King Harald V of Norway dies at 89 after weeks of health complications
King Harald V of Norway has died at the age of 89 after weeks of health problems and a final hospitalization in Oslo.
The Royal Palace confirmed that Harald died peacefully at 6:35 a.m. local time on Friday, August 28, at Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet.
“It is with deep grief that we announce that His Majesty King Harald has passed away,” the palace said.
His death came a day after the Royal House said his condition had “deteriorated” and was “very serious.”
Queen Sonja and Crown Prince Haakon had canceled their upcoming engagements to remain by his side, while members of the royal family were seen arriving at the hospital.
Harald had been hospitalized for the second time this year on August 17 because of side effects from ongoing medical treatment. Crown Prince Haakon was made regent during his father’s sick leave.
Days later, the palace said the King’s condition had worsened and that he was receiving antibiotics for a bloodstream bacterial infection.
Harald is immediately succeeded by his only son, Haakon. He is also survived by Queen Sonja, whom he married in 1968, their daughter Märtha Louise, his elder sister Princess Astrid, grandchildren and other members of the royal family.
The royal flag at the palace in Oslo was lowered to half-mast following his passing, while members of the public gathered at Palace Square to lay flowers.
Harald leaves behind a reputation for speaking openly about inclusion and the diversity of Norwegian society. In a 2016 speech, he said: “Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other.”
He also spoke about people of different faiths, saying Norwegians believed “in God, in Allah, in the universe, and in nothing.”
“It is not always easy to say where we are from, what nationality we are. Home is where our heart is,” Harald said. “In other words, Norway is you. Norway is us.”
Harald was born on February 21, 1937, at the royal family’s country residence at Skaugum, near Oslo. He was the only son of Crown Prince Olav, who later became King Olav V, and Crown Princess Märtha.
His childhood was shaped by war. When Nazi Germany invaded Norway on April 9, 1940, the royal family fled to neutral Sweden.
Harald later traveled to the United States with his mother and sisters, Princess Ragnhild and Princess Astrid, finding refuge at the Norwegian ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C.
His grandfather, King Haakon VII, and father, Crown Prince Olav, remained in London and led Norway’s resistance efforts from there.
Harald later recalled the refuge he found in the United States, saying in a 2015 speech in Seattle: “President Roosevelt and the American people reached out to us, and gave my mother, my sisters and myself a safe home in the U.S.A. Your country has had a special place in my heart ever since.”
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