King Harald V of Norway Has Died After 35 Years On the Throne. Meet His Successor, Haakon

Royals: Mette Marit of Norway and Haakon of Norway attend the Norwegian Constitution Day in Oslo on May 17, 2026. —Per Ole Hagen—Getty Images King Harald V of Norway, a reformer and Europe’s oldest monarch, died Friday at the age of 89.

His son, the newly-proclaimed King Haakon VIII, has inherited the Norwegian throne.

Harald passed away peacefully in his sleep at Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet at 6:35 a.m., local time, the royal palace of Norway said .

“A whole nation is in mourning and the people of Norway are left with a deep sense of gratitude for a long life in the service of Norway,” said Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

“For more than three decades as monarch, Harald V demonstrated an unwavering faith in the Norwegian people.

He helped us to see the best in ourselves—and in one another.” Harald had been admitted to the hospital on Aug.

17 and placed on sick leave after corticosteroid treatment for haemolytic anemia caused fluid retention that required hospital care, the palace revealed.

His son, then-Crown Prince Haakon, 53, served as regent while his father was on leave.

In an update on Aug.

23, the palace announced the King’s condition had worsened and that he would remain in the hospital to receive antibiotics for a bacterial infection in his bloodstream.

In recent days, Norwegians had begun to lay flowers in front of the palace in Oslo after the royal household said his condition had become “very serious.” Harald has been described as a monarch who modernized the institution.

His marriage broke with royal convention when he wed the non-royal Sonja Haraldsen in 1968 after a lengthy struggle for permission from his family.

In a widely noted 2016 Palace garden speech , Harald defined Norwegianness as encompassing immigrants, people of different religions, and LGBTQ people.

"Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other.