Photo: Sven Gjeruldsen / The Royal Court

Family photos were at the centre of Crown Prince Haakon’s 50th birthday celebrations.

The Crown Prince marked his 50th birthday on 20 July, and several family photos were released to mark the occasion on social media.

While the heir to the throne chose to celebrate his monumental day privately, the Royal Court released personal photos of the birthday man and his family on their Instagram account. Each image was taken by a different member of the Royal Family, including Prince Sverre Magnus and Crown Princess Mette-Marit.

All of the images were from the family’s holiday earlier this year to Finnmark, except the fourth one, which was from a trip Queen Sonja took with the Crown Prince’s family to the Skoltesamisk museum.

There are lovely photographs of King Harald with his two heirs, sharing a moment on a bench, while another special photo is of Crown Prince Haakon and Marius Borg Høiby. Marius stepped back from public life several years ago and has remained out of the public eye; to see him in a photo with his beloved stepfather is a special way to mark Haakon’s 50th birthday. Haakon helped to raise Marius from an early age, and Marius has always been considered a member of the Royal Family since Haakon’s marriage to Mette-Marit.

Crown Prince Haakon thanked everyone for the birthday wishes in the Instagram post.

Haakon’s elder sister, Princess Märtha Louise, also shared a touching post to her “best brother.”

She said: “I’m so glad I’ve been fortunate enough to be your sister over the years. You have so much depth, warmth, generosity, something removed, humour, training endurance, joy and so much curiosity in you about what you are interested in. You are simply awesome in so many ways, and I am endlessly proud of you. So happy for you.”

Crown Prince Haakon’s wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, will turn 50 next month.