Norway bids farewell to King Harald

OSLO

The coffin of Norway’s King Harald is carried from the Royal Palace to Oslo Cathedral for a ceremony. (AP Photo)

Norway bid its final farewell to King Harald on Sept. 9 with a funeral attended by royalty and leaders from across Europe and beyond, who paid tribute to the popular monarch’s 35-year reign.

Harald, who died on Aug. 28 aged 89, was Europe’s oldest monarch. He had modernized the royal house but refused to follow in the footsteps of other aging monarchs who have abdicated in recent times. His son immediately became King Haakon VIII and last week pledged an oath of allegiance to Norway’s constitution in parliament.

During the ceremony, the coffin was taken from the royal palace to Oslo Cathedral in a procession, followed by Haakon, other senior Norwegian royals, foreign guests and representatives of Norway’s parliament and others.

People tuned in from across the country: Scores of churches, libraries, cultural centers and city halls made big screens available for the public to watch the funeral, public broadcaster NRK reported.

Large crowds flocked to the capital for the funeral. The downtown area was closed to vehicles and electric scooters, and police have instructed people not to bring bicycles, umbrellas or sharp objects.

A minute’s silence was held across Norway at the start of the funeral ceremony.

Among the guests on Sept. 9 were the monarchs of Sweden, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Jordan. Presidents from a range of European countries joined them.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was also on hand. On Sept. 8, he met with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store in Oslo to discuss the war in Ukraine.