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King Harald V of Norway, Europe’s oldest reigning monarch at the time of his death, has died following a period of hospitalization in Oslo. The Norwegian sovereign had been receiving treatment for hemolytic anemia, a blood disease that had caused fluid to accumulate in his body. He was 89.
Unlike the British royal family, which typically prepares detailed public funeral plans well in advance, often with code names and published protocols, the Norwegian Royal House has kept the arrangements for Harald’s funeral largely under wraps. Few confirmed details were publicly available before his death, and the Royal Palace has said little about what the ceremony will look like.
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King Harald, Queen Sonja, and their children, Haakon and Märtha Louise, walking in the funeral procession for King Olav.
Norway’s monarchs are traditionally buried in the Royal Mausoleum at Akershus Fortress, and the Oslo Cathedral has served as the setting for royal funeral services for generations. The Norwegian royal family also belongs to Church of Norway, an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity, which has no rules for how soon a burial should take place. But according to the national burial laws, the funeral should be completed within 10 days after death.
The most recent precedent for a Norwegian state funeral is that of Harald’s father, King Olav V, who died in 1991. His funeral was held at Oslo Cathedral, with the service officiated by a bishop in the Church of Norway. Following the service, a cortège made its way to the Palace Chapel at Akershus Fortress, a medieval castle overlooking Oslo, where the traditional sprinkling of earth was performed. In Norwegian tradition, this usually means the priest and/or family members drop sand onto the casket three times. Then Olav was laid to rest in the Royal Mausoleum alongside his wife, Princess Märtha of Sweden, who died in 1954, three years before he succeeded the throne. (Queen Mathilde and King Philippe of Belgium visited the national monument at the fortress on their last state visit to Norway.)
Harald’s funeral is expected to follow a similar pattern. Yet the most closely guarded as well as unique aspect of the funeral arrangements is the sarcophagus. It was confirmed in 2024 that the Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta, one of the country’s most celebrated design practices, had been commissioned to design a joint sarcophagus for King Harald and Queen Sonja at a cost of approximately 20 million Norwegian kroner, roughly $2.1 million.
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A view of Akershus Fortress.
The contract was given directly to the firm, which also designed the Oslo Opera House, rather than awarded through a competitive process. What the sarcophagus looks like, however, has been kept entirely secret. The design, materials, and artistic concept have not been shared publicly, and per local news reports, the palace has confirmed they will not be revealed until the funeral itself. The approach also stands in contrast to that of Denmark, where Queen Margrethe’s tomb was completed and shown to the public in 2018 at a cost of more than $5 million.
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Oslo Cathedral was completed in 1697.
Harald is succeeded by his son, Haakon, who had been serving as regent during his father’s medical leave. The Crown Prince now becomes King Haakon VIII. As noted by the Royal Palace, “When a monarch passes away the next monarch succeeds to the throne at that same moment–thus the expression: The King is dead–long live the King. However, the transition is also accompanied by a number of ceremonial components, the most important of which is the King’s oath of allegiance to the Constitution.”
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at @rk.passport.