[2] Haakon has been a member of the Young Global Leaders network, its Foundation, a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations, and a philanthropist.

He is a trained naval officer and, as crown prince, a top military official in the Norwegian Armed Forces.

He holds a BA in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, as well as an MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics.

When Haakon was 17, his grandfather Olav died on 17 January 1991,[8] leading to the accession of his father as King Harald V and his own advancement to crown prince.

[13] Haakon later attended lectures at the University of Oslo and took the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' civil servant introductory course in 2001.

He completed his education in 2003 at the London School of Economics, where he was awarded an MSc in development studies, specializing in international trade and Africa.

[16] When the engagement between Crown Prince Haakon and Høiby was announced, many Norwegians felt that his choice of wife was inappropriate.

[17] This was primarily about her being a single mother, but information concerning her involvement in the rave scene in Oslo, which included a significant drug-subculture, also added to the controversy.

[17] In a heartfelt press conference before the wedding the bride explained her past, saying among other things that her youthful rebelliousness might have been stronger than most young people.

[17] The issue of Mette-Marit's past was an ongoing discussion in Norwegian public discourse in the early years after their engagement and marriage.

[29] In May 2022 Haakon joined an expedition from the University of Tromsø aimed at disseminating knowledge about polar history and the critical scientific research taking place in the Arctic for two weeks and crossed the Greenland ice sheet using a snowkite.

He accompanied the band Katzenjammer in their recording of the song "Vi tenner våre lykter" (i.e., 'We light our lanterns' for the 2011 Christmas-themed album of the same name).