9 September, 2026
King Harald V of Norway, born 21 February 1937, passed away on Friday 28 August 2026, 89 years old. The funeral was held at the Oslo Cathedral on 9th September; and was broadcasted live also here in Sweden. Members of the Swedish royal family were attending as well. I watched most of it, and snapped some photos off my TV screen...
The Swedish crown princess Victoria (goddaughter to king Harald) read a prayer at the ceremony in the cathedral, and our king Carl XVI Gustaf (himself 80 years old now) as well as the Danish king Frederik X walked on foot behind the coffin together with the new king Haakon of Norway (son of the old king), in quite a long procession through the streets of Oslo, to the old kings' final resting place.
Walking behind the coffin:
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden,
King Haakon VIII of Norway,
King Frederik X of Denmark
More details can be found in a separate Wiki article: Death and state funeral of Harald V
We were shown a bit of this parade on our TV news. So sad when a good King (or Queen) dies and the country has to get used to the next one.
ReplyDeleteRiver, "for better or for worse" (opinions may differ!) royalties do tend to be around longer than presidents and prime ministers. The Scandinavian royal families are rather close so no doubt that's why they broadcasted the whole funeral here.
DeleteThere is so much focus on the British Royal family (often for the wrong reasons) I think we tend to forget there are other monarchies in Europe.
ReplyDeleteDavid, I see from your profile you're in Canada, so I guess only natural that you get a lot of focus on the British royal family. (We do hear a lot about them here too, though, and often get to see full versions of their "major events" on TV too.)
DeleteThank you for posting this. I am in the USA as you know and long admired Queen Elizabeth and the best of the royals in Europe. This ceremony was a good way to honor the king.
ReplyDelete