King Harald V of Norway dies at 89 after 35-year reign; son becomes King Haakon VIII

King Harald V of Norway died peacefully at Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet on August 28, 2026, at 6:35 a.m., according to Fox News. He was 89 years old and Europe's oldest living monarch at the time of his death.

His son, Crown Prince Haakon, 53, succeeds him and becomes King Haakon VIII. Haakon's wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, will become Queen Mette-Marit. A period of national mourning has been declared leading up to his funeral.

Harald was hospitalized with a blood infection on August 17, according to Fox News reporting. He had received a pacemaker after falling ill during a vacation in Malaysia in 2024, and announced in 2024 that he would be reducing his public appearances. In January 2024, when Denmark's Queen Margrethe abdicated, Harald stated that he stood by the oath he made when ascending to the throne: "It lasts for life."

Harald ascended to the throne on January 17, 1991, after his father King Olav died. He served for 35 years, reigning during Norway's oil-and-gas-driven economic boom. According to the BBC, royal observers describe him as a "grandfather" of the nation and the "People's king," a title also used by his father King Olav V. Historian Ole-Jørgen Schulsrud-Hansen told the BBC that during Harald's reign, the Norwegian monarchy became more egalitarian and transparent with finances and health.

Harald's marriage in 1968 to Sonja Haraldsen, a commoner and daughter of a businessman, marked a turning point for the Norwegian monarchy. Per CBS News, he had refused nine other proposed royal matches before winning his father's permission to marry Sonja, reportedly telling his father that if he could not marry her, he would stay single. That decision paved the way for his own two children to marry commoners as well. The couple was married for nearly 58 years and had two children: Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Märtha Louise.

Harald survived Nazi occupation as a child. He was 3 years old when Adolf Hitler ordered Norway's invasion in 1940. According to Fox News, Harald's mother fled with him first to neutral Sweden, then to the United States, where they briefly lived in the White House after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt offered them safe haven. They later moved to Bethesda, Maryland. Per CBS News, Harald was 6 when he carried out his first official duty, christening new warplanes at a Norwegian air base in Canada. The family was reunited in Norway in June 1945, shortly after the war ended.

Harald became the first Norwegian prince to be born in the country in more than 500 years, according to Fox News. In 1905, after Norway gained independence from Sweden, his grandfather, King Haakon VII, became the first king of an independent Norwegian state since 1387.

During his reign, Harald became known for his empathetic leadership during national crises. In July 2011, neo-Nazi Anders Behring Breivik murdered 77 people in bomb and gun attacks in Norway, according to CBS News reporting. Per the BBC, Harald gave a televised address the day after the attacks. Weeks later, he delivered a speech empathizing with victims and their families, his voice quivering as he said: "I can only imagine the depth of your pain. As King of this nation, I feel for each and every one of you." According to CBS News, he also said: "I remain convinced that the belief in freedom is stronger than fear. I remain convinced in the belief of an open Norwegian democracy and society. I remain convinced in the belief in our ability to live freely and safely in our own country."

In 2016, Harald made headlines by giving a speech supporting diversity of religion, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. According to the BBC, he said Norwegians are from "Afghanistan, Pakistan and Poland, from Sweden, Somalia, and Syria," they "believe in God, Allah, the Universe and nothing," and they "are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other." CBS News reports the speech was viewed on social media by millions.

According to the BBC, Harald was also a keen athlete and environmentalist, and was one of the initiators of the Norwegian branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Like his father, who was an Olympic champion sailor in 1928, per CBS News, Harald loved the sea and sailboats. He represented Norway at several Olympics, and in 1987 he skippered his yacht to gold in the World Championships.

The Norwegian royal family operates under a constitutional monarchy, serving a largely symbolic role, per CBS News. Real power rests with an elected parliament in the democracy of 5.5 million people. When Harald assumed the throne, he adopted the same motto his father and grandfather had used: "All for Norway."

Per CBS News, the royal family faced scrutiny in early 2026 over Crown Princess Mette-Marit's connections with Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased sex offender. According to Fox News, Mette-Marit exchanged emails with and had multiple meetings with Epstein, and said she regretted her ties to him, claiming she had no knowledge of his past. Mette-Marit also apologized to those she had "disappointed," per CBS News.

Around the same time, Mette-Marit's eldest son, Marius Borg Høiby, from a previous relationship, was convicted of rape and sentenced to four years in prison, per Fox News reporting. According to CBS News, both he and prosecutors are appealing the sentence. Høiby has no royal titles or official duties.

Harald is survived by his wife Queen Sonja, their daughter Princess Märtha Louise, their son the new King Haakon, and six grandchildren, according to the BBC. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre 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. 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."

King Charles III sent his "most heartfelt condolences" at the death of his "dear cousin," per the BBC. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden remembered Harald as "a good friend to me, my family and to Sweden," and wished his godson Haakon "success and good fortune."