OSLO, Norway | Tens of thousands of Norwegians gathered outside the Royal Palace in Oslo on Saturday to mourn King Harald V, a day after his death at 89 ended a 35-year reign and ushered in a new era under his son, King Haakon VIII.
Mourners filled the palace square with flowers and condolence cards, while churches and city halls across Norway opened for people to light candles and sign remembrance books. Harald’s coffin was brought to the Royal Palace on Friday evening from the National Hospital in Oslo, where he died.
Haakon, 53, became king immediately upon his father’s death, in accordance with Norway’s constitutional succession. He has adopted the royal motto “All for Norway,” used by his great-grandfather, King Haakon VII. Haakon’s wife, Mette-Marit, is now queen, while their eldest child, Ingrid Alexandra, has become crown princess and heir to the throne.
Norway has entered a period of national mourning ahead of Harald’s funeral. Reuters reported that the funeral will take place at Oslo Cathedral, after which Harald will be buried at the royal mausoleum at Akershus Fortress alongside earlier Norwegian monarchs. Norway does not hold a traditional coronation. Haakon is expected instead to take an oath before the Storting, the country’s parliament.
Harald’s death closes a significant chapter in modern Norwegian history. He became king in 1991 after the death of his father, Olav V, and was widely regarded as a modernizing and approachable monarch. Reuters noted that he emphasized national unity and tolerance, including during the aftermath of the 2011 terrorist attacks and in a 2016 speech promoting diversity.
Harald’s own life was shaped by Norway’s wartime history. Born in 1937, he was a child when Nazi Germany invaded Norway in 1940 and spent part of the Second World War in the United States with his mother and sisters. He returned to Norway after the war and later became an accomplished sailor who represented the country in three Olympic Games.
His marriage to Sonja Haraldsen, a commoner, in 1968 also reflected the gradual modernization of the Norwegian monarchy. Harald and Queen Sonja became one of the country’s most familiar public figures, while his decades-long reign helped maintain public support for the constitutional monarchy.
The transition nevertheless comes at a difficult moment for the royal family, which has faced recent controversies involving Queen Mette-Marit’s past contacts with Jeffrey Epstein and legal troubles involving her son, Marius Borg Høiby. Haakon now faces the task of maintaining confidence in the institution while continuing the restrained and largely symbolic role expected of Norway’s monarch.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
