Norway’s King Harald dies leaving stormy succession over crown princess’s Epstein links

King Harald V of Norway has died at the age of 89, the palace in Oslo has announced, triggering the succession of his son, Haakon, whose wife Mette-Marit’s association with Jeffrey Epstein has sparked fierce recent controversy.“It is with deep sadness that we announce that His Majesty King Harald passed away today. King Harald passed away peacefully at Oslo-university-hospital" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="5237" data-entity-type="location">Oslo University Hospital on Friday, August 28 at 6.35 am,” the palace said in a statement.The palace had announced on Thursday that Harald’s health had deteriorated and that he was in an “extremely serious” condition, prompting his wife, Queen Sonja, and Crown Prince Haakon, who was already acting as regent, to cancel engagements.Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, would meet the new king, Haakon VIII, at the palace later on Friday, the government said. Flags at the palace were lowered to half-mast and church bells across the country were to ring out at midday.“It is with deep sadness that I have received the news that His Majesty King Harald V has died,” 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.”The prime minister added: “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 Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden said: “Throughout the years, King Harald has been a good friend to me, my family, and to Sweden … I ​wish ​my dear godson Haakon, ​who now succeeds his father as head ​of state, ‌success and ​good ​fortune.”Harald, Norway’s ceremonial head of state since 1991, was Europe’s oldest reigning monarch. He had been being treated in Oslo’s University hospital since 17 August for haemolytic anaemia, a condition caused by an abnormally rapid destruction of the body’s red blood cells.People gather at the Palace Square in Oslo to pay their respects to King Harald V. Photograph: Rune Hellestad/GettyThe king had suffered numerous recent health problems, undergoing an operation for bladder cancer in 2003 and having a pacemaker fitted in 2024, but always ruled out abdicating, saying he had taken a lifelong oath before the Norwegian parliament.His death comes amid a turbulent period for Norway’s royal family. Documents published in the US in January showed that Mette-Marit corresponded with Epstein, the late US sex offender, between 2011 and 2014, long after he was convicted.King Harald and Queen Sonja attend the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. Photograph: Heiko Junge/ReutersThe files appeared to contain almost 1,000 mentions of Matte-Marit, including intimate exchanges. They drew fierce public criticism, with Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, accusing her in unprecedented comments of “poor judgment”.Mette-Marit subsequently released a statement via the royal household expressing her “deepest regret for my friendship with Jeffrey Epstein” and apologising for “the situation that I have put the royal family in, especially the king and queen”.Marius Borg Høiby, 29, Mette-Marit’s son from a previous relationship, has also been in the spotlight after being sentenced in June to four years in prison for two rapes and 32 other charges, including violence against a former partner. He has appealed.Crown Prince Haakon had taken on additional royal duties while his father, Harald, was ill. Photograph: Per Ole Hagen/GettyMette-Marit, 53, who is suffering from a serious lung disease and underwent a transplant in July, was a single mother to Høiby, who was four years old when her engagement to Norway’s crown prince was announced in late 2000.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionThe marriage, which marked the first time in modern European history that a direct heir to a throne had brought a stepson into a royal family, sparked huge controversy in Norway but was strongly backed by King Harald and Queen Sonja.Mette-Marit openly acknowledged what she described as a rebellious youth and prior drug use, holding an emotional press conference a week before the wedding in which she expressed regret for her choices and strongly condemned drug use.Mette-Marit, 53, underwent a successful lung transplant in July. Photograph: Lise Åserud/NTB Scanpix/APPublic backing for Norway’s monarchy has suffered from the crown princess’s latest scandals, with a February poll finding support down to 54% from 72% in 2024. Several polls found nearly half of the population felt Mette-Marit could not become queen.Harald is seen as the Norwegian monarchy’s great moderniser, revamping the crown estates and changing the way the court is run. He married Sonja, a commoner, in 1968 and welcomed two others, Mette-Marit and Ari Behn, as the spouses of his children.A great-great-grandchild ‌of Britain’s Queen Victoria, he succeeded his father, Olav V, aged 54 after studying at Oxford and representing his country in sailing events at the Tokyo, Mexico City and Munich Olympics, and was appreciated in Norway for his unassuming lifestyle and efforts for national unity.Haakon and Mette-Marit watch the Fifa 2026 World Cup match between Norway and Brazil. Photograph: The Royal Court/AFP/GettyIn an emotional speech in 2011, after the far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 in two terror attacks, he told his subjects that “freedom is stronger than fear” and as “a father, grandfather and spouse, I can only begin to sense some of the pain you feel. As king of the nation, I feel for every one of you.”In 2016, he lauded diversity, tolerance and LGBT rights, saying Norwegians came from Afghanistan and Pakistan, believed “in God, in Allah and in nothing”, and included “girls who love girls, boys who love boys and girls and boys who love each other”.In February he was admitted to hospital for an infection and dehydration in Tenerife, where he was on a private trip with the queen. Sonja, who is also 89, was herself briefly treated for heart problems in hospital in Norway three months later.