King Harald V of Norway died Friday at the National Hospital in Oslo at age 89, and his son automatically became King Haakon VIII. Harald, Europe’s oldest monarch, ruled for more than three decades and was praised by Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre for his service to Norway. He modernized the monarchy while keeping its largely symbolic role intact in Norway’s democracy.
Norway's King Harald V is all smiles as he addresses the media after talks with Croatian President Ivo Josipovic, in Zagreb, Croatia, on May 12, 2011. AP-Yonhap
STAVANGER, Norway — King Harald V of Norway, who went into exile in the United States as a child during the Nazi occupation of his homeland and refused a string of European noblewomen to marry his school sweetheart, died Friday. He was 89.
The palace said he died at the National Hospital in Oslo at 6:35 a.m.
Harald was Europe’s oldest monarch. The popular king modernized the royal house but refused to follow in the footsteps of other aging monarchs who have abdicated in recent times. His son automatically became King Haakon VIII.
