King Harald V of Norway, Europe’s oldest reigning
monarch, has died at the age of 89 after 35 years on the throne.
The Royal House of Norway announced that the King died
on Friday, August 28, shortly after 6:35 a.m. He is succeeded by his son, Crown
Prince Haakon, who automatically becomes King Haakon VIII.
Harald leaves behind his wife of 57 years, Queen
Sonja, their two children and five grandchildren. His granddaughter, Princess
Ingrid Alexandra, now becomes heir to the Norwegian throne.
Harald was widely regarded as a popular monarch who
helped modernise Norway’s royal institution while maintaining a strong
connection with the Norwegian people. Unlike several other European monarchs
who have abdicated in recent years, he remained on the throne until his death.
He became King in January 1991 following the death of
his father, King Olav V. His 35-year reign coincided with a period of
significant economic growth in Norway, driven largely by the country’s oil and
gas industry.
Born in 1937 in Asker, near Oslo, Harald was the first
Norwegian prince to be born in Norway since King Olav IV in 1370. Norway later
regained its own monarchy when his grandfather, Haakon VII, became king
following the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre described
Harald’s death as a moment of profound national grief, saying that “a whole
nation is in mourning” and that Norwegians had been left with “a deep sense of
gratitude for a long life in the service of Norway.”
The Norwegian government has declared a national
period of mourning, while crowds gathered outside the Royal Palace in Oslo to
honour the late monarch.
Tributes have also poured in from royal families and
political leaders across Europe.
Britain’s King Charles III described Harald as a
friend whose “kindness, compassion and deep sense of duty” endured across
decades, while Denmark’s King Frederik and Queen Mary remembered him as a “fine
man with a twinkle in his eye and a big heart.”
Harald’s health had reportedly deteriorated in the
days leading up to his death. He had recently been hospitalised after
developing fluid accumulation in his body linked to a blood disorder and
subsequently suffered an infection.
His death marks the end of a 35-year reign and the
beginning of a new chapter for Norway’s monarchy under his son, King Haakon
VIII.
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