Norway bids farewell to King Harald as crowds gather at royal palace

Thousands of mourners gathered outside the Royal Palace in Oslo on Saturday, August 29, 2026, to pay tribute to King Harald of Norway, who died on Friday at the age of 89. As Europe's oldest monarch, King Harald led the nation for more than three decades, emerging from the shadow of his popular father to become a modern reformer widely praised for his inclusive leadership.

The late king passed away at Oslo University Hospital on Friday, August 28. Despite pouring rain, thousands of people lined the streets of Oslo late Friday to watch the royal funeral cortege transport the monarch's body to the Royal Palace. King Harald will lie in state inside the royal chapel, where members of the public will be invited to pay their final respects. His coffin will rest on a purple-draped catafalque displaying the royal family wreath alongside the symbols of the Norwegian monarchy: the crown, sceptre, orb, and sword. The official date for the royal funeral has not yet been made public.

National mourning was evident across the Scandinavian nation as flags flew at half-mast on public buildings, offices, and shops. Formal portraits of the late king in gala uniform were displayed prominently across metro stations, bus stops, and public spaces throughout the country.

Gathering near the palace, well-wishers remembered King Harald for his warmth and deep sense of social progressivism. Many cited his famous 2016 speech on diversity, which gained worldwide attention when he declared that Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other. Outside the palace, 32-year-old mourner Mari Eidsvaag wore a shirt displaying the sentence alongside a rainbow and an illustration of the king. She told Reuters that the statement embodied the way the monarch felt about his people and how he wanted Norwegians to feel about each other, adding that it remains a very important message today.

The transition to a new reign began immediately upon King Harald's death. His 53-year-old son acceded to the throne, taking the regnal name King Haakon VIII. The new sovereign is expected to deliver a televised address to the nation before officially taking his oath in front of Parliament on Tuesday, September 1, where he will swear to defend Norway's constitution and laws.

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