The market research agency MMI carried out two opinion polls on the monarchy, one published in the weekly gossip magazine Se og Hør (See and Hear) and the other appearing in the daily tabloid Dagbladet.
Data for the Se og Hør poll was gathered before the storm blew up about Princess Märtha Louise's relationship with Norwegian rebel-without-a-cause, Ari Behn.
Some 45 percent of those questioned said they didn't want a referendum on the future of the monarchy in 2005. Asked whether Norway should maintain status quo or become a republic, 68 percent backed the royal alternative, while 22 percent thought their time was up.
Favourite royal was King Harald, who polled 27 percent of support, followed by Crown Prince Haakon, who got 24 percent. Princess Märtha Louise came next with 23 percent.
Queen Sonja and Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, Prince Haakon's fiancée, didn't make it into double figures polling three and one percent respectively.
Less than a third of those asked thought the engagement between the Crown Prince and commoner Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby made the royal family too "ordinary".
But MMI survey for Dagbladet produced quite different results. This was carried out after the Princess' controversial romance hit the headlines and revealed that support for the monarchy had falled back to 59 percent.
Neither set of figures is particularly pleasant reading for monarchists. Support for the institution has fallen from a healthy 71 percent in May of last year. It fell to 67 percent last September when it became known the Crown Prince was intending to share an apartment with Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby. In January the figure was reduced by three percentage points, and now the latest poll puts support for the monarchy at 59 percent.
MMI's political scientist Kristin Hoff says there's no doubt that the attention generated by reports of the young royals' partying have put a damper on the public's views .
Aftenposten Interactive English Desk
Liz McNamara/NTB
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