Norway mourns King Harald as Haakon VIII ascends throne

Norwegians are grieving the death of the beloved King Harald V, as a period of national mourning begins and his son Haakon VIII assumes the throne.

After Harald's death was announced early on Friday, crowds amassed at the royal palace in Oslo, laying flowers and flags, some mourners visibly in tears.

The 53-year-old new king held an extraordinary council of state meeting with government ministers, saying he was taking on the royal family's motto "All for Norway".

Harald - who was on the throne for 35 years - died in hospital at 06:35 local time (04:35 GMT) aged 89, after being treated there for a rare blood condition. His coffin was later taken to the palace in a public procession.

An estimated 10,000 people lined the streets in the capital to see the late king go past, Norway's public broadcaster reported.

The late monarch has been described as an inclusive, transparent and empathetic "people's king" who modernised the Norwegian monarchy.

European royals, including King Charles III - whose mother Queen Elizabeth II was Harald's second cousin - as well as political leaders and ordinary citizens, paid tribute to his service and the stability he brought to the country.

Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who laid flowers outside the palace and signed a book of condolences after greeting the new king, said the country was "united in grief and gratitude".

In a televised memorial address - one of multiple eulogies by ministers - he said the late king's "legacy lives on" and offered condolences to the royal family and Queen Sonja, who would have celebrated her 58th wedding anniversary with Harald on Saturday.

Norway's superstar footballer Erling Haaland thanked Harald for "everything you meant to Norway" in a post on Instagram, adding that it had been an honour to meet him earlier in the summer at the palace following the Fifa World Cup.

In the country's capital, Norwegians shared their grief and affection for the late king.

"I personally will say he was everything for us, especially being an immigrant," Biteya Terfassa, an Oslo resident who was born in Ethiopia, told news agency Reuters outside the palace.

"He made us feel at home and he made us feel loved. So he was like a grandfather that I never had."

At noon, the Norwegian Armed Forces honoured Harald with a funeral salute of 21 shots from Akershus Fortress in central Oslo.

Later on Friday, a procession left the chapel at Rikshospitalet, where Harald died, taking his coffin in a hearse to the royal palace.

The date of Harald's funeral is yet to be officially announced. Until then, he will be lying in state in the palace chapel so the public can pay their last respects.

During the national mourning period, flags will be flown at half-mast across the Nordic country, while Harald's portrait will be displayed, candles lit and moments of silence held at professional events.

All non work-related social events will be cancelled or postponed. Oslo Mayor Anne Lindboe, who was due to get married on Friday, even postponed her wedding .

King Haakon, who is Harald's younger child, is now the monarch and his wife Mette-Marit queen.

He is due to take an oath before the Norwegian parliament on Tuesday and will later participate in a consecration service - a stripped-down version of a coronation, which Norway no longer has.

His daughter, the 22-year-old Ingrid Alexandra, who joined her father to meet ministers at the palace on Friday, is next in line to the throne as crown princess after the rules of succession changed in 1990 to allow firstborn women to inherit the crown.

Haakon assumes his new role at a difficult time, as the royal family has faced health challenges and scandals this year.

Now-Queen Mette-Marit came under scrutiny earlier this year when it was revealed that she had a three-year friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, for which she has publicly apologised.

Later in the year, she received a lung transplant, after suffering from pulmonary fibrosis since 2018. Doctors will not declare her stable until next year, meaning her husband must balance his new official duties with her care.

Meanwhile, Mette-Marit's son from a previous relationship, Marius Borg Høiby, was convicted in June of rape and other offences and sentenced to four years in prison. He is appealing.

Høiby is not a member of the royal family, but was raised with them since he was four years old, when now-King Haakon married his mother.

Although Harald remained popular until his death, a poll for newspaper Aftenposten earlier this year found that support for the monarchy had dropped from 72% in 2024 to 54%.

However, Norwegian royal experts told the BBC that the new king, while facing questions about the turbulence surrounding his family, was respected, hard-working and, they believed, able to move forward despite the challenges.

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