Norway's King Haakon VIII honors late father Harald V in emotional first address

King Haakon VIII sat at a desk in the royal palace, a photograph of his father beside him, two candles burning, white roses in a bowl. He was about to speak to Norway for the first time as king, and when he thanked Harald V for being a good father, his voice carried the weight of genuine loss.

Harald, who had reigned for thirty-five years and earned the affection of his country as a modernizer and "people's king," had died in hospital on Friday morning. He was eighty-nine. His son, now fifty-three, had inherited not just a throne but a moment of national grief—and a set of circumstances far more complicated than a simple succession.

In his televised address, Haakon spoke of duty and presence. He acknowledged that a "major task" lay ahead and that he intended to be attentive to the nation's needs. He invoked his father's example: a man who had held the family together with what seemed like effortless authority, who had always remained faithful to his values, and who had taught his children to find their own way rather than follow a prescribed path. The new king noted that Saturday would have marked his parents' fifty-eighth wedding anniversary, and the emotion in his voice was audible as he spoke.

Outside the palace in Oslo, thousands of Norwegians had gathered with flowers, candles, and tributes. Haakon described this as a "powerful and moving experience"—grief shared, he said, bringing both comfort and strength. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre laid flowers and signed the book of condolences, calling the country "united in grief and gratitude."

Yet the new king inherits a throne shadowed by turbulence. His wife, Queen Mette-Marit, is recovering from a lung transplant performed after years of pulmonary fibrosis; doctors will not declare her stable until next year, meaning Haakon must balance his official duties with her care. Earlier this year, it emerged that Mette-Marit had maintained a three-year friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, for which she publicly apologized. Her son from a previous relationship, Marius Borg Høiby, was convicted in June of rape and other offences and sentenced to four years in prison; he is appealing. Haakon's sister, Märtha Louise, remarried an American self-styled shaman in 2024 and stepped back from royal duties after their business activities drew scrutiny.

Without naming these crises directly, Haakon spoke of the importance of standing together during difficult times. He said he, Mette-Marit, and Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra would "always strive to understand the life situations of different people." He pledged that the royal family believed in "a society built on law and justice, where everyone is of equal value."

The timing of his ascension is fraught. A poll conducted for the newspaper Aftenposten earlier this year showed that support for the monarchy had fallen from seventy-two percent in 2024 to fifty-four percent. Yet Norwegian royal experts told the BBC that Haakon himself is respected and hard-working, and they believe he has the capacity to navigate the challenges ahead.

On Tuesday, he will swear an oath of allegiance in parliament. He will then participate in a consecration service with his wife—a stripped-down version of a coronation, which Norway no longer holds. A national period of mourning has been declared, though no date has yet been set for Harald's funeral. The new king moves forward into a role that demands both personal resilience and the ability to restore public confidence in an institution that, for the first time in decades, faces real questions about its future.