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Agence France-Presse

Norway’s new King Haakon VIII on Saturday addressed Norwegians for the first time since taking the throne, paying tribute to his 89-year-old father who died the day before.
“Above all, you were a person who always stayed true to your values and commitments,” Haakon said of the late King Harald V in a televised speech.
The new regent said it had been a “powerful and moving experience” to see the thousands of Norwegians who had gathered since Friday outside the Royal Palace in Oslo with “flowers, tributes and candles”.
“We are in mourning, yet at the same time it brings comfort and strength that so many are grieving together with us,” the 53-year-old said.

Visibly moved, he also noted that his father and mother, Queen Sonja, would have celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary on Saturday.
“Happy wedding anniversary, dear Mum,” he said, choking back tears.
Flags flew at half mast on Saturday as scores of Norwegians flocked to the palace, adding flowers to the masses already on the ground after more than 20,000 people paid their respects Friday.
The late king enjoyed massive support, despite the slew of scandals that dogged his family in the final stretch of his 35-year reign.
Haakon thanked his father for being “a good dad” to him and his sister Martha Louise, and acknowledged that he now faced a “great task himself”.
“He constantly reminded us in the family that each of us must do things in our own way. Find our own form. Be ourselves,” Haakon said.
“Now it is my turn,” he declared.

Tributes have poured in from European monarchies and world leaders, including US President Donald Trump who hailed the memory of “a strong, proud, and greatly respected man”.
Earlier on Saturday, King Haakon held audiences at the palace with the leaders of the Church of Norway, parliament and supreme court.
He also received Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store for a viewing of the late king’s casket, which was brought to the palace from Oslo University Hospital Friday evening.
Store was seen speaking informally to mourners outside the palace earlier on Saturday, weaving through the crowds and shaking hands.
A national period of mourning has been declared. No date has been set for the late king’s funeral.
King Haakon will swear an oath of allegiance in parliament on Tuesday.

City halls across Norway set out condolence books on Saturday for the public to write personal messages.
Oslo Mayor Anne Lindboe, who had called off her own wedding on Friday due to the king’s death, was the first to write a message in Oslo’s City Hall.
“Dear King Harald, you didn’t need a crown to be a king. Thank you so much for everything you have done for our city. We will never forget you,” she told reporters she had written.
One of the first members of the public to write a message after the mayor, Unni Zetterquist Thorsen, 68, said she had thanked the late king for his “patience and strength through difficult times in Norway”.
King Haakon and his wife, Queen Mette-Marit, are not expected to be crowned in a ceremony – Norway abolished coronations in 1908.
But, like his father and grandfather before him, the new king could choose to have his reign blessed during a ceremony at Trondheim Cathedral, where Norwegian monarchs were crowned between 1814 and 1906.
King Harald was widely seen as the embodiment of an open and tolerant Norway, and praised for leading a monarchy that was modern and modest.

Harald had been in hospital in Oslo since August 17, suffering from haemolytic anaemia, a condition caused by an abnormally rapid destruction of red blood cells that leads to fatigue and shortness of breath.
The regent faced mounting health problems in his final years, forcing him to scale back his official schedule.
The past year has been a turbulent one for the Norwegian royal family.
Queen Sonja, also 89, was briefly admitted to hospital in May due to heart problems.
New King Haakon’s wife Mette-Marit is under scrutiny for her ties to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In June, Mette-Marit’s son from a relationship before her marriage to Haakon, Marius Borg Hoiby, was sentenced to four years in prison for two rapes, a sentence that is under appeal.
Suffering herself from a serious lung disease, Mette-Marit, 53, underwent a lung transplant in July.


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Nordic nations

Norway’s King Haakon arrives for an extraordinary cabinet meeting at the Royal Palace, following the death of King Harald, in Oslo on Friday. Photo: NTB/Reuters

Norway’s King Haakon VIII gives his first speech as monarch at the Royal Palace in Oslo on Saturday. Photo: EPA

Flowers and candles are placed in tribute to late King Harald of Norway at the Palace Square in Oslo on Friday. Photo: NTB/AFP

A soldier pays silent respect outside the Royal Palace on Saturday, following the death of Norway’s King Harald. Photo: Reuters

People arrive at Palace Square to pay tribute to late King Harald of Norway in Oslo on Friday. Photo: NTB/AFP

Norway’s Queen Sonja, King Haakon and Queen Mette-Marit walk to the car as King Harald’s bier leaves the National Hospital on Friday. Photo: NTB/dpa

People gather at Palace Square to wait for King Harald’s hearse to arrive on Friday. Photo: NTB/AFP

Norway’s King Harald in 2024. He died in hospital on Friday after an illness. Photo: NTB/Ole Berg-Rusten via Reuters

Crown Prince Haakon, 53, became King Haakon VIII when his father, Harald V, died Friday. Photo: AP

People gather outside the Royal Palace in Oslo, following the death of Norway’s King Harald. Photo: Reuters

Haakon in San Francisco in 2024. He became King Haakon VIII when his father, Harald V, died Friday. Photo: AP



A young Haakon in 1987 with his family. Photo: NTB/Bjorn Sigurdson via Reuters

Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit. Photo: Ola Vatn/Det kongelige hoff via dpa

Norway crown princess says she was ‘manipulated’ by Epstein

Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s name appears in new Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice earlier in 2026. Photo: AFP

Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway (right) and her husband Crown Prince Haakon. Photo: AFP

Norwegian newspapers cover the trial of Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s son, Marius Borg Høiby, and contact between his mother and Epstein. Photo: dpa

Norwegian crown princess’ son sentenced to 4 years’ jail for rape, domestic violence

Marius Borg Hoiby looks at his mother, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, at a dinner in Oslo on June 16, 2022. Photo: AP

Marius Borg Hoiby heads to meet his lawyer in Oslo on January 19. Photo: AP

Victim’s lawyer John Christian Elden (left) and defence lawyer Ellen Holager Andenæs talk in court before the verdict was announced on Monday. Photo: AFP

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The 53-year-old takes over a monarchy hailed for its modernity and modesty but which has been beset by a string of recent scandals


The 53-year-old takes over a monarchy hailed for its modernity and modesty but which has been beset by a string of recent scandals.


Norway

United States

Donald Trump

King Haakon VIII takes throne as Norway mourns death of King Harald

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The 53-year-old takes over a monarchy hailed for its modernity and modesty but which has been beset by a string of recent scandals

The 53-year-old takes over a monarchy hailed for its modernity and modesty but which has been beset by a string of recent scandals