King Harald V of Norway has Died

The Norwegian Royal Court has announced the death of King Harald V of Norway, who has passed away at the Rikshospitalet in Oslo at the age of 89, after being treated at the blood disease hemolytic anemia in recent weeks. The popular Norwegian King for thirty-five years grew up in the United States during the Second World War and was the first Norwegian-born Monarch to inherit the Throne in over 600 years.

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It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of His Majesty King Harald today. King Harald passed away peacefully at the National Hospital on Friday, August 28, at 6:35 a.m.

The Crown Prince Regent has become King Haakon VIII of Norway upon the passing of King Harald V. Further details will be announced in due course.

King Harald’s remains will be brought from the National Hospital to the Royal Palace later today, at 6:30pm, the Royal Court announces.

King Haakon, Queen Mette-Marit, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Queen Sonja, Prince Sverre Magnus as well as Princess Märta Louise will follow.

King Haakon VIII of Norway said in an extraordinary cabinet meeting at the Royal Palace:

It is my duty to inform the Council of State that my dear father, His Majesty King Harald V, died today, 28 August 2028 at 06:35, and that in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, I have assumed the government as King of Norway.

I will take the name Haakon VIII and will continue the same motto that my father, grandfather and great-grandfather chose: “Everything for Norway.”

HM The King thanked the members of the government and the Norwegian people for their support and sympathy for the Royal Family during this time.

The only son of Crown Prince Olav of Norway and Princess Martha of Sweden, Prince Harald was the younger brother of Princess Ragnhild and Princess Astrid,

Prince Harald was the first Norwegian-born prince in 567 years. The Crown Prince couple already had two daughters, but girls had no right to inherit the throne. With Prince Harald, the line of succession in the new Norwegian monarchy was secured. For the first three years, Prince Harald grew up in rural surroundings at Skaugum with his older sisters, the Princesses Ragnhild and Astrid.

In addition to being the first cousin of King Baudouin and King Albert of Belgium, Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte of Luxembourg, King Harald was also a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece among others.

During the German Occupation of Norway in the Second War, Prince Harald lived with his mother and sister outside Washington, D.C, before their return to Norway in 1945, when he began his education in Oslo, followed by Service in the Norwegian Army and then a degree from Oxford.

The situation changed abruptly when Germany invaded Norway on 9 April 1940. The royal family and government fled north by train to avoid being taken into custody by the occupying forces. That same night, Crown Princess Märtha and the children crossed the border into Sweden, and on 12 August they travelled on to the United States at the invitation of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

For the next five years, Prince Harald lived with his mother and sisters at Pook’s Hill outside Washington, D.C. Crown Princess Märtha worked tirelessly for Norwegian interests, and the children contributed in their own way. Germany capitulated on 8 May 1945, and on 7 June Prince Harald was able to return to Norway with King Haakon VII, his mother and his sisters. They disembarked at Honnørbrygga in Oslo, where Crown Prince Olav and a large crowd welcomed them home.

After returning from the United States in 1945, Prince Harald began his education at Smestad School in Oslo. He continued his education at Oslo Cathedral School, where he graduated as a red-blooded student in 1955. Apart from a security guard in the hallway, there was little that distinguished the Prince’s schooling from that of other children. The emphasis was on his upbringing being rooted in the present, as similar as possible to his peers.

After graduating from high school, Prince Harald began the Cavalry Command School in 1956 and continued on to the War College, where he graduated in 1959. When his compulsory service was completed, Crown Prince Harald traveled to Oxford where he studied political science, economics, and history at Balliol College from 1960 to 1962.

After losing his mother in 1954, and grandfather in 1957, he became the Crown Prince of Norway and began his Official Duties not long afterwards, often serving as the Norwegian Regent during King Olav’s absences from the country.

King Haakon VII died on 21 September 1957, and Prince Harald became Crown Prince of Norway. He met in the Council of State for the first time, and the following year he served as Regent for the first time in the King’s absence. The Crown Prince stood by King Olav’s side and was eventually given several representative assignments.

Promoting Norwegian business abroad was to become an important area of work for Crown Prince Harald, and he participated in a number of trips with trade delegations as a door-opener for Norwegian business. This is work he has continued as king, not least in connection with his many state visits.

In 1968, Crown Prince Harald married Sonja Haraldsen in a grand ceremony in Oslo Cathedral, after a nine-year relationship.

It was expected that the Crown Prince, as heir to the throne, would marry someone from the royal house or nobility of Europe, and the desire to marry a woman from the common people created great debate. Several predicted the downfall of the monarchy as a result of such a marriage. After consulting both the President of the Storting, the parliamentary leaders and the government, King Olav nevertheless gave his consent: Crown Prince Harald was allowed to marry Sonja Haraldsen.

The couple had two children, Princess Märtha Louise and Prince Haakon, and five grandchildren.

After the wedding, the couple moved to Skaugum, which once again took on the role of residence for a Norwegian crown prince couple. Here the children grew up. Princess Märtha Louise was born on 22 September 1971, and on 20 July 1973 Prince Haakon was born. The royal couple entered the role of grandparents as early as 2001 when Crown Princess Mette-Marit joined the family with her son, Marius Borg Høiby. Princess Märtha Louise and Ari Behn’s first daughter, Maud Angelica, was born in 2003, followed by Leah Isadora in 2005 and Emma Tallulah in 2008. Princess Ingrid Alexandra was born on 21 January 2004 as second in line to the throne after her father, Crown Prince Haakon, and in 2005 Prince Sverre Magnus arrived. In 2024, Princess Märtha Louise married American Durek Verrett.

After serving as the Crown Prince Regent for much of 1990, upon King Olav’s passing in January 1991, his son was the first Norwegian-born Monarch to inherit the Throne in over 600 years and became King Harald V of Norway, taking the the oath to the Constitution at the Storting before a Consecration Ceremony at Nidaros Cathedral.

The King’s duties were primarily representative and ceremonial as the foremost symbol of the Norwegian community.King Harald met people from all over the country, in all situations. He was there at the big celebrations – and in the great sorrow. When major disasters strike, the King visited the affected areas and met people who had been affected, to put into words the grief and despair of the entire country. King Harald also represented Norway abroad and had undertaken a long series of state visits and other official journeys.

The King’s duties were enshrined in the Constitution. These constitutional duties include appointing new governments, leading the Council of Ministers, and conducting the ceremonial opening of the Storting. It is also the King’s duty to receive new ambassadors to the country. His Majesty the King is the country’s supreme commander.

Daily work at the Royal Palace also includes audiences, speeches, conversations with the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and with representatives of the Armed Forces. The King often visits private and public institutions on his trips to different parts of the country.

King Harald chaired the Cabinet at the Palace on Fridays. When the government makes a decision as a collective body, it happens in the Cabinet. No laws and decisions in the Cabinet are valid until the King has sanctioned them and the Prime Minister has countersigned them. When the Constitution states that executive power lies with the King, this today means “the King in Council” – neither the King nor the government alone.

Sports and nature were among King Harald’s greatest interests. He liked to combine the joy of nature experiences with hunting and fishing, and the King had been an avid visitor to the country’s salmon rivers for many years. In the fall, there was moose hunting at Prinsehytta in Sikkilsdalen.

As Crown Prince, King Harald was one of the initiators of the Norwegian branch of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and he was the President of WWF Norway for 20 years. He followed up on his great commitment to nature and the environment both through his speeches and official programs, and privately – as when he fulfilled an old dream and traveled to visit the indigenous people of the Amazon.

King Harald was a patron of Norwegian sports and an avid spectator, in addition to being an active sportsman himself for many years. It is in sailing that King Harald had particularly excelled, representing Norway in sailing at the 1964, 1968, and 1972 Olympic Games,.

King Harald had been officially present as an enthusiastic and knowledgeable spectator at countless sporting events and is a self-proclaimed “sports idiot”. But he has also excelled in his own sport – sailing. In 1964, he carried the Norwegian flag at the opening of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. In 1987, he and his crew became world champions with Fram X, and in 2005 they became European champions with Fram XV.

Our condolences to King Haakon and the Norwegian Royal Family on the loss of a beloved father and King!

One thought on “King Harald V of Norway has Died”

Nellie says:

August 28, 2026 at 1:56 pm

Since I did of course know neither him nor anyone of his family- I am not even Norwegian or of Norwegian descent – I am surprised at how deeply his passing saddens me. I had fully expected the sad news to be about Queen Sonia, having heard that she was hospitalized for heart failure. King Harald was one of the last few great ones. May he rest in peace, and may his family find comfort during this difficult time. 🕯️🕯️🕯️

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