Norway’s King Harald passed away on August 28th. The Norwegian royal family gave everyone notice that the end was near, and people came out to honor Harald in his final days. Harald’s son is now King Haakon, and he took his oath last week alongside his daughter, the new crown princess. Haakon will not have a coronation, so the “big event” is Harald’s funeral. The funeral will draw heads of state and world leaders. People have wondered this whole time if King Charles would come and pay his respects to Harald, his second cousin. Turns out, not so much. But Charles did manage to convince his work-shy heir to show up.
The Prince of Wales will attend the funeral of King Harald V of Norway on Wednesday in Oslo, Buckingham Palace has announced. Also going to the funeral, in a personal capacity, is Princess Anne, who is godmother to Norway’s new monarch, King Haakon VIII.
The late King Harald, a popular, modernising figure who had been on the Norwegian throne for 35 years, died last month at the age of 89.
Royal sources say Prince William’s attendance, representing his father King Charles, follows the convention that the monarch does not usually go to the funeral of another head of state.
Large crowds are expected for the farewell to King Harald on 9 September, with a funeral procession to be followed by a service at Oslo Cathedral.
Thousands have queued to pay their respects to the late king, during his lying in state in the chapel of the Royal Palace in the Norwegian capital.
At the funeral, alongside Prince William, will be the widowed Queen Sonja, members of the Norwegian royal family including new King Haakon VIII, and other European royals. The service will be followed by a private burial in Norway’s royal mausoleum in the Akershus Fortress.
This is sort of significant because William isn’t big on attending funerals either. He skipped Jimmy Carter’s funeral, he skipped his own godfather’s memorial service in Windsor, and he came close to skipping Pope Francis’s funeral last year. With the pope’s funeral, William apparently tried to skip because Aston Villa was playing that week. I’m not joking. Many have already theorized that William agreed to go to Harald’s funeral simply because the Sussex family has returned to the UK. As in, William is suddenly very eager to look busy and important. Speaking of, why isn’t Kate going too?
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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