When a monarch dies, the rituals of succession and solidarity among royal houses reveal something enduring about how nations mark continuity and loss. King Harald V of Norway, who spent 35 years quietly modernizing a centuries-old institution, will be laid to rest in Oslo on September 9, with Prince William attending in place of King Charles III — a customary arrangement that honors both protocol and kinship. The occasion arrives at a delicate moment for the Norwegian crown, as the new King Haakon VIII inherits not only a throne but a family tested by public scandal.