Norway is in mourning. Even the day after the death of König Harald V. was on the streets of the capital Oslo to feel an oppressive atmosphere. The new King Haakon VIII will address the people in his first public address today. The memorial speech for his father, who died on Friday, will be broadcast on television at 7 p.m., as the royal family announced.
On Friday, Haakon, who took over the throne the second his father died, welcomed the members of the government to the castle. Next Tuesday (1 p.m.) Haakon will take the required oath to the constitution. The Norwegian population can watch this live on television.
The official procedure after the death of a monarch is largely defined. Since Saturday, condolence books have been available across the country for anyone to sign. In Oslo, Mayor Anne Lindboe was among the first to leave personal words for the monarch, who died on Friday morning, according to the newspaper VG reported. “You didn’t need a crown to be king,” she wrote, according to the report.
Funeral services will be held in numerous churches and all eleven cathedrals on Sunday. It starts at 11 a.m. in Oslo Cathedral, as the Evangelical Lutheran Norwegian Church announced. “We mourn King Harald and feel deep, sincere gratitude for everything he means to all of us through his life and work,” said Olav Fykse Tveit, the presiding bishop of the established church.
Crown without coronation
Anyone who wants to say goodbye in person can visit the chapel of the royal castle in the coming days. After a short stay in the Red Salon of the castle, the closed coffin will be laid out on a covered catafalque at certain times until the burial. According to the court, visitors should be able to slowly walk past the guarded coffin to personally pay their last respects to Harald. The royal insignia is placed on and on the coffin, including the crown.
For the funeral, for which no date has yet been given, there will again be a large memorial service, which will be held as a state funeral. The news agency NTB According to him, the celebration should begin with the closest family members in the castle chapel. The coffin with the king will then be transported in a funeral procession to Oslo Cathedral. This will be followed by another funeral procession – then on a much smaller scale – to the king’s final resting place in the church of Akershus.
VG The day of the funeral is not an official holiday. However, employees and all students should be allowed to watch the funeral service. There will be a nationwide minute’s silence at 1 p.m.
There is no longer a classic coronation ceremony in Norway. Harald’s father, King Olav V, introduced a new blessing ceremony in 1958, which Harald and his wife, Queen Sonja, continued in 1991. Accordingly, a similar ceremony is expected now. The blessing is traditionally followed by a trip through Norway.