The funeral of King Harald V
Today, King Harald V was brought the Royal Palace to his final resting place. The streets of Oslo were quiet as King Harald was laid to rest.
9 September 2026
From early morning, the streets of central Oslo began to fill with people. Thousands gathered to watch the procession and follow the ceremony on large screens along the route.
Representatives from 85 countries, family and friends, representatives of official Norway, and countless people who had gathered along the procession route and in front of large screens across the country accompanied him to his final resting place.
Procession from the Palace to Oslo Cathedral
A twenty-one gun salute rang out from Akershus Fortress as the funeral procession left the Royal Palace and began its solemn journey towards Oslo Cathedral. The procession was accompanied by the Norwegian composer Ole Olsen’s funeral march and funeral drums played by the Guards’ Signal Corps.
Draped in the Royal Standard, King Harald’s coffin was accompanied by His Majesty The King’s aides-de-camp.
His Majesty King Haakon, Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Sverre Magnus and Princess Märtha Louise followed immediately behind the coffin. Her Majesty Queen Mette-Marit and Her Majesty Queen Sonja followed in A-2.
They were followed by a long procession of foreign royals, heads of state and prime ministers, as well as representatives of the state authorities and official Norway. Soldiers from the Army, Air Force and Navy formed a guard of honour along the entire route.
Funeral service at Oslo Cathedral
Just before 1 pm, three chimes rang out from churches across the country. The chimes were followed by one minute’s silence, before three further chimes marked the beginning of the funeral service.
The funeral service was led by Olav Fykse Tveit, Preses of the Church of Norway.
Hymns and religious music formed part of the service, but one song stood out in particular. Two artists performed Norwegian singer-songwriter Alf Prøysen’s song Jørgen Hattemaker, whose refrain is familiar to many: “The sun shines on you, so the shadow falls on me. But the grass is green for everyone.” King Harald was deeply committed to the equal worth of all people and to treating everyone equally.
Tributes
President of the Storting Masud Gharahkhani and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre delivered tributes. The President of the Storting spoke of the way King Harald met everyone with respect and warmth. He saw the person standing before him, rather than simply their position.
“We are deeply grateful for the 35 years King Harald served as Norway’s King,” the Prime Minister said. “But above all, we are grateful for the way he was King. He made the solemn human.
– On behalf of the Storting and the Norwegian people, I would like to thank King Harald for the way he carried out his duties. He lived up to his motto: He gave his all for Norway.
President of the Storting Masud Gharahkhani, in his tribute to King Harald
Lighting of candles
Diversity was an important value for King Harald. During the service, candles were lit in his memory by representatives of different faiths and beliefs – a Catholic, a humanist, a Buddhist, a Jew and a Muslim – as these words were spoken:
“We light candles in gratitude for King Harald’s life and service.
We light candles in gratitude for all that unites us.
We light candles in gratitude for warmth and laughter.
We light candles in gratitude for diverse communities, for faith in the future and for hope.”
Spoke of love
“Love never ends,” said Preses Olav Fykse Tveit in his address. He recalled the speech in which King Harald quoted the words of resistance fighter Carl Johan Oftedal, who was sentenced to death: “Greet our fellow countrymen and tell them that they must build Norway with love.”
– Dear fellow Norwegians, dear guests: today we see that the King Harald himself was one of the architects of this project. He wanted to embrace us all. Everyone was to feel that they belonged, especially those who had felt excluded. In this way, the motto ‘All for Norway’ also became an expression of love – for us all
Preses Olav Fykse Tveit, in his tribute to King Harald.
The entire cathedral stood as the traditional words were spoken over the coffin: “From earth you have come. To earth you shall return. From the earth you shall rise again.”
The Royal Anthem and Beautiful Savior brought the service to a close, before the Lord Chamberlain led the procession out of Oslo Cathedral.
“Missing man” formation
As the procession carrying King Harald’s coffin left the Cathedral and continued towards the Akershus Castle Church, the Royal Norwegian Air Force paid a final tribute to The King. Four F-35 fighter aircraft flew in formation over the Cathedral before one aircraft peeled away from the formation and climbed into the sky, leaving the others behind. This was a traditional “missing man” formation, flown in tribute to a fallen comrade. King Harald held the rank of General in the Royal Norwegian Air Force.
Procession to the Akershus Castle Church
King Harald’s coffin was carried in a smaller procession from the Cathedral to the Akershus Castle Church, this time to the strains of Frédéric Chopin’s Funeral March. His Majesty King Haakon followed the coffin. On his right walked His Majesty King Carl Gustaf of Sweden; on his left, His Majesty King Frederik of Denmark.
At Akershus Fortress, the crew of the Royal Yacht Norge, together with guards of honour from the United Kingdom, Sweden and Denmark, stood in formation to pay tribute to King Harald. Flags and colours were lowered in respect as the coffin passed. Representatives of the many organisations and causes for which King Harald served as patron were among those lining the route up to the Akershus Castle Church.
Pipe down
As the coffin was carried into the Castle Church, the traditional “Pip down” signal was sounded. Members of the crew of the Royal Yacht Norge sounded the signal on a boatswain’s pipe, signifying that King Harald was leaving the ship for the final time. King Harald held the rank of Admiral in the Royal Norwegian Navy.
The final resting place
A private service was held in the Castle Church for the family and royal guests. The President of the Storting, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the Presidents of Iceland and Finland were also present.
King Harald’s coffin was then lowered into the crypt of the Castle Church, the Royal Mausoleum. There, it will be placed in a sarcophagus alongside those of King Olav and Crown Princess Märtha, King Haakon VII and Queen Maud.
Following the funeral
When the service at the Castle Church had concluded, King Haakon and Queen Mette-Marit came out into the courtyard. The funeral had come to an end, and the flags that had been flown at half-mast were raised to full mast, both at Akershus and along the procession route. At the Palace, the Royal Standard, with its mourning drape, which had flown at half-mast from the Palace balcony, was replaced by the Norwegian State Flag.
A double 21-gun salute was fired from Akershus Fortress in honour of the new King, while church bells began to ring across the country. King Haakon saluted the flags as they were raised.
On the Palace balcony
The King and Queen then appeared on the Palace balcony, accompanied by Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus, to greet the many people who had gathered. They were met with loud cheers, which grew even louder when Queen Sonja joined them.
