Norway’s King Harald has died at the age of 89 after more than 35 years on the throne, the Royal Palace has said.
The monarch, who had been on sick leave for several weeks, passed away peacefully at Oslo Hospital at 6.35am local time on Friday, the palace said on its website.
Harald, who was Europe’s oldest living monarch, was taken into hospital on 17 August for treatment for a bacterial infection in his blood.
His son, the Crown Prince Haakon, became Norway’s new king on Friday after the death of his father.
The late king had suffered from numerous health issues in recent years, and was eventually fitted with a permanent pacemaker. While refusing to abdicate, Harald was forced to make "permanent reduction" to his public engagements "out of consideration for his age" in April 2024.
He was hospitalised with an infection and dehydration in February this year during a holiday with Queen Sonja in Tenerife.
Tributes flooded in upon news of his death. King Charles III of the United Kingdom paid tribute to his “dear cousin”, saying he had guided Norway “through times of great change with warmth and humility”.
“As Norway mourns the loss of so towering a figure, my whole family join in remembering a much-loved kinsman and friend whose kindness, compassion and deep sense of duty echoed from across the sea and across the decades,” he said in a statement shared by Buckingham Palace.
Jonas Gahrr Stoere, the prime minister of Norway, said that the whole nation was in mourning and “left with a deep sense of gratitude for a long life in the service of Norway”.
“For more than three decades as monarch, Harald V demonstrated an unwavering faith in the Norwegian people. He helped us to see the best in ourselves – and in one another,” he said.
Carl XVI Gustaf, the King of Sweden, said: “Throughout the years, King Harald has been a good friend to me, my family, and to Sweden. King Harald is now mourned by many in our country.
“I wish my dear Godson Haakon, who now succeeds his father as head of state, success and good fortune in the important role that lies ahead of him, in service to our brother nation and its people.”
Harald's death comes at a tumultuous time for the royal family.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit, married to Harald's son Crown Prince Haakon, is facing intense scrutiny for her friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a relationship for which she has apologised.
Her son Marius Hoiby, born from a relationship predating her marriage to Haakon, was found guilty in June of two out of four counts of rape and one count of domestic violence and sentenced to four years in prison after a seven-week trial. Both he and the prosecution have appealed the sentence.
Two days after Marius was convicted, the palace said Mette-Marit had undergone a successful lung transplant, without specifying when the procedure took place.
Support for the monarchy dropped to 60% in February 2026, from 70% the previous month, according to a Norstat poll published by public broadcaster NRK, rising slightly to 64% in May.
But Harald had constantly remained popular with Norwegians. According to the February poll, he was the royal who best represented the Norwegian royal family, with a note of 9.2, on a scale of 1 to 10.
Harald became Europe’s oldest reigning monarch after the death of Queen Elizabeth. He leaves behind his wife, two children, Princess Märtha Louise and Crown Prince Haakon, and five grandchildren.
He was a second cousin to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, sharing the same great-grandparents in King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, who were the father and mother of Norway’s Queen Maud.
The late monarch was born in Skaugum, Norway in 1937 and spent the first three years of his life, as prince, in peaceful surroundings with his sisters until the German invasion in April 1940, according to the royal biography.
The royal family fled the country by train to avoid being taken into custody by the occupying forces, ultimately travelling to the United States by invitation of president Franklin D. Roosevelt, returning only in 1945.
After the war, Harald went to the Norwegian Cavalry Officers’ Training School and the Military Academy in Norway, completing his studies in 1959. Between 1960 and 1962, he attended Oxford University and studied social science, history and economics.
While the king remained widely popular in Norway, his life within the monarchy was not always smooth-sailing.
In a major break with tradition, he married commoner Sonja Haraldsen in 1968 when he was still the Crown Prince.
As heir to the throne, it was expected that he would marry someone from a European royal house, and his decision sparked considerable debate. Many even predicted the fall of the monarchy as a result.
A great-great-grandchild of Britain's Queen Victoria, Harald acceded to the throne in 1991 and slowly introduced modern touches that brought a ceremonial post seen mainly as a symbol of national independence into the 21st century.
When far-right, anti-Islam fanatic Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people in 2011 in Oslo and on Utoeya island, the king consoled the nation with a powerful televised speech. His voice trembling with emotion, he said that “freedom is stronger than fear”.
Late in life he spoke up for tolerance, declaring in a 2016 speech that Norwegians could have many backgrounds, beliefs and sexual orientations.
In 2017, Harald used his largely ceremonial platform to deliver an impassioned speech in favour of LGBT rights and the plight of refugees in the country.
"It is not always easy to say where we come from, to which nationality we belong. Home is where the heart is” he told an audience outside the Royal Palace in Oslo.
He said: “Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and boys and girls who love each other".
“My biggest hope for Norway is that we will manage to take care of each other, that we can build this country further on trust, solidarity, and generosity.”
Read MoreKing Harald: Olympic sailor who went from WWII exile to modernising Norway’s monarchy
King Haakon VIII: The surfing, guitar-playing royal acceding to Norway’s throne
Charles pays tribute to ‘much-loved’ friend King Harald of Norway
Ukraine war latest: CIA chief ‘told Russian counterpart to make peace with Kyiv’
Russia threatens to bomb UK military bases over support for Ukraine
Ratko Mladic death: Former Bosnian Serb general convicted of genocide dies aged 84
