- Princess Ingrid of Norway came of age on Friday when she turned 18.
- She is second in line to the nation's throne, behind her father, Crown Prince Haakon.
- Ingrid will be Norway's first modern female ruler and is already taking on new tasks in preparation.
Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway's 18th birthday on Friday marks her official coming of age and the start of her journey to become the nation's first modern queen.
Leading up to her birthday, the young royal was given her own "personal office space" in the Royal Palace of Oslo to carry out official duties, according to a Norwegian royal house press release.
"Princess Ingrid Alexandra will carry out an increasing number of official tasks for the Royal Family but will be focusing on pursuing an education in the next few years," it reads.
Currently, Ingrid is in her final year of high school at Oslo's Elvebakken Upper Secondary School, Royal Central reported.
To mark her birthday, a special gala hosted in her honor was reportedly in the works but was postponed due to COVID-19, Hello! Magazine reported. However, she will still be making a visit to Norway's parliament on Friday, the publication added.
Ingrid Alexandra will be Norway's first modern queen
The nation's current monarch is the 18-year-old princess' grandfather, King Harald V, whose coronation took place alongside his wife, Queen consort Sonja of Norway, according to the royal website.
His eldest son, Crown Prince Haakon, is set to inherit the monarchy, which will make his wife Mette-Marit, who he married in 2001, the next Queen consort, the website adds.
Haakon and Mette-Marit also share a son, 16-year-old Prince Sverre Magnus, who is third in the line of succession behind his older sister since Norway converted to an absolute primogeniture system in 1990 — meaning regardless of gender, the eldest child takes precedence when it comes to inheriting the throne.
While it could be decades until Ingrid Alexandra wears the crown, it'll be a unique moment in history for the nation as she will become Norway's first queen, according to royal expert and founding director of Royal Bridges, Henri Estramant.
"She will be the very first female monarch," he told Insider. "There has never been a female monarch in Norway."
The only other, Estramant said, was Queen Margaret I – who ruled as a sovereign protector of Norway and other Scandinavian nations like her home country of Denmark from 1387 to 1412.
"She is queen in history because she was married to a Norwegian king and so as a wife then she became known as Queen Margaret and that was the main title she used because it was the highest," he said, although he added that she was really the powerhouse behind the throne.
Ingrid's reign will be decidedly more modern and recent engagements, like her December visit to a Norwegian royal air force base, as reported by Mail Online, show she's preparing to follow in the footsteps of her father and grandfather.
"She herself will have to undergo military training because one day she will be the commander-in-chief of the armed forces," Estramant said.
Ingrid was also by her mother and father's side in July to lay a wreath at the memorial site of the Utøya massacre, according to the royal website. The service marked 10 years since a terrorist attack killed 77 victims, including teenagers, at a camp.
Exceptionally, she will also be marking her 18th birthday by partaking in Norway's council of state meeting, usually attended by the king and crown prince, Estramant said.
"Now she has an actual role in the state," he added. "Before, everyone knows that at some point she will be queen, but until she turned 18 constitutionally she couldn't act in any function."
Representatives for Princess Ingrid Alexandra did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.