Norway is mourning the loss of its beloved monarch, King Harald, who passed away on Friday morning at the age of 89. Harald was a second cousin of the late Queen, meaning King Charles is once removed. The oldest European monarch at the time of his death, Harald was crowned after his British-born father, King Olav V, died in January 1991.
The public have taken to the streets since Thursday to pray for their beloved monarch, with large crowds pictured in Oslo. Today, following the monarch’s passing, his coffin was seen making its final trip from the hospital to the Norwegian palace.
Honour guards line up as the hearse carrying late King Harald V arrives at Queen’s Park in Oslo (Image: Getty)
Speaking to the Daily Express outside the Royal Palace, one woman compared Harald’s death to the loss of a grandfather.
She said: “It’s very difficult, it feels like losing a grandfather in a way. It’s very special to see so many people together here, given how difficult this day is, and we don’t normally come together like this. So it feels very special and really sad.”
Standing outside the Palace, whose windows were draped in black mourning fabric, another man reflected on the news: “I felt sad. He’s been the King as long as I’ve been alive. But coming here, I also feel a great deal of hope for Norway.
“We live in politically divisive times, so seeing people of all ages – who vote for wildly different parties – gather around the Royal Family is powerful. It reminds us why symbols that unite rather than divide us matter so much.”
Harald was born in 1937 in Asker, near Oslo, and was just three years old when the Nazis occupied Norway at the start of World War 2.
King Harald’s coffin (Image: Getty)
The new King Haakon following on their way to the palace (Image: Getty)
To avoid capture, Harald and his sisters, Ragnhild and Astrid, fled with their mother first to Sweden and then by boat to the US, while Harald’s father and grandfather went into exile in Britain with Norway’s government.
After being reunited with his family following the end of the war, Harald went on to attend the Norwegian military college and Oxford University.
Norway’s prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre said: “A whole nation is in mourning and the people of Norway are left with a deep sense of gratitude for a long life in the service of Norway.
“For more than three decades as monarch, Harald V demonstrated an unwavering faith in the Norwegian people. He helped us to see the best in ourselves — and in one another.”
