King Harald, ‘symbol’ of Norway, dead at 89

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Vigdis Haug, 65, said she valued Harald’s ability to unify people.

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“I think he has been such a down-to-earth king who has cared about all of us, and the words he always uses when he gives a speech are so wise and so valuable,” she told AFP.

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Haug and others to whom AFP spoke pointed in particular to Harald’s speech after the neo-Nazi Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people in twin attacks on July 22, 2011, in Norway’s worst massacre since World War II.

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“He was someone who always seemed to find the words that brought us together and gave us a sense of security,” Caroline Vagle, a reporter for magazine Se og Hor, told AFP.

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Neighbouring Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf called him “an outstanding representative of his country. He gave ‘All for Norway’,” referring to Harald’s royal motto.

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Denmark’s King Frederik meanwhile called the late monarch “an extraordinary man”.

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Britain’s King Charles III said he mourned the death of his “dear cousin”, hailing Harald as a “towering figure”.

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Harald was king when the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) were negotiated in the 1990s, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he was “deeply saddened” by his passing.

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Europe’s oldest reigning monarch, King Harald had been in hospital in Oslo since August 17, suffering from haemolytic anaemia, a condition caused by an abnormally rapid destruction of red blood cells which leads to fatigue and shortness of breath.

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This photograph shows a Danish flag flying at half-mast above Amalienborg Palace after King Harald V of Norway passed away, in Copenhagen, Denmark, on August 28, 2026. Photo by IDA MARIE ODGAARD /Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima

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Turbulent year

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Harald, who ascended the Norwegian throne in 1991, embodied an open and tolerant Norway during his reign.

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He faced mounting health problems in his final years, forcing him to scale back his official schedule.

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But he always ruled out abdicating, arguing that he took a lifelong oath before the Norwegian parliament.

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The past year has been a turbulent one for the Norwegian royal family.

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In addition to his own health struggles, his wife Queen Sonja, also 89, was briefly admitted to hospital in May due to heart problems.

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Haakon’s wife Mette-Marit is under scrutiny for her ties to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

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