Prince William joins world royals at King Harald V’s funeral as Norway bids farewell to its late monarch

Prince William stood among the mourners in Oslo on Wednesday as Norway said a final farewell to King Harald V, representing his father, King Charles III, at a state funeral attended by royal families and political leaders from across Europe and beyond.

The Prince of Wales walked in the solemn procession behind Harald’s coffin alongside his aunt, Princess Anne, as the casket travelled from the Royal Palace to Oslo Cathedral. The coffin was covered by the red Norwegian royal standard and accompanied by members of the Norwegian royal family, visiting royals and senior political figures.

The service on September 9 marked the end of a 35-year reign that began in 1991. Harald died peacefully at Oslo University Hospital on August 28, aged 89, after suffering from haemolytic anaemia, a condition in which red blood cells are destroyed more rapidly than normal.

William’s presence carried particular significance. King Charles did not attend because of the longstanding royal precedent that reigning sovereigns do not normally attend the funerals of other heads of state. Instead, the Prince of Wales represented the British monarch, as he had done at the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican in April last year.

Princess Anne attended separately in a private and personal capacity. She is godmother to Norway’s new monarch, King Haakon VIII.

A procession through a mourning Oslo

The funeral procession began at the Royal Palace, with thousands of people gathering along the route through central Oslo.

A 21-gun salute marked the beginning of the proceedings, while Norwegian flags lined the streets. A nationwide minute’s silence was also observed at the start of the funeral ceremony. The City of Oslo had warned that large areas of the centre would be closed to traffic as crowds gathered to watch the historic procession.

Behind the coffin walked King Haakon VIII, who succeeded his father immediately after Harald’s death, together with Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Sverre Magnus and Princess Märtha Louise.

Ingrid Alexandra, now heir to the Norwegian throne, wore a mourning veil as she accompanied her father.

Queen Sonja, Harald’s widow, and Queen Mette-Marit, Haakon’s wife, followed the procession by car.

Inside Oslo Cathedral, the funeral followed the Church of Norway’s order of service. Preses Olav Fykse Tveit led the ceremony, with Bishop of Oslo Sunniva Gylver also taking part. Music formed an important part of the service, with Cathedral Organist Marcus André Berg and the Oslo Cathedral Choir involved in the programme.

Eulogies were delivered by Norway’s parliament speaker and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, while representatives of different faiths took part in a candle-lighting ceremony.

Norway’s government confirmed that the day was not an official public holiday, although schools and workplaces could decide individually whether to allow students and employees to watch the funeral. Authorities also advised that noisy events should be suspended while the ceremony was taking place.

William offers support to Norway’s new King

After the service, William was seen speaking with King Haakon and offering words of comfort to members of the new royal family during a reception at the Royal Palace.

He and Princess Anne also spoke with Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra.

The appearance was particularly poignant for William, whose father had paid tribute to Harald after his death, describing him as his “dear cousin” and a “much-loved kinsman and friend”.

The British and Norwegian royal families have longstanding family ties. Queen Elizabeth II and King Harald were second cousins, sharing King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra as great-grandparents.

William and the now Princess of Wales also made an official visit to Norway in 2018.

Harald and Haakon were related to King Charles and Spain’s King Felipe through Queen Victoria, linking the Norwegian royal family to several other European royal houses.

Royals from across Europe gather in Oslo

William and Anne were among a large international gathering of royal mourners.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain, King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium, King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan, and Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco were among those attending.

Japan was represented by Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko.

Other foreign guests included Luxembourg’s former Grand Duke Henri, Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia, Prince Alois of Liechtenstein and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece.

Political leaders also joined the mourners. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were among those taking part in the procession.

Several visiting royals stayed at Oslo’s five-star Grand Hotel after arriving in the Norwegian capital. Spain’s King Felipe was photographed arriving at the hotel, while other guests, including Japan’s Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, were also seen making their way to the accommodation.

According to TV 2, some of the visiting dignitaries later travelled together by public transport.

Among those sharing a bus were King Felipe and Queen Letizia, former Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia, Prince Alois of Liechtenstein, Princess Alexia of the Netherlands and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece.

The unusual sight of international royalty travelling together reflected the practical arrangements surrounding a funeral that brought such a large number of foreign dignitaries into Oslo.

Marius Borg Høiby attends under house arrest

One of the most closely watched arrivals was that of Marius Borg Høiby, Queen Mette-Marit’s son from a previous relationship.

Høiby is currently serving a four-year sentence under house arrest at his parents’ Skaugum Estate while appealing his conviction. He was temporarily released to attend the funeral after previously being allowed to take part in the procession carrying Harald’s coffin to the palace chapel.

His appearance had already caused controversy when he joined relatives at that earlier ceremony.

Høiby was convicted in June following a six-week trial. An Oslo court found him guilty of two counts of rape, as well as assaulting former girlfriend Nora Haukland, issuing threats and committing traffic offences. He was acquitted of two other rape charges.

He had faced 40 charges in total, including allegations of rape, assault, breaches of restraining orders, drug offences and driving violations. One charge involving a restraining-order violation was later overturned.

The court heard evidence concerning drug use and sexual misconduct, including more than 800 messages and self-made videos. One alleged rape was said to have occurred in the basement of the family home.

Høiby denied the most serious allegations while admitting some lesser offences. He was not physically present when the verdict was delivered, instead participating through a video link.

At Oslo Cathedral, Bishop Sunniva Gylver was among those who greeted Høiby as he arrived for the funeral.

His attendance drew attention because of his connection to the royal family. Høiby does not have a royal title and does not carry out official duties, but he has grown up closely associated with the Norwegian monarchy since his mother married then Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, when he was four years old.

A difficult period for Queen Mette-Marit

The funeral also brought Queen Mette-Marit into contact with Luxembourg’s Grand Duchess Stephanie following a controversy over an old email.

Mette-Marit had previously described Grand Duchess Stephanie’s wedding to Grand Duke Guillaume as “deadly boring” in an email dated October 21, 2012. The message was sent after Mette-Marit and Haakon attended the couple’s two-day wedding celebrations on October 19 and 20 that year.

The episode resurfaced amid intense scrutiny of Mette-Marit’s past communications with Jeffrey Epstein.

She was forced to apologise earlier this year after dozens of emails between her and Epstein were revealed following the release of the Epstein Files. Mette-Marit, who was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018, said the correspondence did not represent the person she wanted to be.

Harald publicly defended his daughter-in-law at the time, stressing that she had not done anything illegal and deserved credit for ending the friendship at an early stage.

The Queen had also missed her husband’s swearing-in ceremony following Harald’s death because of complications connected to her lung transplant surgery in June.

Harald’s final journey

King Harald spent his final days being treated at Oslo University Hospital for haemolytic anaemia.

The illness followed another serious health episode two years earlier, when he became unwell while on holiday in Malaysia. That episode eventually led to him having a pacemaker fitted.

Despite his declining health, Harald had repeatedly rejected the idea of abdication.

He had said he had sworn a lifelong oath to the Storting, Norway’s parliament, and regarded that commitment as binding for life.

The palace later said his condition had deteriorated after he developed an infection. Members of the Norwegian royal family rushed to his bedside in the days before his death.

The Royal Court announced his death in a statement, saying that Harald had died peacefully at Rikshospitalet at 6.35am on Friday, August 28.

Thousands pay their respects

Before the funeral, Norwegians had queued for hours to pay their respects to Harald as his coffin lay in state in the chapel of the Royal Palace.

The line stretched for around seven hours over the weekend. More than 46,000 people had filed past the coffin by September 8, according to information released by the Norwegian royal household.

Public mourning extended beyond the palace. Churches, libraries, cultural centres and city halls made large screens available so people could follow the funeral, while the Church of Norway said the ceremony would be shown on large screens in more than 170 churches.

The scale of the public response reflected Harald’s unusual position in modern Norway. Although the monarchy is largely ceremonial and political power rests with the elected government and parliament, the royal family continues to play a prominent role in representing Norway at home and abroad.

Norway’s monarchy traces its history to Harald Fairhair in the ninth century. When the country regained independence from Sweden in 1905, three-quarters of voters in a national plebiscite supported retaining a monarchy.

Harald’s reign lasted 35 years, making him a defining figure in modern Norwegian public life.

The end of an era

Harald’s death marked the beginning of a new chapter for Norway’s monarchy.

His son became King Haakon VIII immediately after his death and formally swore his oath of allegiance to the Norwegian Constitution in parliament on September 1.

The new king now leads a royal family that has had to navigate both profound personal loss and considerable public scrutiny.

For the Norwegian people, however, September 9 was primarily a day of farewell.

Following the service at Oslo Cathedral, Harald’s coffin was taken in procession to the palace chapel at Akershus Castle. A private ceremony involving members of the Norwegian royal family, selected foreign guests and senior Norwegian officials followed before the coffin was lowered into the crypt.

After 35 years on the throne, King Harald V’s final journey brought together Norway’s royal family, fellow European monarchs, heads of state and thousands of ordinary citizens.

For Prince William, the day was also a personal expression of the close relationship between two royal families as he stood in his father’s place to honour a monarch whose reign had spanned more than three decades.