OSLO — Norway entered a new era Saturday as King Haakon VIII prepared to deliver his first address to the nation, one day after the passing of his 89-year-old father, King Harald, who reigned for 35 years.
The monarch’s commemorative speech, scheduled for 7 p.m., marks his first public address as king. Flags flew at half-staff across the capital as mourners continued to gather at the Royal Palace, adding to the sea of flowers left by more than 20,000 people who paid their respects Friday.
Despite a series of scandals that overshadowed the royal family in the twilight of his reign, King Harald remained deeply beloved by his people.
“He has always struck me as someone with a great deal of integrity and simply a genuinely good person,” said Martin Lillebo, 34, who visited the palace with his wife and two young children. “He was king for pretty much exactly as long as I’ve been alive.”
Tributes have poured in from European monarchies and global leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, who remembered Harald as “a strong, proud, and greatly respected man.”
King Haakon held private audiences Saturday with leaders of the Church of Norway, Parliament, and the Supreme Court. He is also scheduled to receive Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre for a viewing of the late king’s casket, which was transferred to the palace from Oslo University Hospital on Friday evening.
Støre was seen earlier Saturday weaving through crowds outside the palace, speaking informally with mourners and shaking hands.
A national period of mourning has been declared, though the late king’s funeral date has not yet been announced. King Haakon will formally swear his oath of allegiance to Parliament on Tuesday.
Condolence books were opened at city halls across Norway Saturday. Oslo Mayor Anne Lindboe, who postponed her own wedding Friday out of respect for the king’s passing, was the first to sign at Oslo City Hall.
“Dear King Harald, you didn’t need a crown to be a king. Thank you so much for everything you have done for our city. We will never forget you,” Lindboe told reporters.
Unni Zetterquist Thorsen, 68, one of the first members of the public to sign, told AFP she thanked the late king for his “patience and strength through difficult times in Norway.”
King Harald was widely regarded as the embodiment of an open, tolerant, and modern Norway. He led a monarchy that was modest and approachable, earning affection across generations.
In a social media post, the palace noted that Harald would have celebrated his 58th wedding anniversary with Queen Sonja on Saturday.
Harald had been hospitalized since Aug. 17 with hemolytic anemia, a condition causing rapid red blood cell destruction that leads to fatigue and shortness of breath. His health declined in his final years, forcing him to reduce official duties — but he always ruled out abdication, insisting he had taken a lifelong oath before Parliament.
The past year has been challenging for the royal household. Queen Sonja, also 89, was briefly hospitalized in May with heart problems.
Queen Mette-Marit, wife of the new king, has faced scrutiny over past ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Her son from a previous relationship, Marius Borg Høiby, was sentenced in June to four years in prison for two rapes. Mette-Marit, 53, who suffers from a serious lung condition, underwent a lung transplant in July.
King Haakon and Queen Mette-Marit are not expected to be crowned — Norway abolished coronations in 1908. However, like his father and grandfather, the new king may choose to have his reign blessed during a ceremony at Trondheim Cathedral, where Norwegian monarchs were crowned from 1814 to 1906.
