King Harald V of Norway Has Passed Away

[mike carey]

The King of Norway passed away at 6.35am (CET) on 28 August. He was 89. He is succeeded by Crown Prince Haakon, now King Haakon VIII.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-28/norway-king-harald-dies/107091974 

[+ Just Chuck]

Google says the King of Norway has no (practical) political power and serves a purely ceremonial role.  

 

[mike carey]

1 minute ago, Just Chuck said:

Google says the King of Norway has no (practical) political power and serves a purely ceremonial role.  

Indeed, much the same as most European monarchs (and some republics where the president is largely ceremonial).

[Luv2play]

The Norwegian royal house has been rocked by scandals in the last decade or so. Their press is not like the British tabloids which would have had a field day were they British.

That being said the new king is well educated and chose his own path. He’s 56 so will probably get to reign for several decades, unlike King Charles who was in his later 70s and now has cancer. 
 

I think Norway has an admirable system of values and they are amongst the happiest people in the world. 

[+ SirBillybob]

The character of King Harald as a little boy was featured in the recent PBS drama series Atlantic Crossing. 

[mike carey]

In August 1940 he travelled to the United States from Petsamo on the Barents Sea coast of Finland (now Pechenga in Russia) on a US Army transport ship and spent the war in the US.

[mtaabq]

14 hours ago, Just Chuck said:

Google says the King of Norway has no (practical) political power and serves a purely ceremonial role.  

 

NONE of the European monarchs, to the best of my knowledge, have any real power. They ALL play a largely ceremonial role. They are, however, the Head of State.  And by all accounts Harald V was well-liked by the populace. Yes, the Norwegian Royal Family has seen some recent scandals, but for now it’s best that we extend our sympathies to Queen Sonja and her countrymen and show support for King Haakon VII and his heir apparent, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra. 

[mike carey]

1 minute ago, mtaabq said:

They ALL play a largely ceremonial role. They are, however, the Head of State.  And by all accounts Harald V was well-liked by the populace.

The ITV news piece I saw this morning mentioned that he had embraced environmental causes and travelled to the Amazon to advocate for them. HM King Charles III had similarly embraced causes as Prince of Wales. Constitutional monarchs can and do adopt politics-adjacent causes safely in this way.

Alt for Norge.

[+ azdr0710]

I looked at this COM thread a few hours ago......and now my youtube algorithm has varied King Harald suggestions at the very top every time I open it (forgive me, Harald, I'd never heard of you before today)........freaky......