On the morning of the 28th of August, Norway’s King Harald V, who had been on the throne for more than three decades, passed away in hospital, Reuters writes.
Harald, who was the oldest reigning European monarch since the death of Queen Elizabeth I, was hospitalized on the 17th of August, and the palace said he was being treated for a bacterial infection in his blood.
In 2024, Harald V was hospitalized in Malaysia, where he was on vacation. There, he was fitted with a temporary pacemaker; later, the king was flown home by Norwegian Air Force aircraft and fitted with a permanent pacemaker. That same year, the king, who was Norway’s ceremonial head of state, announced that he would reduce his official duties, but rejected the possibility of abdicating the throne, saying that the king’s oath is for life.
Harald’s passing comes at an already turbulent time for the royal family. Harald V’s wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, came under increased public scrutiny when news broke of her friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Crown Princess has repeatedly apologized for her friendship with the American criminal.
Meanwhile, the Crown Princess’s son from a previous relationship, Marius Hoibi, was found guilty in June of two of four rape charges and one domestic violence charge. He was sentenced to four years in prison, but both he and the prosecution have appealed the verdict.
Two days after Marius’s conviction, the palace announced that Mette-Marit had undergone a successful lung transplant. After several weeks in hospital, the Crown Princess returned home and celebrated her silver wedding anniversary with Prince Haakon in August.
In February 2026, support for the monarchy in Norway fell to 60% (from 70% in January), but rose slightly in May, reaching 64%. King Harald V has maintained his popularity among Norwegians even as support for the monarchy itself has fallen.
The great-great-grandson of Britain’s Queen Victoria, Harald ascended the throne in 1991
and has gradually given the throne a modern touch, bringing the ceremonial position, which is largely seen as a symbol of national independence, into the 21st century.
The popular king played a significant role in Norway’s darkest moments. When far-right fanatic Anders Breivik killed 77 people in Oslo and the island of Utoeya in 2011, the king gave a powerful speech on television. His voice trembling, the king said that freedom is stronger than fear.
After floods, storms, and other disasters, Harald V often visited the scene of the disaster, wearing wellington boots and a worn jacket, to meet with the victims. He also spoke about tolerance, noting in 2016 that Norwegians can have many backgrounds, beliefs, and sexual orientations.
The birth of Harald V on the 21st of February, 1937, was a cause for great celebration – he was the first heir to the throne born in Norway in 570 years. Until 1905, Norway had been ruled by Danish and Swedish monarchs for several centuries. Three years after Harald V was born, Norway was occupied by the Nazis. King Haakon and then Crown Prince Olav went to Britain, from where they led the government in exile, while 3-year-old Harald and his mother, Crown Princess Märtha, went first to Sweden and then to the United States.
In 1968, Harald married his father after nine years of fighting. His wife, Sonja, was not from royal circles, thus breaking with tradition, but Harald had vowed not to marry at all if he could not marry Sonja.
Harald V’s son, Haakon, will be Norway’s fourth king since independence.
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