Norway’s King Haakon VIII honored his late father in deeply personal terms during his first national address as monarch, describing him as “such a good dad” and briefly struggling with emotion as he spoke to his widowed mother, Queen Sonja.
King Harald, who spent more than 30 years on the throne and came to be seen as a modernizing figure after following his popular, outgoing father, died on Friday at the age of 89.
In a recorded televised message from the palace, Haakon appeared in a black suit, white shirt and black tie, remembering Harald not only as Norway’s king but as a loving and generous presence within his family.
“My dear father, thank you for being such a good dad for Martha and I,” he said, mentioning his sister, Princess Martha Louise.
Seated behind a desk with a smiling portrait of Harald placed to his left, the new king added that he would miss his father’s laughter and the kindly, easy manner with which he approached both people and difficult moments.
Haakon also pointed out that Saturday would have marked the 58th wedding anniversary of Harald and Queen Sonja, who now survives her husband after decades at his side.
“Congratulations on your wedding anniversary, dear Mummy,” Haakon said, his voice seeming to catch as the personal weight of the moment showed through.
ONE PEOPLE
Looking ahead to his reign, Haakon made clear that, like his father before him, he intends to serve in his own way. He also underlined the principles of Norway’s constitutional monarchy, ahead of the oath he is due to take in parliament on Tuesday to uphold the nation’s constitution and laws.
“We believe in our system of self-governance — and in democracy. We believe in a society built on the rule of law — where every individual has equal worth,” he said.
Haakon automatically became king upon his father’s death under Norway’s constitutional monarchy. There will be no coronation as they were abolished by parliament in 1908.
“We believe in a Norway where there is room for everyone. We shall feel the strength of our community – and know deep within ourselves that we are one people,” he said.
At the end of his speech, outside the palace, mourners who had been watching on their mobile phones broke into spontaneous applause.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, speaking to Reuters minutes before the broadcast of the speech, said Haakon shared many qualities with his father.
“This King has something from his father, which is the ability to create an atmosphere of togetherness,” he said in an interview outside the palace.
TOLERANCE AND INCLUSIVENESS
Since Harald’s passing, people have streamed in their tens of thousands to say goodbye to the late king at the royal palace, where he lies in state, with many well-wishers remembering his sense of inclusiveness and tolerance.
Flags were flying at half-mast throughout the country and portraits of the late king in gala uniform could be seen at bus stops, trams and metro stations to shops, offices and public buildings.
The main avenue in central Oslo, Karl Johan, was tightly packed with people from all walks of life heading towards the palace, clutching flowers, handwritten cards, drawings and small national flags.
Mourners praised the late king’s spirit of inclusiveness.
“He meant a lot to us immigrants … We felt really very included. So, thanks to him, I feel so Norwegian,” Veselina Vitanova, a 43-year-old teacher originally from Bulgaria, told Reuters outside the palace.
Another referred to a speech Harald delivered in 2016 that went viral worldwide, in which he said: “Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys and girls and boys who love each other.”
“It embodies the way he felt about people and the way he wanted us Norwegians to feel about each other,” said Mari Eidsvaag, 32, who wore a T-shirt emblazoned with that sentence, a rainbow and a drawing of King Harald.
“I think it’s a very important statement, especially these days,” she told Reuters.
