Norway has a new monarch after the death of King Harald V at age 89. His son, Haakon VIII, now steps into a position he spent much of his younger life learning to accept.
Harald’s 35-year reign saw Norway’s monarchy become more modern and transparent, while he also guided the country through major national crises.
King Haakon VIII has taken the Norwegian throne following the death of his father, King Harald V, stepping into a role he once struggled to embrace.
The 53-year-old became Norway’s fourth monarch of the modern era on Friday, August 28. During an extraordinary cabinet meeting, he confirmed his royal title and kept his father’s motto, “Everything for Norway.” His 22-year-old daughter, Ingrid Alexandra, is now crown princess and heir to the throne.
Haakon’s path to the crown was not always comfortable. In his 2023 autobiography, he recalled feeling anxious about being royal while attending state school and admitted that he preferred to avoid attention as a child. He became crown prince at 17 after the death of his grandfather, King Olav V, in 1991.
Rather than following in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps to Oxford University, Haakon headed to California. He studied political science at the University of California, Berkeley, after completing military training in Norway. The prince later wrote that surfing offered an escape from the expectations surrounding him.
Norway Mourns King Harald V After His Death At 89
King Harald V died at 89 after spending his final days hospitalized with a rare blood condition. The palace said the monarch died peacefully at Oslo’s national hospital at 6:35 a.m. local time.
His death brought an outpouring of grief across Norway, with mourners gathering outside the royal palace to leave flowers and flags. The royal standard was lowered to half-mast as the country entered a period of national mourning.
Harald spent 35 years on the throne. During that time, he developed a reputation as an approachable monarch who helped modernize the institution. He also once caused controversy when he waited nine years to marry commoner Sonja Haraldsen, reportedly telling his father he would remain unmarried if he couldn’t marry her.
King Haakon’s Marriage Also Challenged Royal Convention
3Haakon’s private life would eventually put him firmly in the spotlight. According to Reuters, he met his future wife, Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, at a music festival in 1999.
The 25-year-old was already a single mother, and her well-publicized party past quickly turned their relationship into a national talking point. The controversy did not stop the couple from marrying in 2001.
Haakon has credited Mette-Marit with helping him become more comfortable around people, describing his wife as a natural socializer where he tends to be more analytical. The couple went on to have two children together, Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus. Haakon also helped raise Mette-Marit’s son, Marius Borg Høiby, from her previous relationship.
Queen Mette-Marit’s Epstein Scandal Follows Her To The Throne
3Mette-Marit enters her new role as queen with controversy over her past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein still hanging over her.
The scandal erupted in January 2026 after the U.S. Justice Department released private correspondence between Mette-Marit and the convicted sex offender. Their contact continued after Epstein’s 2008 conviction.
One October 2011 exchange showed Mette-Marit acknowledging that she had searched Epstein online and that what she found “didn’t look too good.”
She remained publicly silent for seven weeks before addressing the controversy in an emotional interview with a Norwegian broadcaster. Mette-Marit said she wished she had never met Epstein and claimed she had been “manipulated and deceived.” She also apologized to Norway’s royal family.
King Haakon Vows To Do Things His ‘Own Way’ In First National Address
3During his first televised address to Norway on Saturday, Haakon pledged his commitment to democracy, the rule of law and the equal worth of every person. He also made clear that he intends to put his own stamp on the job.
“I will do it in my own way,” Haakon said, noting that his father had done the same before him.
The speech also became deeply personal as Haakon remembered Harald as a “wonderful papa” and a “warm and devoted family man.” He grew emotional while discussing his mother, Queen Sonja, revealing that Saturday would have marked his parents’ 58th wedding anniversary.
