14 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514130751/https://www.nrk.no/norge/fra-tirsdag-er-ikke-kongen-lenger-hellig-1.14039929|url-status=live}}</ref>