Norway’s King Harald V has died aged 89 after being taken to hospital last week for treatment of a rare blood condition, the royal palace in Oslo said.

The palace said he died peacefully at 06:35 local time (04:35 GMT) on Friday at the National Hospital in Oslo. The Norwegian royal flag at the palace was lowered to half-mast. During the 24 hours before his death, members of the royal family visited the king, and crowds laid flowers at the palace.

Death And Succession

The king’s death came as the country prepares for a change of reign. Harald will be succeeded by his son, Crown Prince Haakon, 53. An extraordinary council of state with the government is scheduled for later on Friday.

International leaders sent condolences. King Charles III said he offered his “most heartfelt condolences”. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden said Harald would be remembered as “a good friend” to him, his family and Sweden, and he wished Haakon “success and good fortune”.

Major Reforms And National Role

Harald became Norway’s first king born in the country since the 14th century. He spent 35 years on the throne and was widely seen as a popular, reforming monarch who helped modernise the monarchy.

During his reign, the palace and the royal household moved towards greater transparency and a more egalitarian approach, including changes relating to finances and health. Harald also broke with long-standing tradition by marrying a commoner, Queen Sonja, in 1968, and his stance was later credited with making it easier for members of the next generation to marry outside the aristocracy.

In Norway’s darkest hours, Harald positioned himself as a unifying figure. After the 2011 attacks in Oslo and on the island of Utøya, which left 77 people dead, he appealed to people to support one another and not allow fear to take hold.

Accounts from royal observers described Harald as approachable and emotionally open. When Norway’s national football team returned after reaching the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time, he welcomed them back at the palace.

Health Decline And Family Turmoil

In April 2024, as his health deteriorated, Harald permanently reduced his public engagements. More recently, he was treated with cortisone for haemolytic anaemia, a condition that reduces the number of red blood cells. He was admitted to hospital on 17 August, and Haakon took over the king’s duties as regent.

The monarch’s final months also unfolded against a period of intense scrutiny of the royal family. Marius Borg Høiby, the queen’s son, was convicted of rape in June and later appealed a four-year jail term. He was present at Harald’s bedside shortly before the king died. Borg Høiby’s case had drawn attention for months, alongside revelations about Queen Mette-Marit’s association with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. She apologised to Harald and Queen Sonja and admitted “poor judgement”, saying she wished she had never met him.

After the end of her son’s trial, Mette-Marit received a lung transplant. Her doctors said they would not declare her stable until about a year after the procedure. Haakon is expected to face continued demands as he supports her during the succession period.

Alongside these events, historians and commentators noted that criticism during times of crisis often fell more broadly than on Harald personally. They said many people continued to view him warmly.

Early Life And Service

Harald was born on 21 February 1937 at the Skaugum estate near Oslo, long after Norway became a constitutional monarchy following its independence from Sweden. When Nazi Germany invaded Norway in the early phase of the Second World War, he was three. His mother fled with her children to Sweden and later travelled to the United States after an invitation from President Franklin D Roosevelt.

Harald returned to Norway at the end of the war, completed school and compulsory military service, and became crown prince in 1957. He studied social science, history and economics at Balliol College, Oxford, from 1960 to 1962.

He met Sonja Haraldsen at a party, but after a delay of nine years, he married her in Oslo Cathedral on 29 August 1968. When his father King Olav V fell ill in 1990, Harald served as regent and then succeeded to the throne when Olav died on 17 January 1991.

Harald was also known as a keen athlete and environmentalist. He helped drive the Norwegian branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature and served as president of the organisation’s Norwegian chapter for 20 years. He represented Norway in sailing at the Olympics three times and ended his competitive sailing career in 2022.

Harald is survived by Queen Sonja, their daughter Princess Märtha Louise, their son King Haakon and six grandchildren.

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28 August 2026

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King Harald’s passing closes a chapter marked by duty, calm leadership and a lifetime of service.

Whatever storms surrounded the family in recent months, most Norwegians will remember him for his steadiness, from wartime exile as a boy to decades of quiet public commitment.

It's a tough period for Norway, with Queen Mette‑Marit recovering and Haakon carrying extra weight during the transition. But Harald himself was widely respected, and today’s focus is rightly on that legacy.