Norway Pays Tribute to King Harald V: Thousands Gather at the Royal Palace to Say Goodbye to Their Beloved Monarch at 89

THOUSANDS of grieving Norwegians have flooded Oslo to bid a heartbreaking farewell to King Harald V after the beloved monarch died aged 89.

Mourners have packed the streets outside the Royal Palace, where Harald’s coffin now lies in state, clutching flowers, cards, drawings and Norwegian flags.

Europe’s oldest reigning monarch died peacefully on Friday after a final battle with haemolytic anaemia, bringing his 35-year reign to a sombre end.

His death has plunged the Scandinavian nation into mourning, with flags dramatically lowered to half-mast and huge portraits of the late king appearing across the country.

On Friday night, huge crowds braved pouring rain to watch Harald’s funeral cortege make its solemn journey from Oslo University Hospital to the palace.

More than 20,000 people had already paid their respects by Saturday after floral tributes began piling up outside the royal residence.

Harald was widely admired for his warmth, humility and fiercely inclusive approach to modern .

One mourner, Bulgarian-born teacher Veselina Vitanova, 43, said: “He meant a lot to us immigrants … We felt really very included. So, thanks to him, I feel so Norwegian.”

Another remembered Harald’s powerful 2016 speech, which went viral around the world.

The late king famously said: “Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys and girls and boys who love each other”.

Mari Eidsvaag, 32, wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the words, a rainbow and a drawing of Harald.

“It embodies the way he felt about people and the way he wanted us Norwegians to feel about each other,” she said.

“I think it’s a very important statement, especially these days.”

Harald was also praised for helping unite the country after the devastating 2011 massacre carried out by neo-Nazi Anders Behring Breivik, which killed 77 people.

Caroline Vagle, a reporter for Se og Hor, said Harald “was someone who always seemed to find the words that brought us together and gave us a sense of security”.

The death of Harald has triggered an immediate royal succession, with his 53-year-old son automatically becoming king.

He will reign as King Haakon VIII, taking over a monarchy celebrated for its modernity and modesty but rocked by a string of recent scandals.

“The king is dead. Long live the king,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said after meeting the new monarch.

Haakon addressed the nation in a televised speech at 7pm local time on Saturday.

The King said: “Dear father, thank you for being a good father to Martha and me.

“You were the head of the family.”

He swore an oath before on Tuesday, pledging to defend Norway’s constitution and laws.

There will be no coronation, with the centuries-old practice abolished by parliament in 1908.

Instead, Haakon could choose to have his reign blessed in a ceremony at Trondheim Cathedral.

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In a statement released by Buckingham Palace, he 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 added: “For 35 years, King Harald served his people with unwavering dedication, guiding Norway through times of great change with warmth and humility.”

Charles said Harald was a “much-loved kinsman and friend” whose “kindness, compassion and deep sense of duty” stretched “across the sea and across the decades”.

He also highlighted the “particularly close historical and family ties” between Britain and Norway.

“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.”

He signed the message: “Charles R.”

Harald had suffered mounting problems in recent years and had been in hospital in Oslo since August 17.

He had been treated with cortisone for haemolytic anaemia, a rare condition in which red blood cells are destroyed unusually quickly, causing fatigue and shortness of breath.

His final years were dogged by repeated hospital stays.

Earlier this year he was rushed for medical treatment in Tenerife after falling ill while on holiday, while in 2024 he was hospitalised in Malaysia with an infection and fitted with a temporary pacemaker.

A permanent pacemaker was later implanted in Norway.

The royal household subsequently announced a “permanent reduction” in Harald’s public engagements “out of consideration for his age”.

But the monarch always ruled out abdicating, insisting he had made a lifelong oath before parliament.

His death comes as the wider faces fresh turmoil.

Queen Sonja, also 89, was briefly hospitalised in May with heart problems.

Haakon’s wife, Queen Mette-Marit, has faced scrutiny over her ties to convicted sex offender .

Her son Marius Borg Hoiby was sentenced in June to four years in prison for two rapes.

Mette-Marit, 53, has also battled serious pulmonary fibrosis and underwent a lung transplant in July.

Harald was just three when Nazi invaded Norway during the Second World War.

He and his sisters, Princesses Ragnhild and Astrid, were forced to flee, eventually spending five years in the United States after being granted political asylum.

Before taking the throne, Harald was a passionate athlete and Olympic sailor who competed at multiple Games.

He later won numerous international regattas, including the World Championships in sailing in 1987.

He became king in 1991 following the death of his father, Olav V, and spent more than three decades steering Norway through enormous social change.

Store described him as “a king of his time and for his time”.

He said Harald had accompanied Norway as the country “grew richer, we became more numerous, and we became more diverse”.