King Harald V of Norway Dies at 89
Haakon VIII ascends to the throne as the monarchy faces evolving public support and family challenges.
Callum Smith
King Harald V of Norway died today at 6:35 a.m. at the National Hospital in Oslo.
Harald attended public schools, the Norwegian military college, and studied at Balliol College, Oxford, from 1960 to 1962. He reportedly refused a string of European noblewomen, holding out for nine years until he secured his father’s permission to marry his school sweetheart, Sonja Haraldsen, the daughter of a successful businessman.
The couple welcomed two children, Haakon and Märtha Louise, following the Norwegian royal family's reunification in Norway in June 1945. The Norwegian Constitution was altered in 1990 to allow the firstborn, irrespective of gender, to take precedence in the line of succession.
Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other.
In 2016, King Harald delivered a notable speech advocating for LGBTQ+ equality, refugees, and religious tolerance, stating, "Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other." He also affirmed that Norwegians "believe in God, Allah, the universe and nothing."
King Haakon VIII holds degrees from the University of California at Berkeley and the London School of Economics and Political Science; he is married to Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, a commoner. Mette-Marit was diagnosed with chronic pulmonary fibrosis and received a lung transplant in June, having previously apologized for the situation she put the royal family in.
Her son, Marius Borg Høiby, was convicted of rape and sentenced to four years in prison. Separately, Princess Märtha Louise, Haakon's sister, announced in 2022 that she would no longer officially represent the Norwegian royal house and will wed Durek Verrett in 2024.
Following independence in 1905, three-quarters of voters supported restoring the monarchy in a national referendum. Support for the Norwegian monarchy has reportedly declined from 81% in 2017 to 68% in late 2022.