Queen marks wedding date as Norway mourns King Harald V

Norway’s Queen Sonja marked her 58th wedding anniversary alone on Saturday, a day after the death of her husband, King Harald V.

The king died on Friday at the age of 89 after spending nearly two weeks in hospital. Queen Sonja, also 89, now faces life without the partner with whom she shared decades of marriage.

Their relationship was a love story that overcame considerable opposition.

Sonja Haraldsen, then a commoner, first met the Norwegian prince as a teenager. She encountered him again at the age of 22 and the two fell instantly in love.

However, Harald’s father, then king Olav, strongly opposed their relationship, forcing the couple to keep it secret for nine years.

In the end, Harald threatened his father that he would remain unmarried if he was not allowed to be with Sonja. Olav relented, and on August 29, 1968, the couple married at Oslo Cathedral.

Crown prince Haakon was born five years later. Following his father’s death, he has been King Haakon VIII since Friday.

First address as king

The new king addressed the nation in an emotional televised speech on Saturday evening.

“Thank you for being such a good dad to Märtha and me,” Haakon said on Saturday evening in a speech broadcast on Norwegian television and radio.

With Harald’s death, Haakon immediately became the new monarch of the Scandinavian country. He has one sister, Princess Märtha Louise.

“You were also a warm and funny grandfather. A loving and caring husband. A generous father-in-law,” the king continued. “You supported and took care of us all.”

“I will miss him,” the 53-year-old said of his father. “I will miss his laugh” and his warm, cheerful way of approaching people and situations.

‘Happy wedding anniversary, dear Mum’

Haakon also paid tribute to his parents’ marriage.

His voice briefly faltered as he turned to his mother and said: “Happy wedding anniversary, dear Mum.”

Looking ahead to his own reign, Haakon said he intended to follow his father’s example while finding his own way as monarch.

Norwegian public also in mourning

Books of condolence were made available across Norway, allowing members of the public to leave messages of sympathy and remembrance.

In Oslo, Mayor Anne Lindboe was among the first to leave a personal message for the monarch, according to the newspaper VG. “You didn’t need a crown to be king,” she wrote, according to the report.

Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria also paid tribute to the late king — her godfather — with moving words. “King Harald was a dearly loved godfather – always warm and kind-hearted,” she wrote in a statement. “He had a contagious laugh and always a twinkle in his eye.” The Norwegian monarch had been “an exceptionally wonderful person” and a role model.

“Some people leave a mark that time can never erase. King Harald was one such person,” Victoria continued.

Memorial services are due to be held on Sunday in numerous churches and in all 11 of Norway’s cathedrals. A service at Oslo Cathedral is scheduled to begin at 11 am (0900 GMT), the Church of Norway said.

“We mourn the loss of King Harald and feel deep, sincere gratitude for everything he has meant to us all through his life and work,” says Olav Fykse Tveit, the presiding bishop of the Church of Norway.

Members of the public who wish to pay their respects in person will be able to visit the palace chapel in the coming days.

After a brief period in the palace’s Red Salon, the king’s closed coffin will lie in state in the chapel on a draped platform at specified times until the burial.

No date has yet been announced for his funeral, which will be held as a state funeral and is expected to be a major national memorial service.

According to the NTB news agency, the ceremony is set to begin in the castle chapel, attended only by the king’s closest family members.

The king’s coffin will then be carried in a funeral procession to Oslo Cathedral.

This will be followed by a further funeral procession – on a much smaller scale – to the king’s final resting place in Akershus Church.

The daily VG newspaper reported that the day of the funeral will not be an official public holiday. However, employees and all school pupils are to be allowed to watch the funeral service. There will be a nationwide minute’s silence at 1 pm.