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\n Flowers laid in front of Norway’s royal palace in Oslo. Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n
KING HARALD V of Norway has died aged 89, triggering the succession of his son Crown Prince Haakon at a tumultuous time for the country\u2019s royal family following several scandals.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is with deep sadness that we announce that His Majesty King Harald passed away today. King Harald passed away peacefully at Oslo University Hospital on Friday, August 28 at 6:35 am,\u201d the palace in Oslo said in a statement this morning.<\/p>\n
Europe\u2019s oldest reigning monarch and a great-great-grandchild of Britain\u2019s Queen Victoria, Harald reigned for 35 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had been in hospital in Oslo since 17 August suffering from haemolytic anaemia, a condition caused by an abnormally rapid destruction of red blood cells which leads to fatigue and shortness of breath.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the palace had announced that his health had deteriorated and that he was in an \u201cextremely serious\u201d condition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His wife Queen Sonja, Haakon and his wife Mette-Marit and their adult children spent much of the day at his bedside, with media reporting that Haakon kept vigil overnight.<\/p>\n
\n Flowers laid in front of Norway’s royal palace in Oslo. Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n
Alamy Stock Photo\n<\/p>\n
The flag at the royal palace in Oslo has been lowered to half-mast and members of the public have been laying flowers outside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Harald was largely popular with the Norwegian public. Kaspara Bolstad, 24, told AFP that he had been \u201ca very steady and warm king\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the entire Norwegian people see him as a role model and as someone who brings people together. Whether you\u2019re for or against the monarchy, I think he\u2019s well-liked across the board,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Magnus Skaugseth, 27, agreed. \u201cHe was so inclusive and committed to having values that are inclusive in the society we live in today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen there is so much division and polarisation, he was a pillar pointing in the opposite direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harald was born in 1937.<\/p>\n
Three years later, the Nazis invaded Norway, and in April 1940 the future king was evacuated, first to Sweden and then to the United States.<\/p>\n
![\"oslo-20251113-crown-prince-haakon-and-king-harald-before-the-world-cup-qualifying-match-in-football-between-norway-and-estonia-at-ullevaal-stadion-photo-fredrik-varfjell-ntb-this-text-is-auto-t\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/.JPEG\")
\n Harald with his son Haakon, who will now become Norway’s king, at the World Cup qualifying match between Norway and Estonia in November 2025. Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n
Alamy Stock Photo\n<\/p>\n
He lived in Washington with his mother, Princess Martha, throughout the rest of World War Two while his father, Prince Olav, lived in London with King Haakon. He returned to Norway when peace came.<\/p>\n
He married \u2018commoner\u2019 Sonja Haraldsen in 1968. But prior to their engagement, they faced nine years of opposition before winning the approval of Harald\u2019s father King Olav and parts of the ruling class.<\/p>\n
Harald, who ascended the Norwegian throne in 1991, had had multiple health problems in recent years, forcing him to have a pacemaker fitted and to scale back his official schedule.<\/p>\n
But he always ruled out abdicating, arguing that he took a lifelong oath before the Norwegian parliament.<\/p>\n
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store had cancelled a work trip to Germany early Thursday due to the king\u2019s deteriorating condition.\n<\/p>\n
Family controversies<\/p>\n
His death comes following a turbulent year for Norway\u2019s royal family, which was hit by two separate scandals involving his daughter-in-law Mette-Marit, who will now become queen, and Marius Borg H\u00f8iby, her son from a relationship before her 2001 marriage to Haakon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n (from left) Marius Borg Hoiby, Marit Tjessem, Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon, King Harald, Prince Sverre Magnus, Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Princess Ingrid Alexandra. Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n
Alamy Stock Photo\n<\/p>\n
Mette-Marit was heavily criticised earlier this year for her ties to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n
Documents published by the US Department of Justice in January revealed her sustained and at times intimate correspondence with Epstein between 2011 and 2014, at a time when the American financier had already been convicted of soliciting a minor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a televised interview in March, Mette-Marit said she had been \u201cmanipulated\u201d by Epstein and regretted the friendship, telling broadcaster NRK: \u201cOf course I wish I had never met him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Several polls published around the same time showed that nearly half of the Norwegian public believed that she should not become queen.<\/p>\n