fredag 28 augusti 2026
Death of King Harald 1937–2026
King Harald's coffin has been brought to the Royal Palace
At 6.45pm on Friday evening, exactly twelve hours after his death, a motorcade carrying King Harald's coffin rolled out of the National Hospital in Oslo.
After about half an hour's journey through the rainy streets of the Norwegian capital, the motorcade, which included Queen Sonja, the Crown Prince Couple and Princess Märtha Louise, arrived at the Royal Palace.
The roads were lined with thousands of mourners along the entire journey. Thousands have also gathered at Slottsplassen.
The coffin will now lie in state in the palace chapel, with the royal regalia on top. The public is allowed to visit the coffin at selected times and say goodbye to the king.
National mourning is in effect until the funeral. No date has yet been set.
Gahr Støre called – introduced himself as king
At 07 this morning, 25 minutes after King Harald's death, the phone rang in the prime minister's residence. Jonas Gahr Støre had just gotten up.
The man on the other end introduced himself as the king.
– It was King Haakon who called and informed me of what had happened. Then we had a nice and confidential conversation about the personal aspects of losing his father, says Støre, whose own father died in 2017, to Aftenposten.
Next in line to receive the call was the Speaker of the Storting, Masud Gharahkhani, who had just returned from a hastily interrupted trip to Iceland.
– It is a very tough message to receive. It is our roles, to inform each other. But regardless of plans, you are never prepared for a day like this, he says.
Death of King Harald Ascendancy of the throne
Court expert: Haakon will be a modern and humble king
On Tuesday at 1 p.m., King Haakon VIII will take his oath of allegiance to the Norwegian constitution, a so-called royal declaration, before the Storting.
This will be followed by a so-called signing, when the new king will receive the church's blessing in Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim. This could happen up to six months after his accession.
- He will be a very modern king, a king who reads. He is a very humble person, says court expert Roger Lundgren to SVT Nyheter.
So far, Haakon is not as popular as his father, but he has every chance of becoming so in the long run, Lundgren believes.
Haakon has adopted the same motto as his father: "Everything for Norway".
Sonja keeps her title – Norway now has two queens
The Norwegian royal house now has two queens. This has been made clear since the Norwegian court confirmed that Haakon's wife will take the name Queen Mette-Marit. At the same time, Queen Sonja will keep her title.
– They are both queens by marriage and not reigning queens. In this way, this has no constitutional significance, so there is no problem with two queens, says royal expert Tor Bomann-Larsen to VG.
However, Sonja is no longer the reigning monarch's queen and should therefore no longer be titled Her Majesty. However, Mette-Marit will.
Haakon and Mette-Marit's daughter will also receive a new title and is now called Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, according to the Norwegian court's website.
King Haakon VIII takes over – this is happening nownu
Church blessing
The formal requirement for a coronation was removed from the Norwegian constitution as early as 1908. The last king to be crowned in Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim was Håkon VII in 1906.
In 1958, King Olav V replaced the coronation with a church blessing, and when King Harald succeeded his father to the throne in 1991, he and Queen Sonja received the same type of ceremonial blessing, also in Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim.
– I would think that this will happen this time too. Nidaros Cathedral is Norway's largest cathedral and is considered a national shrine and coronation church, says Bjørn Erik Rasch.
Support halved
Haakon's wife, 53-year-old Mette-Marit, becomes queen after a lot of drama.
In the past year, her friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has become known. In June, her son from a previous relationship was also sentenced to four years in prison for, among other things, rape.
When NRK measured trust in February, 60 percent said they supported the monarchy, a drop of 10 percentage points compared to a month earlier.
The same measurement showed that trust in Mette-Marit had halved. King Harald, on the other hand, received a high rating - an average of 9.2 points out of 10.
Retired role
- I don't think it will have that much significance, she will probably have a more withdrawn role than the one Sonja has had. But the monarchy certainly faces challenges, says Bjørn Erik Rasch.
Mette-Marit was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018 and underwent a risky lung transplant in June. She still has a lot of rehabilitation left before she is fully healthy.
What role and title Queen Sonja will continue to have is unclear, according to Rasch.
– We have never faced this situation before in modern times that the monarch dies before her spouse.
Facts
That is why Märtha Louise will not become queen
The fact that Norway will continue to have a king on the throne is due to the fact that male primogeniture was still practiced when Prince Haakon Magnus was born on July 20, 1973. Princess Märtha Louise, born in September 1971, is the royal couple's eldest child.
On May 29, 1990, the Storting amended the constitution so that eldest children – regardless of gender – go before their siblings in the succession to the throne, and thus the now newly crowned Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra will one day inherit the throne.
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