Norway bids final farewell to King as crowds and royals for his funeral
Norway was bidding its final farewell to King Harald V on Wednesday as the popular monarch’s coffin set off for a funeral attended by royalty and leaders from across Europe and beyond, with thousands of people lining the streets.
A 21-gun salute rang out over Oslo at the start of the procession from the royal palace to Oslo Cathedral. Harald’s son, new King Haakon VIII, and other senior royals walked behind the coffin, draped with the red Norwegian royal standard. Harald, who died on August 28 at age 89, was Europe’s oldest monarch and had reigned for 35 years.
He had modernised the royal house, but refused to follow in the footsteps of other ageing 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.
Large crowds flocked to the capital for the funeral, and thousands of people stood behind barriers on streets lined with national flags. The downtown area was closed to vehicles and electric scooters, and police have instructed people not to bring bicycles, umbrellas or sharp objects.
People were tuning in from across the country. Scores of churches, libraries, cultural centres and city halls were making big screens available for the public to watch the funeral, public broadcaster NRK reported.
