Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), one of Norway’s largest humanitarian organizations, has announced that it faces a huge loss of US funding and will need to lay off hundreds of foreign aid workers. The loss comes after NPA refused to go along with the US Department of State’s new restrictions on programs that promote equality and diversity.
Raymond Johansen, secretary general of Norwegian People’s Aid, wouldn’t bow to the Trump administration’s new restrictions on funding even though that jeopardizes NPA’s mine-clearing operations. PHOTO: Hans Fredrik Asbjørnsen/NPA
The new restrictions would have required NPA “to abandon our commitment to equality and diversity,” claimed Raymond Johansen, the organization’s secretary general and a former top Norwegian politician. “We cannot accept that,” he added, even though it means the loss of as much as NOK 400 million (USD 40 million) and as many as 1,700 aid workers in several countries from Ukraine to Iraq.
Johansen said the US’ new conditions would have applied not only to programs that the US has funded “but across all our work, including activities supported by other donors.” He stressed that the organization instead must comply with Norwegian law and Norwegian policy, and that “our values are not for sale.”
The US state department’s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement has been the largest donor to NPA’s work to remove landmines and engage in other disarmament efforts. It has provided as much as 40 percent of NPA’s mine-clearing work over the years and been what NPA called a “long-standing partner … to help protect thousands of people from landmines and redevelop communities affected by armed conflict.”
After Donald Trump became US president, however, US programs have been disrupted and rules changed to push Trump’s conservative agenda. NPA reports that the changes included new “restrictions” that are “incompatible” with NPA’s own values.
Johansen and his colleagues are thus turning down the US funding even though that will make its work “extremely difficult.” He said NPA sought exemptions from the US that would have allowed the mine-clearing work to continue “without compromising NPA’s and Norway’s own principles and commitments.” Those efforts were unsuccessful.
“Equality, dignity and diversity are not threats,” Johansen stated, “they are values that strengthen our work and help make societies better, values that we will keep fighting for.” He’s encouraged that at least 60 percent of the mine-clearing work can continue and hopes other donors including the Norwegian government itself will step in and help cover some of the loss.
Johansen, a former mayor of Oslo from the Labour Party who also has held high positions in Norway’s foreign ministry, said he remains “deeply concerned about the consequences for our staff and, above all, for all the civilians who continue to live with the threat of land mines and other explosives long after conflicts have ended. Nevertheless, this is a line we have to draw.” He said that accepting the new US conditions “would risk opening the door to further restrictions on fundamental rights.”
Norwegian border crossings were put under higher surveillance on Friday and will remain so for at least the next 10 days. The goal, claim state authorities, is to raise national security both before and after next week’s state funeral for King Harald V.
Norway’s less-travelled border crossings to Sweden, like this one at Lierne in Trøndelag, are also subject to heightened surveillance over the next 10 days as part of security measures ahead of King Harald’s funeral on Wednesday. PHOTO: NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
The late monarch’s funeral on Wednesday September 9 will bring royalty, presidents and other top international figures to Oslo. Security will be high, and both state police and border agents were tightening up border crossings early, to better control those arriving in the country.
The stricter security will also allow police to stop Norwegians as well for identification checks. Only a passport or national ID card will be accepted as legitimate forms of identification.
Police were out in full force at Norway’s busiest border crossing to and from Sweden on the E6 highway at Svinesund. Norwegians returning from shopping trips also had to be prepared to identify themselves upon return.
Even though borders are generally open among European countries that adhere to Schengen regulations, including Norway, Police Director Håkon Skulstad told reporters on Friday that “this is a method we can use within the Schengen rules to better control those crossing the border in a manner that departs from the normal.” It’s generally allowed to cross borders without any identity control, “but now we are using goal-oriented control regarding anyone viewed as a threat to the funeral and national security,” said Skulstad.
Security at Norwegian airports was also being raised, and state aviation agency Avinor warned of possible flight delays or cancellatons next week because of an expected increase in air traffic. Avinor reported that it expects “extraordinary activity” at Oslo’s main airport at Gardermoen (OSL), especially in the morning hours of Wednesday since the funeral will begin at 1pm.
Spain’s royal family was the latest on Friday to confirm their attendance at the funeral, with King Felipe, Queen Letizia and the king’s mother, Queen Sofia, all traveling to Oslo. The entire Swedish royal family is also coming, as are kings and queens from Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands plus Prince Albert of Monaco, and Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko of Japan.
The British royal family, which has close ties to Norway’s, has also signalled its attendance but it remained unclear who will travel to Oslo. Several presidents will also be arriving in Oslo next week, including those from Finland, Iceland, Hungary, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Albania.
The website for Norway’s state immigration agency UDI wasn’t functioning on Friday afternoon, after allegedly becoming the latest Norwegian target of a Russian hacker group. The agency’s internal systems, however, remained up and running.
“Our website is down for the moment,” a spokesman for UDI (Utlendingsdirektoratet) told newspaper Dagbladet. “It seems to be a cyber attack and we’re working to get the site up again.”
The self-proclaimed pro-Russian hacker group “Server Killers” claimed responsibility, after earlier launching attacks on Norwegian universities, colleges and other state agencies. The group has stated that it’s attacking Norwegian sites because of Norway’s ongoing support for Ukraine and the recent extension of Norway’s defense and security cooperation with the country that Russia invaded more than four years ago.
Russian officials usually deny responsibility for cyber attacks themselves. Norway and its NATO allies, meanwhile, are on alert for various forms of suspected hybrid warfare. Tensions rose further this week after a Russian vessel was arrested on Svalbard in connection with an international arbitration claim.
The Norwegian postal service is now a shadow of its former self, after closing post offices and curtailing mail delivery all over the country. Now Norway’s “Posten” need to cut costs again, this time at its parcel service Posten Bring.
Last year Posten Bring cut 250 full-time-equivalent positions. Now it needs to cut costs by another 25 percent, meaning 300 employees are likely to lose their jobs by the end of the year.
News bureau NTB cited tough competition and a demand for earnings from Posten’s owner, the government ministry in charge of business and trade. The parcel service faces major reorganization, again.
Marius Borg Høiby, jailed son of Norway’s new Queen Mette-Marit, won’t contest criminal prosecutors’ request to keep him in police custody while his convictions for rapes, violence and vandalism are under appeal. He will be allowed, however, to attend the funeral of King Harald V next week.
Høiby has most recently been allowed to live on the royal estate at Skaugum, west of Oslo, while wearing a foot link that limits his movements. He was also allowed to join other royal family members when the late King Harald’s casket was ceremoniously moved to the chapel at the Royal Palace, where it’s been open to public viewing.
Police have since confirmed that Høiby will be allowed to attend the late king’s funeral ceremonies on September 9. That’s set off controversy both in Norway and abroad, with Danish commentators claiming it’s a sign of disrespect for Høiby’s victims. Norwegian commentators including royal experts Trond Isaksen and Tor Bomann-Larsen have countered that there’s “another tone” in Norway. They claim it’s “natural” for Høiby, who grew up with King Harald and Queen Sonja as step-grandparents, to take part in mourning for the late monarch.
Russia’s ambassador to Norway was demanding release on Thursday of a Russian research- and passenger vessel that was seized on Svalbard in accordance with a Norwegian court order the day before. The Norwegian justice ministry, however, denies a direct role in the case as tensions between Norway and Russia keep rising.
Barentsburg is the Russian enclave on Svalbard, fortified by its coal operations but important mostly as the main base for Russian presence in the Arctic archipelago. Svalbard is administered by and is part of Norway under the terms of an international treaty. Now there’s a new drama playing out there. PHOTO: NewsinEnglish.no/Morten Møst
It’s been a worrisome late summer for Norway, which shares a border with Russia in the far northeast but is also among the world’s leading providers of financial and defense assistance to Ukraine, following Russia’s invasion in 2022. Russia has recently stepped up its attacks on Ukraine and is now bombing civilian targets in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities on a daily and nightly basis, killing scores of Ukrainians including children just during the past few months.
That set off another visit to Kyiv by Nordic leaders including Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre just a week and a half ago, during which Støre confirmed Norway’s ongoing support for Ukraine. That in turn allegedly set off cyber attacks on Norway according to a Russian hacker group calling themselves “Server Killers.” They claimed to have struck again this week, targeting Norwegian universities.
Meanwhile there’s been a lot of unusual air- and sea traffic in, out of and around Norway in recent weeks. Newspaper Aftenposten reported in late August that for the first time in many years, allied surveillance flights were taking off from Norwegian air bases and conducting patrols right off the coast of Russia’s Kola peninsula, where its own northern navy is based. Norway never wanted to provoke the former Soviet Union during the Cold War and has earlier restricted NATO military activity east of Hammerfest in Finnmark.
Norwegian naval vessels are often on patrol around Svalbard, like here off its capital at Longyearbyen, but the Norwegian military was not involved in Wednesday’s Russian ship seizure. The Norwegian government claims it wasn’t involved either. PHOTO: Henrik S. Andersen / Forsvaret
Putin’s war on Ukraine has changed all the old rules, and Aftenposten reported that a British P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol flight was among those recently taking off from Norway’s Evenes airport and military air base between Harstad and Narvik. Citing Flightradar24 and military officials, Aftenposten reported how other NATO aircraft took off from Norway’s Ørland air base farther south, where Norway’s own new fighter jets are based, and from Bodø. They all flew up along the Norwegian coast and around Finnmark, circling in international air space right off Russia’s naval bases at Kola. Early last week other British military aircraft took off from Ørland and made a new, long patrol over Sweden and Finland before flying over Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania along their border to Russia, then over Poland before returning to Finland.
Shortly thereafter it became known that the chief of the USA’s CIA, John Ratcliffe, had been on a flight of his own in the area and landed in Moscow, where he met with his Russian counterparts. According to American media, his main message was to warn Putin against attacking any NATO member, at a time when Norway has been among NATO members viewed as a possible target. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have been mentioned most often as targets, but so has Norway because of its vast oil and gas reserves and strategic location in the Arctic. Any loss or disruption of Norwegian oil and gas supplies would hurt not only Ukraine but also the rest of Europe.
Norway’s offshore oil and gas industry can make the country and its vast undersea infrastructure a target. PHOTO: Equinor
Officials from the Ukrainian think tank Sahaidachnyi Security Center and the Ukrainian defense-tech firm Buntar Aerospace, which specializes in drones and unmanned weapons, were in Oslo last week to present what they actually called “The Battle of Norway.” It’s their new study examining “potential challenges to Norway and NATO, critical gaps in defense posture” and how Ukraine can also help them boost defense and capability.
Sverre Strandhagen, a commentator for Oslo newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) who specializes in defense issues, noted after their presentation that Norway was singled out “because we’re a major (offshore) energy producer” with undersea infrastructure that “can be NATO’s Achilles heel.” It’s widely known that Norway lacks adequate defense against drones and ballistic missiles that have been such a major part of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Strandhagen noted that the CIA chief Ratcliffe wouldn’t have made a trip to Moscow if there weren’t serious concerns that Putin, who’s widely viewed as getting desperate after nearly five years of failing to defeat Ukraine, may attack a NATO ally or even launch a real battle for Norway. On Wednesday, Strandhagen joined others in writing how Putin may be driven now by fears for his own life if he loses his war on Ukraine. It’s widely believed Russia is already “plaguing other countries,” noting how Finland has experienced border challenges, Slovakia had to fend off an attack on a drone producer and Germany just had to deal with what appears to have been a drone attack at its airport in Leipzig. That set off stern warnings from the leader of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, that Europe and NATO won’t only maintain pressure against Russia, but increase it.
The governor of Svalbard, known as “Sysselmesteren,” was in charge of the Russian ship seizure on Wednesday. PHOTO: Hanne Olafsen / Forsvaret
Sanctions against Russia continue and then came the seizure of the Russian vessel Professor Molchanov at the Russian enclave of Barentsburg on Svalbard, which is under Norwegian administration. The governor of Svalbard, Lars Fause, confirmed the seizure on Wednesday after it had been ordered by the Nord-Troms and Senja District Court on the Norwegian mainland at the request of the Ukrainian state-owned energy company Naftogaz Group. The Barents Observer reported on Thursday that the seizure is part of Ukraine’s global efforts to secure enforcement of an arbitration award against the Russian Federation, which has been ordered to pay Ukraine more than USD 4 billion in outstanding obligations.
It’s unclear what the seized ship is actually worth itself, but it has been sailing between Murmansk and Barentsburg and thus providing a needed transport link for Russians to and from Svalbard itself. That’s important for the Russians, since they no long can travel through Norway to reach Svalbard after Norway stopped issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens.
This is the Russian research- and passenger vessel “Professor Molchanov” that was seized and put under arrest at Barentsburg on Svalbard this week. PHOTO: Thomas Nilsen/Barents Observer
The Norwegian government, meanwhile, claims it’s not directly involved in the ship seizure conflict, since the mainland court in Tromsø was acting on behalf of the Ukrainian energy company. Appeals from Russia’s ambassador in Oslo on Thursday to release the ship were fended off by Norway’s justice ministry, but the Russians and their state-owned company Trust Arktigugol in Barentsburg are being represented by the Oslo law firm Elden. One of its Norwegian defense attorneys, Arnt Angell, told local newspaper Svalbardposten that it will argue on the Russians’ behalf that the seizure violates Arcticle 3 of the Svalbard Treaty, which provides “absolute rights to free movements by ship.”
Putin himself, meanwhile, was reportedly furious over the Russian ship’s arrest, referring to it as “state terrorism” on the part of the Norwegians while attending a business conference in Vladivostok. The Norwegian government once again denied the claim, stressing that Norwegian officials were merely carrying out a court order on behalf of the Ukrainian company. Trust Arktigugol, still mostly in charge of Russia’s mining operations in Barentsburg, declined comment on the dispute. No Norwegian military or defense forces were involved in Wednesday’s seizure.
Norway’s national mourning period following the death of King Harald V last week has stymied political debate, not least over another sudden rise in fuel prices. Attempts were made to extend months of fuel tax relief, but it ended on September 1 and now the oil-producing nation’s prices for gasoline and diesel are once again among the highest in Europe.
These were the posted liter prices for diesel and unleaded gasoline at an allegedly cut-rate fueling station in Oslo on Wednesday afternoon. Prices in Oslo also tend to be lower than elsewhere in the country, where diesel cost nearly NOK 30 per liter on Wednesday. PHOTO: NewsinEnglish.no/Morten Møst
“These fuel taxes (on top of higher oil prices) can really hurt,” one motorist told state broadcaster NRK as he filled his tank in Ryfylke in Western Norway on Tuesday. Diesel cost nearly NOK 28 per liter (USD 12 per gallon) and unleaded fuel cost NOK 26.84 per liter, also in Ålesund where one customer had to pay NOK 1,659 (USD 178) to fill up his vehicle.
The higher prices are blamed not just on higher oil prices but also on the suspension from September 1 of fuel tax cuts imposed last spring when oil prices also jumped. The fuel taxes amounting to NOK 4.71 per liter for unleaded gasoline and NOK 4.51 per liter for diesel starting being charged once again from midnight on Monday and immediately became a pocketbook issue.
The resumption of the fuel taxes came just after new tensions in the Middle East sent oil and gas prices up again. The Center Party, which appeals to voters in outlying areas where fuel prices are high and public transport is poor, tried to gather other parties for political discussions in an attempt to extend the tax cuts, but failed. The monarch’s death on Friday and the Labour-led government’s decision to impose a period of national mourning stymied any debate.
Not even Labour’s opposition parties on the conservative side were keen to renew political discussions, or extend the fuel tax cuts that had taken a big chunk out of the state budget. Center Party leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum had also run into trouble for congratulating Iceland for voting against a proposal to enter into membership discussions with the European Union. That was also viewed as a violation of the “political peace” meant to show respect for the late King Harald.
Vedum ended up having to cancel his plans for a meeting on the political peace itself. “We register that a majority of the other parties don’t see a need for any meeting,” said Center’s secretary general Ole André Myhrvold. What amounts to a two-week suspension of political proposals or debate will continue until after King Harald’s funeral next Wednesday.
Not everyone was happy about that, with some calling it “cowardly” and others complaining that the country’s top politicians didn’t even want to comment on other various issues that have come up. A majority in Parliament continued on Wednesday to back the government’s decision to suspend political debate or even any “political communication” that wasn’t viewed as necessary. No one in the finance ministry, for example, would even comment on the fuel tax controversy or other issues either.
Only the small Liberal Party had accepted Center’s invitation for a meeting, with its secretary general claiming it would still be good “to talk together.” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre defended his government’s initiative for the 12-day political moratorium.
“I stand behind it,” Støre told newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN). “Our democracy can tolerate a pause from sharp debate. Other qualities can come forward, and we can dwell on the (late) king’s speeches, what it means when the (new) king adopts the motto Alt for Norge (Everything for Norway).
“I don’t have any other reason for the pause in political debate than that I think it’s right,” Støre said. Political debate will resume in Norway after the king’s funeral on September 9.
Norway’s new King Haakon VIII solemnly swore before Parliament on Tuesday to carry out his duties in line with the Norwegian constitution and laws of the land. His royal oath as head of state came just after a new public opinion poll showed a rise in support for Norway’s monarchy, which has been under lots of pressure.
Norway’s new king, Haakon VIII, is shown here delivering his royal oath in Parliament on Tuesday. Standing next to him is his daughter, Norway’s new Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra and the new heir to the throne. PHOTO: Peter Mydske / Stortinget
King Haakon’s ceremonial presence in Parliament was the latest in a long string of royal rituals following the death on Friday of Haakon’s father, the popular King Harald V, the age of 89. Now Haakon, age 53, is following in his father’s footsteps, and addressed Parliament for the first time as reigning monarch.
He expressed hope that “the good relationship” that existed between Parliament and his father, his grandfather King Olav V and his great-grandfather King Haakon VII would continue. He confirmed that he and his wife, now known as Queen Mette-Marit, would make themselves available “for the country and (Norway’s) people.”
King Haakon VIII arriving at Parliament on Tuesday, followed by his daughter, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, his mother Queen Sonja and his son, Prince Sverre Magnus. PHOTO: Morten Brakestad/Stortinget
Norway’s new Queen Mette-Marit has appeared in public following the king’s death, but on Tuesday her husband King Haakon had to ride alone in the palace’s vintage 1966 Lincoln Contintental convertible to and from Parliament. It was the same car that they both rode in after their wedding at the Oslo Cathedral in 2021.
Their eldest child, though, the 22-year-old Ingrid Alexandra, was right behind him and by her father’s side during the entire ceremony in Parliament. She has become Norway’s new crown princess and next heir to the throne, and both stood and sat next to her father wearing a veil of mourning for the late King Harald whose funeral will be held next Wednesday.
Both she and her father seem to have made a good impression, meanwhile, on the Norwegian public. According to a new survey conducted by research firm Norstat for Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK), fully 72 percent of those questioned support Norway’s constitutional monarchy. Only 20 percent would prefer a republic or some other form of government, while 8 percent were unsure.
The Norwegian Parliament was packed for the formal swearing in of Norway’s new king. Standing in the galleries were members of the Supreme Court and other top Norwegian officials, while the diplomatic community in Norway was represented at far right. PHOTO: Hans Kristian Thorbjørnsen/Stortinget
Norway’s monarchy has traditionally had strong support but it fell to 64 percent in the last Norstat poll for NRK in May, when the crown princess’ son Marius Borg Høiby was found guilty of two rapes, other forms of violence, vandalism and drug use. He has since appealed and been allowed to take part in some of the official events tied to King Harald’s death. He’ll also be allowed to attend Kong Harald’s funeral next week even though he remains in police custody.
Harald Stanghelle, a retired journalist and author who has followed the royal family closely, noted how support for the monarchy remains “fundamentally strong” in Norway but “has often varied in connection with scandals or sensations.” Its low point came in February but even then it was favored by 60 percent of the population. That was down from levels as high as 80 percent during the reign of King Olav V. His son King Harald grew popular with time and was widely seen as a unifying force in Norway, a tradition his son Haakon hopes to carry on.
Both King Haakon VIII and Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra scored high in a new public opinion poll. PHOTO: Jeppe Frederiksen/Stortinget
The new public opinion poll also ranked royal family members individually, with King Haakon receiving a score of 8.8 on a scale of one to 10. That’s up from 8.1 percent in May and only his mother, Queen Sonja, scored higher than Haakon now with her ranking of 8.9 percent.
Now it was Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra who scored 8.1 percent in the new poll, up from 7.5 percent, while her mother Queen Mette-Marit scored just 5.2 percent. That was up, however, from just 4.4 percent in May when royal scandals raged. Prince Sverre Magnus was rated for the first time this week and earned 7.7 percent, while his aunt Princess Märtha Louise (Haakon’s older sister) scored just 3.5 percent.
Märtha-Louise’s poor score was, however, up from 3.3 percent in the poll in May. She’s been keeping a low profile throughout the royal drama of the past week when King Harald first fell seriously ill and then worsened. Her second husband, an American shaman who has stirred major controversy in Norway not least after he’d publicly criticized both King Harald and Queen Sonja, just underwent a kidney transplant at a Norwegian hospital. The looming premier of another TV series featuring their alternative lifestyles has been postponed until after her father’s funeral.
The Royal Palace in Oslo has announced that funeral arrangements for Norway’s King Harald V have been set for 1pm on Wednesday September 9 at the Oslo Cathedral. The funeral will involve royal processions from the palace to the cathedral and then on to Oslo’s Akershus Castle and Fortress, where the king’s body will be placed in a sarcophagus alongside those of his father and grandfather.
The palace further announced that the funeral will be led by Norway’s archbishop, Olav Fykse Tveit, along with Oslo’s Bishop Sunniva Gylver. King Harald V died early Friday morning at the age of 89, after several years of declining health.
The king’s death has unleashed a huge wave of tributes and public grieving nationwide for a popular monarch who was viewed as unifier and role model for many. His body is currently lying in state at the Royal Palace in Oslo where members of the royal family were to ceremoniously escort his coffin to the palace chapel late Monday afternoon. Public visitation will be offered from Tuesday at 2pm until Tuesday September 8 at 6pm.
Mounds of flowers, flags, cards and children’s drawings continued to pile up outside the Royal Palace in Oslo on Sunday, and at other royal-related sites around the country. So have all the rituals related to the throne change in Norway, after King Harald V died early Friday morning and his son immediately took over as King Haakon VIII.
This was the scene outside the Royal Palace on Saturday afternoon, after a few flower bouquets, cautiously laid out by passersby at the palace on Thursday, evolved into a mass public outpouring of Norwegians’ respect, affection and gratitude for their late monarch, King Harald V. PHOTO: NewsinEnglish.no/Morten Møst
“When the phone rang (just after King Harald’s death at 6:35am Friday), the voice at the other end said, ‘this is the king calling,'” related Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who’s had close contact with Norway’s royal family for years. It was the former Crown Prince Haakon on the line, after immediately succeeding his father, and he hardly needed to say anything more: “That’s why we have the saying, ‘the king is dead, long live the king,” Støre remarked.
That set off an immediate chain of events including the formal public announcement that was broadcast over all channels at Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) and other media, followed by an extraordinary session of the Council of State between the new King Haakon VIII and his daughter, the new Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, and all government ministers. That meeting involved confirmation of the royall successor’s name and motto and even a special flag-lowering and raising again outside the palace:
The monarch’s flag that flies atop the Royal Palace in Oslo was briefly lowered to half-mast Friday morning, right after King Harald V died, but raised just a few hours later when his son and successor had met with the government at an extraordinary Council of State. Norway then had a new king, Harald’s son King Haakon VIII, but then this royal flag was simultaneously mounted at half-mast on the palace balcony, adorned with a black banner depicting sorrow. It will remain there until after King Harald V’s funeral, expected to occur within two weeks. PHOTO: NewinEnglish.no/Morten Møst
Despite the immediacy of the actual succession, the formalities around it take more time. They will include a swearing-in ceremony of sorts at the Norwegian Parliament on Tuesday, at which the new King Haakon VIII will vow to uphold Norway’s constitution as he assumes the role of Norway’s head of state.
Prime Minister Støre, meanwhile, addressed the nation and held a press conference, at which he expressed gratitude for King Harald’s service as monarch over the past 35 years. “We will remember King Harald for his love of Norway’s people, for his humour and warmth,” Støre said in his prepared remarks. “An entire nation is in sorrow, and its people deeply grateful.”
“Dear King Harald,” wrote a 10-year-old girl named Nicoline in the message she left outside the palace even before he had died. “It hurts me so much to hear that you are so sick … we won’t forget that we have had such a fine king as you, who have filled our hearts with so much kindness and strength. I have had you as king my whole life … thank you for everything you have done for us in Norway with 5.5 million people.” PHOTO: NewsinEnglish.no/Morten Møst
That’s been confirmed through all the public’s tokens of appreciation left outside the palace, also while King Harald was still on his deathbed. “He was a man with respect for tradition,” Støre said, “but with the courage to help take the nation into new times.”
The prime minister remarked how Norway has changed and developed so much since King Harald succeeded his own father, the late King Olav V, in January 1991. That was before Norway’s oil wealth really began flowing and before Norway really became the wealthy and highly modern nation it is today: “The country became richer, our population grew and we became more diverse,” Støre noted.
He went on to note that the public reaction to King Harald’s death is very strong, attributing that to “the position King Harald had. Our joys and sorrows were also the king’s joys and sorrows.”
“Harald contributed himself to give the new Norway a way of describing Norwegians with all our differences,” Støre said. “Our king was just that, our king.”
Now King Haakon VIII is taking over, and Støre has no doubt Haakon will follow in his father’s footsteps, continue his work and enhance it. “I don’t think it’s possible to imagine anyone more qualified, more experienced and more prepared than King Haakon,” Støre said. Haakon, age 53, has been an active crown prince after graduating from the University of California and Berkeley and studying further at the London School of Economics. King Haakon has traveled the world, has a keen interest in interest international affairs and a military background and education before he left for Berkeley.
This is the first photo of Haakon VIII released by the Royal Palace after he became king following the death of his father Harald V early Friday morning. Haakon promises to follow in his father’s footsteps, but in his own way. PHOTO: Ola Vatn/Det kongelige hoff
Haakon has also been stepping in often for his elderly father as regent and thus acting head of state. He was quick to hail his father during his own televised address to the nation on Saturday evening, after two very long and demanding days after his father died.
“King Harald represented Norway and Norwegians with price and joy,” his son said, as he also shared memories of his father that many remember. Most important, according to Haakon, was that his father “held firm to his values and his obligations,” something Haakon intends to continue.
“He supported and took care of us all,” Haakon said. “It makes me proud to think about all he did and stood up for.” He thanked his father for being “warm and secure, funny, wise and generous … but with a natural authority.” Haakon described his father as “a good listener” and said he’ll miss his father’s laughter. He praised his father for being a unifying factor in Norway, “and bringing us together by putting words on who we Norwegians really are.” He also hailed his mother (who retains her title as Queen Sonja), “for contributing to making them a strong royal couple” and being active in their work.
“Now it’s my turn,” King Haakon said, claiming he was grateful to have his own family around him and for the support he receives from his wife, now Queen Mette-Marit, “and from our children.” Mette-Marit has been seriously ill and her son from an earlier relationship, Marius Borg Høiby, has caused lots of trouble and remains in police custody while appealing a recent jail term, but their daughter (now Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra) joined Haakon at the Council of State on Friday and Prince Sverre Magnus has also been taking part in family obligations even though he’s due to soon be starting college in Portugal. Ingrid Alexandra has been studying at the University of Sydney in Australia, but is spending this semester at the University of Oslo given all family obligations.
Haakon said his family wants “to be close to the people and listen to them,” adding that “the queen, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra and I will always try to understand others’ various life situations.” He stressed that they all believe in “a society built on law and order, where everyone has equal rights” and in Norway’s democracy. That’s why he chose to continue with his father’s, grandfather’s and great-grandfather’s motto, Alt for Norge (Everything for Norway).
The body of the late King Harald V arrived at the Royal Palace late Friday evening, in a ceremony that wasn’t publicly held when his father King Olav V died in 1991. Nor were there public viewings of the coffin as there will be now over the next week. PHOTO: Øivind Möller Bakken / Det kongelige hoff
The new king spoke after the body of his late father had been driven in a solemn vehicular procession from the national hospital (Rikshospitalet) to the Royal Palace, where the coffin will be open for public viewing until funeral ceremonies week after next. Norwegians spontaneously lined the funeral route, and crowds thickened as the procession approached the popular Majorstuen district and ultimately the palace grounds.
King Haakon VIII and his immediate family rode in the first car following the hearse, followed by Queen Sonja and her daughter Princess Martha Louise, and other family members. Upon arrival at the palace, the leader of the palace staff led the hearse into the palace courtyard, followed by the late king’s private secretary and eight of his closeest military officers and advisers. King Harald’s coffin will then go on public display in the palace chapel, where he and other family members have traditionally gone through baptismal and confirmation ceremonies.
His funeral, meanwhile, has been set for Wednesday September 9 at 1pm at the Oslo Cathedral, after his coffin will traditionally have been rolled down central Oslo’s main boulevard, Karl Johan’s Gate, to the cathedral in a formal procession on foot from the palace. After the funeral, his coffin will be transported again to the mausoleum under Oslo’s Akershus Castle and Fortress, where it will be placed in a new sarcophagus next to those of his grandfather, the late King Haakon VII, and father, King Olav V. Norway’s current period of national mourning will end after the funeral ceremonies.
