Sept. 9, 2026

King Harald V Funeral: Complete Timeline of Norway’s Farewell, Prince William’s Role and the Rise of King H

Show Notes
Transcript

King Harald V has been laid to rest after an emotional day of national mourning in Oslo. Here's the complete timeline of Norway's royal farewell—from the military procession through the capital and the state funeral at Oslo Cathedral to the private burial at Akershus Fortress and the first major public appearance of King Haakon VIII as Norway's new monarch. We cover Prince William representing King Charles, Princess Anne's personal role as Haakon's godmother, Queen Sonja's moving tribute, the attendance of Europe's royal families, the military honors, the F-35 missing man flypast, the significance of Marius Borg Høiby's appearance, and how Norway marked the end of King Harald's remarkable 35-year reign with the beginning of a new royal era.

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Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I am your host,

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Mark Francis. This is a special episode from our sister series,

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Crown and Controversy, Norway, on the funeral of King Harald.

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Norway said farewell to King Harald V with a funeral

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procession through Oslo, a service at the cathedral where he

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had married Queen Sonja, and a private burial at Akershus Fortress.

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Prince William represented King Charles, Princess Anne attended in a

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personal capacity as godmother to Harald's son, the new King

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Harkon VIII. They joined the Norwegian royal family, visiting monarchs,

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presidents and prime ministers for a day that concluded with

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the bereaved family greeting the crowds from the royal palace balcony.

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Harald had died on August 28, aged 89, after 35

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years on the throne. Thirteen days of national mourning led

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up to the funeral. For those gathering in Oslo, the

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day began hours before the coffin left the palace. People

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arrived early to find places along the route, which stretched

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for roughly a mile from the Royal Palace to Oslo Cathedral.

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Norwegian flags hung at half-mast. Police staffed checkpoints, and the

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city centre was closed to traffic, including bicycles and electric scooters.

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The BBC's Lars Bevenger spoke to Elisabeth Oxen, who had

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arrived four hours early. She said it was important to

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pay her respects to a king she regarded as a moderniser.

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By the time the preparations were nearing completion, tens of

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thousands of people were already standing beside the route. Around 1,900

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military personnel had taken up positions along both sides of

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the streets. Organisers expected more than 200,000 people to try

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to see the procession. For anyone unable to get close enough,

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nine large screens had been installed around central Oslo to

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show the proceedings. At Akershus Fortress, ceremonial troops assembled at

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the place where Harold would later be buried. At the

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Royal Palace, preparations continued for the departure of his coffin,

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which had been lying in state. The first journey of

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the day began when Harold's coffin emerged from the Royal Palace.

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It rested on a low ceremonial gun carriage, pulled by

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a black military Mercedes 4x4. A red ceremonial cloth covered

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the coffin. Members of the late king's personal staff walked

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beside it as pallbearers. Mounted police led the way, followed

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by the King's Royal Guard and the Norwegian Army Band,

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which played funeral music as the procession advanced. Behind the

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coffin walked King Haken. With him were his two children,

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Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Svea Magnus, and his sister,

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Princess Martha Louise. Queen Sonja and Queen Metamorit followed in

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a royal car. As the procession moved away from the palace,

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the first of 21 mourning cannon salutes sounded from Akershus Fortress.

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Reporting from the route, the BBC's Lars Bevenger described how

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quiet the crowds were, despite the number of people gathered,

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the main sounds were the military music and the cannon.

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The procession moved east through central Oslo towards the cathedral.

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Members of the public stood behind barriers, with military personnel

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positioned between the crowd and the passing mourners. Photographs showed

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the red-covered coffin moving through streets lined with Norwegian flags.

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Oslo Cathedral was consecrated in 1697. hosted royal weddings for generations,

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including Harald and Sonja's marriage on August 29, 1968. Haken

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and Metamorit had also married there in 2001. Now the

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cathedral was prepared for Harald's funeral, with members of the

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family seated close to his coffin and representatives from Norway

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and abroad filling the congregation. When the procession arrived, soldiers

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from the King's Guard carried the coffin up the cathedral steps.

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A minute's silence was observed across Norway before the service.

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Three strokes of the bells marked its beginning, and three

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more marked its end. The funeral followed the Church of

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Norway's order of service. The announced order also provided four

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memorial addresses by the President of the Norwegian Parliament and

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the Prime Minister, and a candle-lighting ceremony involving representatives of

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different faiths. Inside the cathedral, Queen Sonja sat at the

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end of the family's front row, beside her son, King Haken.

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Queen Metamorit sat next to him, with Crown Princess Ingrid

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Alexandra and Prince Sphere Magnus further along the row. During

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the service, Metamorite was photographed wiping her eyes. Queen Sonia

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approached her husband's coffin carrying a single red rose. She

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placed it on the coffin, bowed, and returned to her seat.

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Behind the front row sat Princess Martha Louise and her husband,

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Durek Verrett, alongside her daughters. Metamorite's son, Marius Borghoebi, had

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arrived at the cathedral with Martha Louise's children and was

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seated in the second row. Marius received a four-year prison

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sentence in June following convictions that included two counts of rape,

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domestic violence, threats and breaches of restraining orders. Before the service,

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Norwegian broadcaster NRK had confirmed his legal team had sought

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approval for him to attend in connection with restrictions imposed

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while he appeals his conviction. Harald was Marius' step-grandfather. Marius

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was four when his mother married Haken in 2001 and

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he grew up alongside the royal family. He has no

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royal title and is not an official member of the

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royal house. Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria took part in the

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service by reciting the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

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in Swedish. Victoria was Harald's goddaughter. Following the death, she

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had referred to him as her Uncle Harald and described

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him as an exceptionally nice person, a role model. The

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connections between the Norwegian and Swedish families also extended to

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the new king. Carl Gustaf is Haken's godfather. In his

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personal message after Harald's death, the Swedish monarch had addressed

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Haken with the words, Dear Godson. Princess Anne, Haken's godmother,

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was another of those long-standing family connections present in the cathedral.

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More in just a moment. Throughout the service, the coffin

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remained covered by its red ceremonial cloth. Outside, the crowds

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continued to follow the funeral, either from their positions along

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the streets or on screens around the city. At the

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end of the cathedral service, Four Royal Norwegian Air Force

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F-35 fighter jets flew overhead in a missing man formation.

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Harald's coffin was then brought out of the cathedral for

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the second procession. This time, the route led southwest through

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the city centre towards Akershus Fortress and the royal burial

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place beneath its church. Behind the coffin walked three Nordic kings.

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Haken was in the middle, with Sweden's King Carl Gustaf

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on one side and Denmark's King Frederick on the other.

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The BBC's coverage noted the prominence of that formation, with

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a new Norwegian sovereign accompanied by the kings of his

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two Scandinavian neighbours as he followed his father to the burial.

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The procession continued towards the waterfront. Akershus Fortress has overlooked

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Oslo for more than 700 years. Within its grounds, beneath

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the castle church, the Royal Mausoleum holds the tombs of

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members of Norway's royal family. Harald was to be buried

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there alongside his father, King Olav V, and his mother,

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Crown Princess Martha. The coffin was lowered into the crypt

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and Harald was laid to rest. The live coverage did

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not provide a detailed account of the private service. Outside,

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the conclusion of the burial was marked by military ceremony

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and the raising of flags. A salute sounded from Akershus Fortress.

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Across Oslo, Norwegian flags were raised from half-mast to full-mast.

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Church bells began ringing, with bells throughout Norway continuing for

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an hour. At the Royal Palace, the change of flags

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also marked the end of the morning ceremonies. The King's flag,

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which had flown at half-mast since Harald's death, was replaced

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by the Norwegian state flag at full mast. The royal

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family then left Akershus and returned to the palace following

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the route used earlier in the day. By this stage,

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another large crowd had assembled outside the royal palace. Photographs

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showed people filling the open space in front of the

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building and gathering along the approach. Norwegian flags flew on

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either side of the street. The family's last scheduled public

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appearance of the day was on the balcony. King Haken

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and Queen Metamorit came out to greet the crowd. joined

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by Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Sverre Magnus and Queen Sonja.

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The people below cheered and applauded. The family waved back.

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And there you have it. If you'd like to get

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more from the Norwegian royal family, please check out our

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sister series, Crown and Controversy Norway. You can get that

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wherever you get this show. I'm Mark Francis. My thanks

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to John McDermott. This is Palace Intrigue.

King Harald V Funeral: Complete Timeline of Norway’s Farewell, Prince William’s Role and the Rise of King H

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