Norway Bids Farewell to King Harald V in Historic State Funeral in Oslo
Norway bid farewell to King Harald V in Oslo with a state funeral attended by thousands of mourners, international royals, and world leaders. The solemn event marks the end of 13 days of national mourning as King Haakon VIII succeeds the throne.
Norway bid farewell on Wednesday to King Harald V with a funeral ceremony attended by thousands, marking the climax of 13 days of national mourning for the monarch who passed away in late August at the age of 89. The half-hour funeral procession departed from the Royal Palace to Oslo Cathedral at 13:00 local time, accompanied by a 21-gun salute fired from the Akershus Fortress. The new monarch, King Haakon VIII, and other senior members of the royal family walked behind the casket.
International Dignitaries and Royal Guests
The funeral of King Harald drew representatives from major royal houses across Europe and the world, including Prince William and Princess Anne of Great Britain, Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko of Japan, King Felipe, Queen Letizia, and Queen Sofia of Spain, members of the Swedish royal family, and King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark. Royals also arrived from the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, and Jordan. Political leaders from more than 20 countries also honored the event with their presence, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the presidents of Germany and Finland, and the prime ministers of France and Thailand.
The ceremony was also attended by 53-year-old Queen Mette-Marit, the commoner wife of Norway's new king, Haakon VIII, and the daughter-in-law of the late Harald. Her attendance had been in doubt as she is still recovering from a lung transplant she underwent in June. Just last week, she was forced to cancel her plans to attend her husband's swearing-in ceremony at the parliament due to complications following her surgery. At Wednesday's ceremony, she arrived riding in a car alongside the widow of the late King Harald, 89-year-old Queen Sonja.
The funeral was also attended by Marius Borg Høiby, the son of Queen Mette-Marit from a relationship prior to her marriage to Haakon. He attended despite being under house arrest and wearing an electronic bracelet, following his conviction for rape and domestic violence offenses—a conviction for which he is awaiting an appeal hearing. Høiby was one of the pallbearers as the casket was transferred to the royal chapel, drawing criticism in certain circles both in Norway and abroad.
Security and Public Mourning
Ahead of the ceremony, which included a nationwide moment of silence across Norway, police declared the largest planned security operation in the country's history, involving approximately 3,000 police officers and 3,500 soldiers, alongside extraordinary restrictions on airspace. In cities and towns across the nation, Norwegians turned out to watch and listen to the funeral broadcasts, with dozens of churches, libraries, cultural centers, and city halls providing giant screens for the public.
Although no official day off was declared, school students received special permission to be absent from classes to attend the funeral. The memorial service for King Harald was planned so that upon its conclusion, his casket would be led in a smaller procession to the royal crypt at Akershus Fortress, overlooking the Oslo port, where it will be placed in a 1.7 million euro sarcophagus whose appearance is a closely guarded secret, alongside those of his parents.
When the new king, Haakon, emerges from the crypt, the period of national mourning declared upon his father's death will officially end, and the flags that have flown at half-mast since Harald's passing will be raised once again. Church bells across Norway will ring for an hour. Hundreds of thousands of Norwegians have filed past Harald's casket in recent days or laid flowers, candles, and flags outside the Royal Palace.
The 'Grandfather of the Nation'
Harald, who died on August 28 at the age of 89, was Europe's oldest monarch and reigned for 35 years, since 1991. He was credited with modernizing the royal house, but refused to follow the example of other aging monarchs who abdicated in recent years. Harald's son became king immediately upon his death, and last week swore allegiance to the Norwegian constitution in parliament.
Harald was viewed by many in Norway as the "grandfather of the nation" and was highly regarded for his openness and liberalism. His belief in an open, inclusive, and tolerant Norway was clearly reflected in a speech he delivered in 2016:
"Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and boys and girls who love each other. Norwegians believe in God, Allah, the universe, and nothing at all."
The roots of the Norwegian monarchy stretch back to the ninth century, and when the country regained its independence from Sweden in 1905, three-quarters of participants in a referendum voted in favor of restoring the monarchy. The Norwegian royal family maintains family ties with other European royal houses: both Harald and Haakon are related to both Britain's King Charles III and Spain's King Felipe VI—all descendants of Britain's Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 until her death in 1901.
Today, the role of the throne in Norway is largely symbolic, with power resting in the hands of the elected government and parliament. Nonetheless, the Norwegian royal family maintains a role in promoting the wealthy Scandinavian country worldwide. Despite recent troubles faced by the Norwegian royal house, it remains largely popular: according to a poll conducted earlier this month, 72% of Norwegians support the monarchy, while only 20% prefer a transition to a republic or another form of government. This represents an 8% increase in monarchist support since the previous poll conducted in May, after support had dropped to a low of 60% due to recent scandals involving members of the family, particularly concerning the new Queen Mette-Marit, who faced public anger over her ties to the late American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the legal troubles of her son, who was convicted of rape.
