Reading Time: 2 minutes
Harald was Europe’s oldest living monarch.
At 89, the king of Norway has died.
He is succeeded by his son, Haakon, who is currently embroiled in a family scandal.
The late king had a reputation as a reformer. He actually fled Norway and lived in the United States as a child.
King Harald Haakon was 89
On Friday, August 28, King Harald died.
“It is with deep grief that we announce that His Majesty King Harald has passed away,” the Royal House of Norway announced.
The statement continued: “King Harald died peacefully at Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet Friday 28 August at 6:35 AM.”
Harald entered what would be his final hospitalization on August 17.
The aging monarch had a blood infection.
Previously, Harald had received a pacemaker.
During a vacation in Malaysia in 2024, the Norwegian monarch fell ill.
Doctors determined that he needed the device, which can restore normal sinus rhythm in patients with specific heart problems.
Later that year, he had shared publicly that he would be reducing his public appearances.
Harald was the head of state since 1991. Born in 1937, he spent much of his childhood in the United States, where FDR granted sanctuary to him, his mother, and his siblings as they fled from the Nazis during World War II.
Who is the new king of Norway?
Crown Prince Haakon Magnus will succeed his late father.
He will take on the title of King Haakon VIII.
The new king of Norway is 53. Though this does not make him the picture of youth, he is decades younger than his father. A Gen X monarch.
Harald earned a reputation as a reformer who helped to lead the way towards the lingering monarchies in Europe showing more transparency with the public.
It remains unclear what sort of royal reputation his son will acquire.
However, the new monarch’s wife will become Queen Mette-Marit.
She unfortunately shows up in the Epstein files.
Not only did she email with the disgraced dead pedophile, but met with him multiple times.
She has expressed regret over the association, making her far from the first. She, too, insisted that she had no idea what sort of malevolent predator Epstein really was.
Harald V’s passing is likely a keen reminder of why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle probably moved home.