(From left) King Carl King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, King Haakon VIII of Norway and King Frederik X of Denmark walk behind the bier carrying Norway’s King Harald V after the funeral service on the way to Akershus Fortress where King Harald is to be laid to rest on September 9, 2026 in Oslo. — Trond R Teigen/Pool/AFP pic First Published: Thursday, 10 Sep 2026 9:17 AM MYT OSLO, Sept 10 — Norway observed a nationwide minute of silence yesterday at the funeral of King Harald V, a modern and unifying figure whose end of reign was tarnished by scandals.His son and heir King Haakon VIII, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, Britain’s Prince William and other foreign dignitaries stood in silence in the halls of Oslo’s Lutheran cathedral in memory of the late monarch, who died on August 28 aged 89.The funeral procession had left the royal palace an hour earlier, the king’s casket draped in Norway’s red royal banner and topped with white flowers.Carried on an artillery carriage, the casket was transported along the city’s main avenue, followed by the dignitaries on foot as thousands of people lined the street to pay their respects. Spectators flock towards the Royal Palace to greet members of the royal family in Oslo, Norway, on September 9, 2026 after Norway’s late King Harald V was laid to rest at Akershus Castle. — Haakon Mosvold Larsen/NTB/AFP pic “He was king for practically my whole life. I thought it was normal to come today, since I could,” 37-year-old municipal employee Anders Aanerud told AFP.Only Harald’s widow, 89-year-old Queen Sonja, and the new Queen Mette-Marit, who underwent a lung transplant in June, followed the procession in a car.Marius Borg Hoiby, Mette-Marit’s son from a previous relationship who is under house arrest pending the appeal of a rape and assault conviction, had been granted permission to attend the funeral. The casket carrying late King Harald V is taken to the royal mausoleum in the crypt at Akershus Castle after after the state funeral at the Cathedral in Oslo, Norway, on September 9, 2026. Harald, who died on August 28, 2026 at the age of 89, will be laid to rest in the crypt of the royal mausoleum of Akershus Castle, a medieval fortress overlooking Oslo Fjord, after a service at the Oslo Cathedral. — Terje Pedersen/Pool/AFP pic Sarcophagus At the end of the religious service, four F-35 fighter jets will fly over the cathedral in a “missing man” formation, as the casket is taken to the Akershus Castle chapel.There it will be lowered into the crypt of the royal mausoleum, next to Harald’s parents and grandparents.He will be laid to rest in a US$2 million (RM8.1 million) sarcophagus whose design remains secret.Once the burial is completed, flags across the country, which were lowered to half-mast after Harald’s death, will once again be raised and church bells will ring for an hour.Some 3,000 police and 3,500 soldiers have been deployed for the event, with exceptional airspace restrictions imposed over much of the eastern part of the country.Until his death, Harald, who ascended the throne in 1991, was the oldest reigning monarch in Europe.Despite mounting health woes in his later years, he had always ruled out abdicating, and was extremely popular among his fellow Norwegians.“He struck a balance between being stately and being down-to-earth,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said in his eulogy.“He made Norway greater. He spoke of a ‘we’ in Norway where everyone is there for each other.”Seen as embodying an open and tolerant Norway, Harald made a deep impression by celebrating diversity in a 2016 speech marking the 25th anniversary of his reign.“Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other,” he said, adding: “Norwegians believe in God, Allah, the Universe and nothing.” Wellwishers greet members of Norway’s Royal Family standing on the balcony of the Royal Palace after the funeral of Norway’s late King Harald V in Oslo September 9, 2026. — AFP pic Reinvigorated monarchy More than 46,000 Norwegians filed past the king’s casket in the past week, some waiting in line for hours.The square in front of the palace has been covered with flowers, drawings and candles as Norwegians honoured the man they dubbed “the grandfather of the nation”.“He was like the beloved grandfather of a family, who embraced all his children and grandchildren, regardless of their appearance or beliefs,” student Arthur Fosheim told AFP.“He truly embodied that spirit of inclusion and a multicultural Norway,” he added. Norway’s Royal Family (from left) King Haakon VIII of Norway, Queen Mette-Marit of Norway, Queen Sonja of Norway, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway and Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway wave from the balcony of the Royal Palace in Oslo, Norway, after Norway’s late King Harald V was laid to rest at Akershus Castle September 9, 2026. — AFP pic Almost three out of four Norwegians, 72 per cent, said they support the monarchy, up by eight percentage points from a previous survey in May, in an opinion poll conducted after the king’s death and published last week.Support had dropped to its lowest level in February, to 60 per cent.At the time, the royal family was embroiled in a series of scandals.Mette-Marit in particular was under heavy criticism for her past ties to the late convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and her son’s legal troubles.While Haakon VIII, 53, is very popular, opinions on the new queen, also 53, remain deeply divided. — AFP