OSLO, Norway (AP) — Norway will bid its final farewell to King Harald V on Wednesday with a funeral attended by royalty and leaders from across Europe and beyond, who will pay tribute to the popular monarch's 35-year reign.
Harald, who died on Aug. 28 aged 89, was Europe’s oldest monarch and 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.
On Wednesday, the coffin will be 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.
Ahead of the funeral, Norwegians have waited patiently to file past Harald's coffin as it lay in state in the chapel of the royal palace in Oslo. The queue was seven hours long at one point over the weekend.
Large crowds are expected in the capital for the funeral. The downtown area will be closed to vehicles and electric scooters, and police have instructed people not to bring bicycles, umbrellas or sharp objects. Large screens have been set up for people to watch the ceremony.
Among the guests expected to attend are the monarchs of Sweden, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Jordan. The heir to the British throne, Prince William, is also expected, as is Crown Prince Akishino of Japan. Presidents from a range of European countries will join them.
A minute's silence will be held across Norway at the start of the funeral ceremony. Eulogies will be delivered by Norway's parliament speaker and prime minister, and there will be a candle-lighting ceremony with representatives of different faiths.
After the funeral, Harald's coffin will be taken in a procession to the palace chapel at Akershus Castle, where the late king's ancestors are buried. After a private ceremony for the Norwegian royals, who will be joined by some of the foreign guests and senior Norwegian officials, it will be lowered into the crypt.
Norway’s monarchy traces its origins to King Harald Fairhair in the ninth century. When Norway regained its independence from Sweden in 1905, three-quarters of voters in a national plebiscite approved restoring the monarchy.
Today, the throne's role is largely symbolic and power lies with the elected government and parliament, but the Norwegian royal family retains a role in promoting the wealthy Scandinavian nation around the world.
