Sept. 1, 2026

King Haakon Leads Norway in Mourning as King Harald’s Funeral Plans Are Revealed

Show Notes
Transcript

Norway’s new King Haakon the Eighth leads the Royal Family in mourning following the death of his father, King Harald the Fifth, at age eighty-nine. We have the full plans for King Harald’s September ninth state funeral at Oslo Cathedral, the procession through Oslo and his burial at Akershus Fortress alongside his father and grandfather. Queen Mette-Marit misses a memorial service as she continues recovering from her lung transplant, while European royals prepare to travel to Norway for the funeral. Plus, King Haakon prepares for a defining moment of his new reign as he appears before the Storting to swear his constitutional Oath of Allegiance.

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WEBVTT

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Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. This is a special

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episode of Crown and Controversy Norway. You can catch these

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episodes on our other sister feed, Crown and Controversy Norway,

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and we'll be bringing you these episodes just to cover

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the death of King Harald I. Norway's new King Haken

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led the royal family at a special church service honouring

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his father, King Harald, who died Friday at the age

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of 89. King Haken was joined at Asker Church on

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Sunday by his daughter and heir, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra,

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his son, Prince Svea Magnus, and his mother, Queen Sonja.

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Mourners gathered outside the church as Norway continued a weekend

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of remembrance for the late king. Church services were held

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across the country on Sunday afternoon, in tribute to the

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monarch whose 35-year reign came to an end with his

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death on August 28th. One notable absence from the royal

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family's public appearance was Queen Metamorite, who continues to recover

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from the lung transplant she underwent in June. The Norwegian

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royal court explained her absence in a statement saying, as

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previously announced, Her Majesty Queen Metamorite is recovering from her

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lung transplant in June and has limited opportunity to participate

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in official events. She will therefore not be present at

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Asker Church tomorrow. The Queen will nevertheless be present at

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certain other events in connection with the passing of King Harald.

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Although Mette-Marie did not attend Sunday's public service, she was

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photographed with the royal family on Friday evening as King

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Harald's coffin was transported from the University Hospital back to

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the royal palace. Mette-Marie was also seen with her youngest son,

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Prince Sverre Magnus, looking at the flowers and tributes that

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have been left outside the family's Skalkum residence. Attention now

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turns toward King Harald's funeral. King Harald will be laid

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to rest on Wednesday, September 9th, with a funeral service

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starting at 1 o'clock in the afternoon at Oslo Cathedral.

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The funeral service will be conducted by Olav Fiske Dveit,

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President of the Church of Norway, along with the Bishop

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of Oslo, Sunina Juleve. Oslo Cathedral cantor Markus Andre Berg

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will also take part along with the Oslo Cathedral Choir.

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There will be a nationwide minute of silence marking the

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start of the service. The day will begin privately at

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the palace chapel, where King Harald's closest family will gather

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before the public ceremonies begin. The main gate of the

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royal palace will then open, followed by a 21-gun salute

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from Akershus Fortress. King Harald's coffin will be carried in

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procession from the palace to Oslo Cathedral. Members of the

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royal family will follow, along with representatives of the Norwegian

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government and foreign guests, while soldiers line the procession route.

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Following the funeral service, a smaller procession will accompany the

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coffin to Akershus Fortress for a private ceremony attended by

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members of the family, European royals, and selected Norwegian officials.

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King Harald will then be laid to rest in the

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Royal Mausoleum at Akershus Fortress, where his father, King Olav V,

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and grandfather, King Harkin VII, are also buried. A new

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double sarcophagus has been created for King Harald and Queen Sonja,

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who will eventually be laid to rest alongside her husband.

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Following the burial, another salute will be fired and flags

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across Norway, which have been flying at half-mast during the

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mourning period, will return to full mast. The royal yacht

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will also sound the traditional whistle signal used to indicate

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that the king has left the ship. King Harkon VIII

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will then appear with his family on the balcony of

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the royal palace to greet the Norwegian people. King Harald's

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coffin will lie in state in the palace chapel beginning

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at two in the afternoon on September 1st, remaining there

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until six in the evening on September 8th, Foreign royal

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families and heads of state are expected to travel to

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Oslo for the funeral. Denmark's King Frederick X and Queen

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Mary have already confirmed they will attend. The gathering could

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become one of the largest assemblies of European royalty and

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international leaders in Norway in decades. When King Olav V

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was buried in 1991, representatives from more than 100 countries

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traveled to Oslo. More in just a moment. King Haakon

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VIII will take one of the most important constitutional steps

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of his new reign on Tuesday when he appears before

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Norway's parliament to swear his oath of allegiance. The ceremony

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will take place at the Storting at one in the afternoon.

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King Haakon became monarch automatically when his father, King Harald V, died.

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Under Norway's constitution, there is no period in which the

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throne is vacant and no coronation is required. But the

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new monarch is required to appear before parliament and formally

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promised to govern according to Norway's constitution and laws. The

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ceremony will begin with the president of the Storting formally

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announcing the death of King Harald and the succession of

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his son, King Harkon. Harkon will then take the oath

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prescribed by Article 9 of the Norwegian Constitution. The oath reads,

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I promise and swear that I will govern the Kingdom

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of Norway in accordance with its constitution and laws, so

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help me God, the Almighty and Omniscient. King Harkon will

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then deliver a short address. The president of the Storting

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will speak in remembrance of King Harald before addressing the

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new king. and the ceremony will conclude with Norway's royal anthem.

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For Norway, the oath is much more than a ceremonial tradition.

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It is one of the central constitutional acts accompanying the

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accession of a new monarch and explicitly reflects the limits

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placed upon the sovereign in Norway's constitutional monarchy. The Storting

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explains that the ceremony marks the principle that the king's

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authority is regulated and limited by the constitution. The ceremony

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will be broadcast live by NRK and through the Storting's

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own television service, A large screen will also be installed

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outside Parliament at Eidwolds Plus, so members of the public

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can watch. The Storting itself will be closed to the

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public for the entire day. And there you have it.

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If you'd like to email us, our address is thepalaceintrigue

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at gmail.com. If you'd like to follow the Norwegian series,

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just look for Crown and Controversy Norway, our sister series,

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as it covers the death of King Harald. I'm Mark Francis.

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My thanks to John McTermid. This is Palace Intrigue, and

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good times.

King Haakon Leads Norway in Mourning as King Harald’s Funeral Plans Are Revealed

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