Norway’s King Harald V dies at 89

Norway’s King Harald V, a popular monarch who modernized the royal house while steering it through national tragedy and family turmoil, died Friday at 89 after treatment for a rare blood condition.

The palace in Oslo said Harald died peacefully at the National Hospital at 6:35 a.m. local time. The royal flag over the palace was lowered to half-mast, and in the day before his death, royal family members visited him as crowds laid flowers outside.

His son, 53-year-old Haakon, automatically succeeded him. NPR reported that he became King Haakon VIII.

Harald reigned for 35 years after taking the throne in January 1991 following the death of his father, King Olav V. Europe’s oldest monarch, he resisted the recent trend of abdications among aging royals. After Denmark’s Queen Margrethe abdicated in 2024, Harald said he stood by the oath he made when he became king: “It lasts for life.”

Born on Feb. 21, 1937, near Oslo, Harald was the first Norwegian-born king since the 14th century. He was 3 when Nazi Germany invaded Norway during World War II. His mother fled with him and his sisters first to Sweden and then to the United States at the invitation of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, while his father and grandfather went into exile in Britain with Norway’s government. The family returned to Norway in 1945.

Harald attended public schools, completed compulsory military service, studied at a Norwegian military college and later studied social science, history and economics at Balliol College, Oxford. A keen sailor, he represented Norway at the Olympics three times and, according to NPR, skippered his yacht to gold in the 1987 World Championships. He declared his competitive sailing days over in 2022.

As crown prince, Harald broke with royal tradition by insisting on marrying Sonja Haraldsen, the daughter of a businessman. He waited nine years for permission and later said he told his father he would remain single if he could not marry her. The couple wed in Oslo Cathedral on Aug. 29, 1968, and Norwegians embraced Sonja as queen.

Harald’s decision helped reshape the monarchy. His children later married commoners, and royal observers described his reign as more open, egalitarian and transparent. Tove Taalesen, royal correspondent for Nettavisen, called him “one of us,” while Caroline Vagle, royal expert for Se og Hør, said he had “always been very close to the people.”

Harald was widely remembered for his response to Norway’s 2011 attacks, when Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people in a bombing in Oslo and a mass shooting on Utøya island. In a televised address and later memorial speech, the king urged Norwegians not to “let fear take over.”

“I can only imagine the depth of your pain. As King of this nation, I feel for each and every one of you,” he said, his voice breaking. NPR quoted him as saying, “I remain convinced that the belief in freedom is stronger than fear.”

In 2016, Harald drew international attention with a speech embracing diversity, saying Norwegians come from “Afghanistan, Pakistan and Poland, from Sweden, Somalia, and Syria,” believe in “God, Allah, the Universe and nothing,” and are “girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other.”

His final years brought health problems and intense scrutiny of the royal family. He permanently reduced public engagements in April 2024 and was later treated with cortisone for haemolytic anaemia, a rare blood condition that reduces red blood cells. He entered hospital on Aug. 17, and Haakon became regent.

The family also faced controversy involving Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s past friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and the conviction of her son from a previous relationship, Marius Borg Høiby, for rape. He has appealed a four-year prison sentence. Mette-Marit apologized to Harald and Sonja for her friendship with Epstein, saying she had shown “poor judgement.”

Harald is survived by Queen Sonja, his wife of almost 58 years; their daughter, Princess Märtha Louise; their son, King Haakon; and six grandchildren.