Under torrential rain, thousands of people stood on the streets of Oslo to watch the funeral procession pass. The image alone says more than any official announcement about what King Harald V meant to Norway. Europe’s longest-serving monarch died on Friday at the age of 89 , and his country seems in no hurry to say goodbye.
The procession started from Oslo University Hospital , where Harald breathed his last, and ended at the royal palace , where his coffin was placed in the chapel. The public will be able to pay their respects in front of the body, although a date has not yet been announced.
Today, flags are flying at half-mast across the country. Portraits of the late king in full regalia have filled public spaces, from bus stops, trams and metro stations to shops, offices and public buildings. On the central avenue , Carl Johan , Norwegians from all walks of life made their way to the palace carrying flowers, handwritten cards, paintings and small national flags.
As the nation mourns, attention is also turning to the succession . Crown Prince Haakon , the late king’s only son, became monarch at the exact moment his father died. King Haakon VIII will address the nation in a televised address at 7 p.m. local time tonight in memory of his father, and on Tuesday he will take the oath before parliament, pledging to defend Norway’s constitution and laws. There will be no coronation , as the institution was abolished by the Norwegian parliament in 1908.
Prime Minister Jonas Gaard Støre summed up the moment with a phrase that carries centuries of history. “An era has ended. A new one begins. The king is dead. Long live the king,” he said after meeting the new monarch, adding that Harald will be remembered by Norwegians “for his love for his people, his humor and warmth, and for his unwavering faith in us.”
The testimonies of those gathered outside the palace, on what would have been the 58th anniversary of Harald’s wedding to Queen Sonja , explain where this love came from. The common thread among almost all was the spirit of inclusion that the king embodied. “He meant a lot to us immigrants. We really felt very integrated. Thanks to him, I feel so Norwegian,” Vesselina Vitanova , a 43-year-old teacher originally from Bulgaria, told Reuters.
Another woman recalled a 2016 speech that went viral, in which Harald said Norwegians are “girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other.” “That embodied the way he felt about people and the way he wanted us Norwegians to feel about each other,” said Marie Eindsvaag , 32, wearing a T-shirt with the phrase, a rainbow and a sketch of the king.
Several days of national mourning are ahead until the funeral. The funeral service will be held at Oslo Cathedral , and Harald will be buried next to his ancestors in the royal mausoleum at Akershus Fortress, a 13th-century castle overlooking the capital’s harbor. There lie the remains of his mother, Crown Princess Märtha , his father, King Olaf , his grandmother, Queen Maud , and his grandfather, King Haakon , whose name the new monarch now bears.
Five generations of a dynasty, that is, in a castle over the water. And a people standing in the rain to say goodbye to a king who, as the Norwegians themselves say, taught them how to all fit into the same country.
