“First of all, you were a person who always remained true to your values and commitments,” Haakon said about the late King Harald V in a televised speech.
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The new monarch said that seeing thousands of Norwegians who gathered at the royal palace in Oslo since Friday with “flowers, tokens of remembrance, and candles” was an “impressive and moving experience.”
“We mourn, but at the same time we are comforted and strengthened by the fact that so many people grieve with us,” said the 53-year-old king.
Visibly emotional, he also noted that his father and mother, Queen Sonja, would have celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary on Saturday.
“Happy anniversary, dear mother,” he said, holding back tears.
On Saturday, flags flew at half-mast across the country, and many Norwegians flocked to the palace, adding to the sea of flowers left by more than 20,000 people who came on Friday to pay their respects to the late king.
Harald had earned huge support despite numerous scandals that plagued his family during his 35-year reign.
“Now it’s my turn”
Haakon thanked his father for being a “good dad” to him and his sister, and acknowledged that now a “huge task falls” to him personally.
“He constantly reminded us, family members, that each of us must behave in our own way. Find our own path. Be ourselves,” Haakon said.
“Now it’s my turn,” he declared.
Condolences were expressed by various European monarchs and world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, who honored the memory of a “strong, proud, and highly respected man.”
Earlier on Saturday, King Haakon received leaders of the Church of Norway, parliament, and the Supreme Court at the palace.
He also received Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to pay tribute to the late king at the coffin, which was brought to the palace from Oslo University Hospital on Friday evening.
Earlier on Saturday, J. G. Støre was seen informally talking with mourners at the palace as he walked through the crowd and shook hands with some of those gathered.
A national mourning period has been declared in the country. The date of the late king’s funeral has not yet been set.
On Tuesday, King Haakon will take the oath of allegiance in parliament.
On Saturday, condolence books were placed in all Norwegian municipal administrations so the public could write personal messages.
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Oslo Mayor Anne Lindboe, who canceled her wedding on Friday due to the king’s death, was the first to write a message at Oslo City Hall.
“Dear King Harald, you didn’t need a crown to be a king. Thank you very much for everything you did for our city. We will never forget you,” she told reporters when asked what she wrote.
King Haakon and his wife, Queen Mette-Marit, should not be crowned in a ceremony – coronation ceremonies in Norway were abolished back in 1908.
However, the new king, like his father and grandfather, may choose to bless his reign in a ceremony at Trondheim Cathedral, where Norwegian monarchs were crowned from 1814 to 1906.
King Harald was widely regarded as the embodiment of an open and tolerant Norway and praised for leading a modern and modest monarchy.
Scandals
Harald had been treated at Oslo hospital since August 17, where he was admitted for hemolytic anemia – a condition caused by unusually rapid destruction of red blood cells, resulting in fatigue and shortness of breath.
The monarch had many health problems in recent years, which required him to have a pacemaker implanted and reduce the number of official duties.
The Norwegian royal family has faced many challenges recently.
Queen Sonja, who is also 89 years old, was briefly hospitalized in May due to heart problems.
The new king Haakon’s wife Mette-Marit again had to explain her connections with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. This raised questions about her decisions, although she is not accused of any wrongdoing.
The 53-year-old Mette-Marit apologized for the situation that involved the royal family, and it was part of a broader apology to all those she disappointed.
Around the same time, her eldest son Marius Borg Høiby was found guilty of rape in a high-profile court case and sentenced to four years in prison. M. B. Høiby, Mette-Marit’s son from a previous relationship before she met Haakon, has no royal titles or official duties.
In July, Mette-Marit underwent a lung transplant due to a rare form of chronic pulmonary fibrosis.
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