His son King Haakon VIII, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, United Kingdom (UK) Prince William, and other foreign state representatives stood silently in Oslo Lutheran Cathedral, paying tribute to the late monarch who died on August 28 at the age of 89.
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Monarchs from Sweden, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, and Jordan also attended the funeral, along with Japan’s crown prince Akishino, and political leaders from more than 20 countries.
The funeral procession departed from the royal palace an hour earlier; the king’s coffin was draped with the red Norwegian royal flag and adorned with white flowers. As the procession began, a 21-gun salute echoed through the capital.
The coffin placed on an artillery carriage was transported along the main city avenue, followed on foot by dignitaries. Thousands of people gathered along the procession route to pay their last respects.
“He was king practically my entire life. I thought coming today was normal since I could,” said 37-year-old municipal employee Anders Aanerud to the AFP news agency.
Only Harald’s widow, 89-year-old Queen Sonja, and the new queen Mette-Marit, who underwent a lung transplant in June, accompanied the procession by car.
Marius Borg Høiby, Mette-Marit’s son from a previous relationship, who is under house arrest awaiting a court decision on his appeal in a rape and assault case, was allowed to attend the funeral.
Sarcophagus
“The love between the people and King Harald did not end – on the contrary,” said Bishop Olav Fykse Tveit, who led the funeral ceremony, noting the signs of respect left at the palace.
“A sea of flowers, along with accompanying words and drawings, loudly and clearly speaks of such a full heart that it overflows,” he said.
After the religious rites, four F-35 fighter jets flew over the cathedral in what is called the missing man formation.
After the service, the late king’s coffin, with a smaller procession, was taken to the chapel of Akershus Castle. There, after a private ceremony for the Norwegian royal family, joined by some foreign guests and high-ranking Norwegian officials, the coffin will be lowered into the royal mausoleum crypt, next to Harald’s parents and grandparents.
He will be laid to rest in a sarcophagus worth 1.7 million euros, the design of which is kept secret.
After the burial ceremony, flags that were lowered to half-mast after Harald’s death will be raised again across the country, and church bells will ring for an hour.
People watched the funeral broadcast throughout the country. Many churches, libraries, cultural centers, and town halls prepared large screens so the public could watch the funeral, reported the public broadcaster NRK.
About 3,000 police officers and 3,500 soldiers were deployed for the event, and special restrictions were imposed over much of the eastern part of the country’s airspace.
Harald V, who ascended the throne in 1991, was the oldest reigning European monarch.
Despite increasing health problems in later years, he always rejected the possibility of abdicating and was very popular among Norwegians.
“He maintained a balance between grandeur and simplicity,” said Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in his farewell speech. “He made Norway greater. He spoke of ‘we’ in Norway, where everyone is one for each other.”
Considered the embodiment of an open and tolerant Norway, Harald left a deep impression when, in a speech marking the 25th anniversary of his reign in 2016, he celebrated diversity.
“Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other,” he said, adding: “Norwegians believe in God, Allah, the Universe, and nothing.”
Revived monarchy
Over the past week, more than 46,000 Norwegians passed by the king’s coffin, some waiting in line for hours.
The square in front of the palace was covered with flowers, drawings, and candles – this is how Norwegians honored the man they called “the nation’s elder.”
“He was like a beloved family grandfather, embracing all his children and grandchildren regardless of their appearance or beliefs,” student Arthur Fosheim told AFP.
“He truly embodied this spirit of inclusion and multicultural Norway,” he added.
According to a poll conducted after the king’s death and published last week, nearly three out of four Norwegians (72%) said they support the monarchy – eight percentage points higher than the previous poll conducted in May.
In February, support had dropped to its lowest level – 60 percent.
At that time, the royal family was embroiled in a series of scandals.
Mette-Marit faced particularly harsh criticism due to her past connections with the late convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and her son’s legal troubles.
Although 53-year-old Haakon VIII is very popular, opinions about the new queen, who is also 53, remain very controversial.
