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King Passes Away At 89
King Harald V of Norway, Europe’s oldest monarch and the nation’s head of state for more than three decades, has died at 89.
The Royal House of Norway announced that Harald died peacefully at Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet at 6:35 a.m. Friday.
His death brings an end to a 35-year reign that began in 1991 and immediately places his son, Haakon, on the throne as King Haakon VIII.
Harald is survived by his wife of 57 years, Queen Sonja, their two children and five grandchildren. His granddaughter Ingrid Alexandra is now first in line to the throne.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said, “a whole nation is in mourning” after Harald’s death, with the people of Norway “left with a deep sense of gratitude for a long life in the service of Norway.”
Norway declared a national period of mourning as crowds gathered outside the royal palace in Oslo to honor the late king.
Tributes quickly poured in from royal families and political leaders across Europe.
Britain’s King Charles mourned a “friend whose kindness, compassion and deep sense of duty echoed from across the sea and across the decades,” while Denmark’s King Frederik and Queen Mary remembered Harald as a “fine man with a twinkle in his eye and a big heart.”
Harald’s health had deteriorated in recent days after he was hospitalized with complications tied to a blood disorder and later developed an infection.
He had suffered a series of health problems in recent years but repeatedly rejected the idea of stepping aside.
King Harald V of Norway has died at the age of 89 after he was taken to Oslo’s national hospital last week with a rare blood condition.
Flags around the country will be lowered to half mast in tribute while Norway’s prime minister said the entire nation was in mourning.
King… pic.twitter.com/VFpbOnY2mV
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) August 28, 2026
In 2024, after Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II abdicated, Harald made clear that he viewed the throne as a lifelong responsibility.
“I maintain what I have said all along, I have taken an oath” and “it lasts for life.”
Harald was born Feb. 21, 1937, the youngest of three children and the only son of Crown Prince Olav and Crown Princess Märtha.
His childhood was shaped by World War II.
When Nazi Germany invaded Norway in 1940, the royal family fled the country. Harald, then just 3 years old, eventually traveled with his mother and sisters to Washington, D.C., while his father and grandfather, King Haakon VII, remained in London.
He returned to Norway in 1945 after the German surrender, greeted by enormous crowds in Oslo.
Harald later attended public school, completed military training and studied social science, history and economics at the University of Oxford.
He also became an accomplished sailor and represented Norway at three Summer Olympics.
Harald competed in the 1964 Tokyo Games, where he served as Norway’s flag bearer, and later sailed in the 1968 Mexico City and 1972 Munich Olympics.
According to the Royal House, Harald participated in more than 1,000 regattas and sailing events during his lifetime.
His personal life also helped reshape Norway’s monarchy.
Harald dated Sonja Haraldsen for nine years before receiving permission from his father, King Olav V, to marry her.
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The match was controversial at the time because Sonja was a commoner, but Harald reportedly made clear that he would not marry anyone else.
The couple married at Oslo Cathedral on Aug. 29, 1968, before roughly 800 guests.
They later welcomed Princess Märtha Louise in 1971 and Haakon in 1973.
Harald became king following his father’s death in January 1991.
Like his father and grandfather before him, he adopted the royal motto: “We give our all for Norway.”
His reign was marked by efforts to modernize the monarchy while maintaining its traditional ceremonial role.
Harald and Sonja traveled extensively throughout Norway, visiting nearly every county and municipality and cultivating an image of a royal family closely connected to ordinary citizens.
His later years, however, were increasingly complicated by health problems and family scandals.
Harald underwent heart procedures, knee surgery and repeated hospitalizations, including a 2024 illness during a private trip to Malaysia that eventually required a pacemaker.
The royal family also faced intense scrutiny over Queen Mette-Marit’s past contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the criminal case involving her son from a previous relationship.
Despite the turmoil surrounding the family, Harald remained one of Norway’s most respected public figures and continued carrying out royal duties for as long as his health allowed.
His death now hands the monarchy to Haakon VIII, who assumes the throne at a difficult moment for the royal household and a country mourning the loss of a king whose public life stretched from wartime exile to the modern era.
