Harald V. Laid to Rest

Royal guests travel by bus to the funeral service

King Haakon VIII (from left), Queen Mette-Marit, Queen Sonja, and Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra(Bild: Krone-Collage/AP/Markus Schreiber, AFP/ODD ANDERSEN)

Twelve days after his death, Norway bid farewell to King Harald V. It was a day filled with grief, tears, and gratitude for a monarch who shaped his country for 35 years. Three kings paid their respects to him. And at the end, minutes of applause moved his widow Sonja, his successor Haakon VIII, and his family.

• With a solemn funeral procession through downtown Oslo and a memorial service featuring a nationwide minute of silence, Norway bid farewell to its late King Harald V.
• On Wednesday, the new King Haakon VIII, his children, and numerous representatives of other royal houses, as well as heads of state and government, walked from the palace behind Harald’s coffin to the Cathedral. Thousands of people lined the route to the Cathedral, where the memorial service took place.
• Among the mourners were the British heir to the throne, Prince William; members of the Swedish and Danish royal families; the royal couples from the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain; and heads of state and government from several countries. The Jordanian royal couple, Japanese Crown Prince Akishino, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also walked behind Harald’s coffin. 
• Afterward, Harald’s coffin was taken to the palace chapel at Akershus Fortress, where the monarch was laid to rest in a double sarcophagus in the royal mausoleum alongside his parents and grandparents.  
• The day ended for the royal family with thunderous applause. When they appeared on the palace balcony that evening and waved, loud cheers erupted. 

Harald V had died on August 28 at the age of 89 after years of health problems. He had ascended the Norwegian throne in 1991, and in his final years, he was Europe’s longest-serving monarch.

With Harald’s death, his son Haakon automatically became king.