Norway’s King Harald V dies at 89 and his son becomes King Haakon VIII
King Harald V of Norway, who went into exile in the United States as a child during the Nazi occupation of his homeland and refused a string of European noblewomen to marry his school sweetheart, died Friday. He was 89. (Produced by Elaine Carroll) Norway’s King Harald arrives at a central London hotel for a pre-royal wedding dinner hosted by Lady Elizabeth Anson and attended by members of the British royal family and foreign royal families, in London, on April, 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File) King Harald V of Norway and his wife Sonja leave the Notre Dame cathedral after attending at the funeral of the Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, in Luxembourg, on May 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File) Flowers and Norway’s flags are laid at the Palace Square in Oslo, Friday, Aug. 26, 2026 (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix via AP) Norway’s Crown Prince Harald, with his wife Crown Princess Sonja, present their new daughter Princess Martha Louise, in the Central Hospital, Oslo, Sept. 25, 1971, Princess Martha was born on Sept.
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Harald was crowned after his British-born father, King Olav V, died in January 1991, and reigned during an oil-and-gas-driven economic boom in his country. “A whole nation is in mourning and the people of Norway are left with a deep sense of gratitude for a long life in the service of Norway,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said in a statement. “For more than three decades as monarch, Harald V demonstrated an unwavering faith in the Norwegian people. 1 confirmed death — Norway’s King Harald, 89.
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Norway’s King Harald arrives at a central London hotel for a pre-royal wedding dinner hosted by Lady Elizabeth Anson and attended by members of the British royal family and foreign royal families, in London, on April, 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File) Norway’s King Harald gives a speech during a gala dinner at the Palace in connection with the state visit of the Icelandic presidential couple, in Oslo, on April 8, 2025. (Fredrik Varfjell/NTB Scanpix via AP, File) The royal flag at the Palace is flown at half-mast, in Oslo, Friday, Aug. 26, 2026 (Lise Åserud/NTB Scanpix via AP) Flowers and Norway’s flags are laid at the Palace Square in Oslo, Friday, Aug. 26, 2026 (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix via AP) Norway’s Crown Prince Harald, with his wife Crown Princess Sonja, present their new daughter Princess Martha Louise, in the Central Hospital, Oslo, Sept. 25, 1971, Princess Martha was born on Sept. The palace said he died at the National Hospital in Oslo at 6:35 a.m.
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Norway’s King Harald arrives at a central London hotel for a pre-royal wedding dinner hosted by Lady Elizabeth Anson and attended by members of the British royal family and foreign royal families, in London, on April, 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File) Norway’s King Harald gives a speech during a gala dinner at the Palace in connection with the state visit of the Icelandic presidential couple, in Oslo, on April 8, 2025. (Fredrik Varfjell/NTB Scanpix via AP, File) The royal flag at the Palace is flown at half-mast, in Oslo, Friday, Aug. 26, 2026 (Lise Åserud/NTB Scanpix via AP) Flowers and Norway’s flags are laid at the Palace Square in Oslo, Friday, Aug. 26, 2026 (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix via AP) Norway’s Crown Prince Harald, with his wife Crown Princess Sonja, present their new daughter Princess Martha Louise, in the Central Hospital, Oslo, Sept. 25, 1971, Princess Martha was born on Sept. The palace said he died at the National Hospital in Oslo at 6:35 a.m.
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King Harald V of Norway, who went into exile in the United States as a child during the Nazi occupation of his homeland and refused a string of European noblewomen to marry his school sweetheart, died Friday. He was 89. (Produced by Elaine Carroll) Norway’s King Harald arrives at a central London hotel for a pre-royal wedding dinner hosted by Lady Elizabeth Anson and attended by members of the British royal family and foreign royal families, in London, on April, 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File) Norway’s King Harald gives a speech during a gala dinner at the Palace in connection with the state visit of the Icelandic presidential couple, in Oslo, on April 8, 2025. (Fredrik Varfjell/NTB Scanpix via AP, File) The royal flag at the Palace is flown at half-mast, in Oslo, Friday, Aug. 26, 2026 (Lise Åserud/NTB Scanpix via AP) Flowers and Norway’s flags are laid at the Palace Square in Oslo, Friday, Aug. 25, 1971, Princess Martha was born on Sept. The palace said he died at the National Hospital in Oslo at 6:35 a.m.
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King Harald V of Norway, who went into exile in the United States as a child during the Nazi occupation of his homeland and refused a string of European noblewomen to marry his school sweetheart, died Friday. He was 89. (Produced by Elaine Carroll) Norway’s King Harald arrives at a central London hotel for a pre-royal wedding dinner hosted by Lady Elizabeth Anson and attended by members of the British royal family and foreign royal families, in London, on April, 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File) Norway’s King Harald gives a speech during a gala dinner at the Palace in connection with the state visit of the Icelandic presidential couple, in Oslo, on April 8, 2025. (Fredrik Varfjell/NTB Scanpix via AP, File) The royal flag at the Palace is flown at half-staff, in Oslo, Friday, Aug. 26, 2026 (Lise Åserud/NTB Scanpix via AP) CORRECTION corrects term to half-staff instead of half-mast. Flowers and Norway’s flags are laid at the Palace Square in Oslo, Friday, Aug. 25, 1971, Princess Martha was born on Sept.
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King Harald V of Norway, who went into exile in the United States as a child during the Nazi occupation of his homeland and refused a string of European noblewomen to marry his school sweetheart, died Friday. He was 89. (Produced by Elaine Carroll) Norway’s King Harald arrives at a central London hotel for a pre-royal wedding dinner hosted by Lady Elizabeth Anson and attended by members of the British royal family and foreign royal families, in London, on April, 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File) King Harald V of Norway and his wife Sonja leave the Notre Dame cathedral after attending at the funeral of the Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, in Luxembourg, on May 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File) Flowers and Norway’s flags are laid at the Palace Square in Oslo, Friday, Aug. 26, 2026 (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix via AP) Norway’s Crown Prince Harald, with his wife Crown Princess Sonja, present their new daughter Princess Martha Louise, in the Central Hospital, Oslo, Sept. 25, 1971, Princess Martha was born on Sept.
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King Harald V of Norway, who went into exile in the United States as a child during the Nazi occupation of his homeland and refused a string of European noblewomen to marry his school sweetheart, died Friday. He was 89. (Produced by Elaine Carroll) Norway’s King Harald arrives at a central London hotel for a pre-royal wedding dinner hosted by Lady Elizabeth Anson and attended by members of the British royal family and foreign royal families, in London, on April, 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File) King Harald V of Norway and his wife Sonja leave the Notre Dame cathedral after attending at the funeral of the Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, in Luxembourg, on May 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File) Flowers and Norway’s flags are laid at the Palace Square in Oslo, Friday, Aug. 26, 2026 (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix via AP) Norway’s Crown Prince Harald, with his wife Crown Princess Sonja, present their new daughter Princess Martha Louise, in the Central Hospital, Oslo, Sept. 25, 1971, Princess Martha was born on Sept.