Norway bids farewell to King Harald
The coffin of Norway’s King Harald is carried from the Royal Palace to Oslo Cathedral for a ceremony. (AP Photo)
Norway bid its final farewell to King Harald on Sept. 9 with a funeral attended by royalty and leaders from across Europe and beyond, who paid tribute to the popular monarch’s 35-year reign.
Harald, who died on Aug. 28 aged 89, was Europe’s oldest monarch. He had modernized the royal house but refused to follow in the footsteps of other aging monarchs who have abdicated in recent times. His son immediately became King Haakon VIII and last week pledged an oath of allegiance to Norway’s constitution in parliament.
During the ceremony, the coffin was taken from the royal palace to Oslo Cathedral in a procession, followed by Haakon, other senior Norwegian royals, foreign guests and representatives of Norway’s parliament and others.
