Norway Mourns King Harald V as Crown Prince Haakon Takes the Throne After Monarch’s Death at 89

Norway is mourning the death of King Harald V, who has died aged 89 after a brief stay in hospital, bringing an end to a 35-year reign marked by personal tragedy, public duty and an enduring bond with Britain’s Royal Family.

Harald, a cousin of King Charles III, died peacefully at Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet at 6.35am on Friday, August 28, according to Norway’s Royal Court.

His death came after his health deteriorated following an infection while he was being treated for haemolytic anaemia, a condition in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than the body can replace them.

Crown Prince Haakon has now succeeded his father and is expected to take the name King Haakon VIII.

Across Oslo, mourners gathered outside the Royal Palace to pay their respects. Flowers quickly began to accumulate as Norway grieved the monarch who had been on the throne since January 17, 1991.

King Charles pays tribute to his ‘dear cousin’

King Charles III has expressed his profound sorrow following Harald’s death, remembering the Norwegian monarch as a much-loved relative and friend.

The two royals were second cousins once removed, sharing Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark as great-great-grandparents.

In a statement, Charles said: “It is with the most profound sadness that my wife and I have learned of the death of my dear cousin, King Harald V of Norway.”

He praised Harald for serving the Norwegian people with “unwavering dedication” for 35 years and highlighted his warmth, humility, kindness and sense of duty.

“As Norway mourns the loss of so towering a figure, my whole family join in remembering a much-loved kinsman and friend whose kindness, compassion and deep sense of duty echoed from across the sea and across the decades,” Charles said.

The King also pointed to the historic relationship between Britain and Norway, noting that Britain was among the first countries to recognise Norwegian independence and establish diplomatic relations in 1905.

He added that the two nations’ ties had been strengthened further during the Second World War.

“The Queen and I extend our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to Queen Sonja and all her family, as Britain shares in Norway’s grief at this time of such heartbreaking loss.”

A childhood shaped by war

Harald was born on February 21, 1937, the third child and only son of King Olav V and Princess Märtha of Sweden.

He was also a great-grandson of Edward VII, while his godparents included Queen Mary and her son George VI, the grandmother and father respectively of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

His childhood was dramatically disrupted by the Second World War.

When Nazi Germany invaded Norway in April 1940, Harald was only three years old. His mother took him and his two older sisters, Ragnhild and Astrid, first to Sweden.

His father, Crown Prince Olav, and grandfather, King Haakon VII, initially remained in Norway as the country resisted the German invasion. But they eventually fled in June and travelled to London alongside the Norwegian government-in-exile.

Harald, his mother and sisters later travelled to the United States in August 1940. They spent the remainder of the war in Washington.

Meanwhile, Crown Prince Olav and King Haakon were initially guests at Buckingham Palace. During one memorable episode, the young Princess Elizabeth reportedly discovered the two Norwegian royals asleep on the floor of the palace’s air raid shelter.

In June 1945, following Germany’s defeat, seven-year-old Harald returned to Norway with his family.

The royal family came home to a country that had endured five years of occupation. The Royal Palace had been converted into a prison, while ordinary Norwegians had suffered severe hardship and starvation.

Personal tragedy before the throne

Harald experienced another devastating loss as a teenager.

In 1954, nine years after the family returned to Norway, his mother died of cancer. Harald was just 17.

Years later, he would name his first daughter Märtha Louise in her memory.

Three years after Princess Märtha’s death, King Haakon VII died aged 85 after almost 52 years on the Norwegian throne.

Harald, now heir to the throne, continued his education at the University of Oslo while also attending the Norwegian Military Academy. He graduated in 1959.

He subsequently studied at Balliol College, Oxford, from 1960 to 1962, where he studied history, economics and politics.

Harald also developed a passion for sport. He became a keen rower after being taught by renowned coach Nick Bevan, who was studying at Oxford at the same time.

But sailing became his great sporting pursuit. He represented Norway at three Olympic Games — Tokyo in 1964, Mexico City in 1968 and Munich in 1972.

The love story behind his marriage to Queen Sonja

Harald’s relationship with Sonja Haraldsen created tension within the Norwegian establishment because she was a commoner and the daughter of an Oslo draper.

The couple had met in 1959 and initially kept their relationship private. When their romance eventually became public, the Palace repeatedly indicated that they would not marry.

Harald refused to give up easily.

He reportedly told his father that he would remain a bachelor for life if he could not marry Sonja. Eventually, King Olav relented and allowed his son to marry the woman he loved.

Harald and Sonja married at Oslo Cathedral in 1968 after both had studied in England. Sonja studied English at Cambridge, while Harald attended Oxford’s Balliol College.

Their first child, Princess Märtha Louise, was born in 1971. Their son, Crown Prince Haakon, followed the next year.

Yet Haakon would have to wait decades before becoming monarch.

Harald did not succeed his father until January 1991, when he was 53.

A close relationship with Britain’s Royal Family

Harald maintained strong connections with the British Royal Family throughout his life.

His closeness to Charles was evident on numerous occasions, including a shooting weekend at Sandringham in 1996 and Charles’s 50th birthday celebration at Highgrove in 1998, attended by 250 guests.

In 2011, Harald was among the European royals attending the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales. He also attended the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Lunch the following year.

As Crown Prince, Harald was pictured with Diana, Princess of Wales, during a London City Ballet performance in Oslo in February 1984.

His family’s relationship with Queen Elizabeth II was particularly strong. The late Queen was the only head of state to make three state visits to Norway, in 1955, 1981 and 2001.

During her first visit in 1955, she arrived aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia and sailed up the Oslo Fjord amid a spectacular display of midsummer bonfires and fireworks.

Harald stood by Mette-Marit amid controversy

The Norwegian Royal Family has not been without controversy during Harald’s reign.

In recent months, the monarch had faced a difficult period amid scrutiny surrounding his daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, and her past links to Jeffrey Epstein.

A tranche of Epstein files revealed that Mette-Marit had stayed at the disgraced financier’s Palm Beach mansion in 2013, after his conviction for soliciting sex from girls as young as 14.

One email also suggested that she remained in contact with Epstein only months before his death.

Mette-Marit, who was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018, later apologised and described Epstein as manipulative, saying the correspondence did not represent the person she wanted to be.

Harald publicly defended his daughter-in-law, stressing that she had not committed anything illegal.

“We must remember that the Crown Princess has not done anything illegal,” he said.

“Unlike some others in Norway, she broke the connection very early. So I think we should give her credit for that.”

Years of health struggles

Harald’s final years were increasingly affected by health problems, with several illnesses forcing him to temporarily step back from royal duties.

On Monday, August 17, he was rushed to hospital after suffering from haemolytic anaemia. The disorder can cause fatigue, paleness and breathing difficulties because red blood cells are destroyed at an abnormally fast rate.

The episode came two years after he experienced a similar health problem while on holiday in Malaysia. He subsequently had a pacemaker fitted.

In recent weeks, Harald had been receiving cortisone treatment for the blood disorder, which led to fluid accumulating in his body and requiring hospital treatment.

On Sunday, August 23, the Palace announced that his condition had deteriorated over the weekend and that he was receiving antibiotics for a bacterial infection in his blood.

Although his health had repeatedly caused concern, Harald had firmly rejected the possibility of abdication.

“I stick by what I’ve always said, that I swore an oath to the Storting (Norwegian Parliament) and it is for life,” he had previously said.

He remained committed to the lifelong oath until his death.

Earlier in February, Harald had also been hospitalised while spending time with Queen Sonja in Tenerife. His condition was described as satisfactory after he received treatment for an infection and dehydration.

A new chapter for Norway

Now, after more than three decades on the throne, Harald’s reign has come to an end.

Outside the Royal Palace in Oslo, mourners gathered with flowers as the Norwegian flag was lowered to half-mast. Some were visibly emotional as they stood together to honour the monarch.

Crown Prince Haakon and members of the government arrived at the Royal Palace for an extraordinary council of state following the announcement.

For a nation that knew Harald not only as its king but as a figure who carried the memories of wartime Norway, personal loss and decades of national change, his death marks the close of a remarkable chapter.

His son now takes on the responsibility Harald carried for 35 years, as Norway begins a new era under King Haakon VIII.