Norway’s Monarch King Harald V Passes Away at 89; Crown Prince Haakon to Ascend the Throne

Norway’s Royal House announced that King Harald died on Friday at the age of 89.

The royal palace expressed profound sorrow, announcing that His Majesty King Harald had passed away.

King Harald died peacefully at Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet on Friday, August 28, at 6:35 a.m., the statement added.

According to the Royal House of Norway, King Harald died on Friday at the age of 89. (Reuters)

Harald, Europe’s oldest reigning monarch, was hospitalized with a bloodstream infection on August 17.

In 2024 he underwent implantation of a pacemaker following an illness while vacationing in Malaysia.

That year, King Harald announced a reduction in his public engagements.

Queen Sonja and King Harald attended Norway’s Constitution Day celebrations, featuring a children’s parade at the Royal Palace in Oslo on May 17, 2026. (Per Ole Hagen/Getty Images)

Harald served as Norway’s head of state from 1991 onward. He was the first Norwegian‑born heir to the throne in more than five centuries. When Norway declared independence from Sweden in 1905, his grandfather, King Haakon VII, assumed the crown, ending a hiatus that began in 1387.

Considered a progressive monarch, Harald championed greater transparency among European royalty. Reflecting on this openness, he told Reuters, “Once you open the gate it’s hard to close it again. I’m not sure I’d want to close it. So far, so good, as far as I’m concerned.”

A 2022 photograph shows King Harald touring Flesberg and Lampeland, Norway. He remained Europe’s longest‑reigning monarch until his death on August 28, 2026, at age 89, the palace confirmed. (Terje Pedersen / NTB / AFP via Getty Images)

During the Nazi invasion of Norway in 1940, Harald and his mother escaped first to neutral Sweden and later to the United States, where President Franklin D. Roosevelt granted them temporary residence in the White House.

The family subsequently settled in Bethesda, Maryland, where Harald frequently met with Roosevelt, whom he regarded as a grandfather figure.

In a 1944 photograph, young Prince Harald of Norway plays with President Roosevelt’s Scottish terrier, Fala, at Laura Delano’s home in Rhinebeck, New York. (CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

His son, Crown Prince Haakon, age 53, will ascend the throne as King Haakon VIII.

Crown Prince Haakon and his wife, who will be titled Queen Mette‑Marit, have faced intense scrutiny after revelations that she corresponded with convicted financier Jeffrey Epstein and met with him on several occasions.

CROWN PRINCESS METTE‑MARIT OF NORWAY SAYS SHE REGRETS HER TIES TO JEFFREY EPSTEIN

Mette‑Marit expressed regret over her associations with the late financier and asserted that she was unaware of his notorious reputation at the time of their contacts.

Mette‑Marit, Crown Prince Haakon, and Swedish Prince Daniel were photographed watching a performance at the Fryshuset Foundation in Stockholm on May 3, 2022. (Michael Campanella / Getty Images)

Her son from a previous marriage, Marius Borg Høiby, faced multiple convictions for rape and domestic violence in June, receiving a four‑year prison term. Both the defendant and prosecutors have filed appeals against the ruling.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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