King Harald V has died - The Prime Minister’s Speech

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My fellow countrymen and countrywomen,  

His Majesty King Harald V has died.

A whole nation is in mourning.

A whole people is left with a deep sense of gratitude. 

We will remember King Harald for his love of his people.

For his sense of humour and his warmth.

And for his unwavering faith in the Norwegian people. 

That enabled him to help us see the best in ourselves. And in one another. 

 

King Harald was born in Skaugum in Asker on 21 February 1937.

It was the first time in 600 years that an heir to the Norwegian throne had been born in Norway.

He was only three years old when the Second World War reached Norway.

The Royal Family were forced to flee and were separated. 

For nearly five years, the young Prince lived in the US with his mother, Crown Princess Märtha, and his sisters, Ragnhild and Astrid. 

A completely new chapter of his life started when, at the age of eight, he returned to his home country, a Norway that had just been liberated after five years of occupation. 

Harald was a boy like any other boy, but with a very different future ahead of him.

He described himself as being a little shy.

In many ways, his life resembled the lives of others.

Together with his peers, he went to school, enjoyed sports and other outdoor activities, and studied. 

But the whole time he knew that one day he would be the King of Norway.

And even as the Crown Prince he made it clear that he would remain true to himself in the directions he chose. 

We saw this most clearly in his devotion to Sonja.

For nine years he waited, and he fought, to be able to marry the woman he loved. 

And in the end they prevailed – a great triumph for love.

That said a lot about the kind of King that Harald was to become.

A man with respect for tradition, but with the courage to take those traditions into a new age. 

 

When King Olav died in 1991, King Harald spoke openly about his uncertainty as to how he could fill his father’s shoes.

Part of the answer to that was revealed soon after.

In the wake of the devastating New Year’s storm in Northwestern Norway in 1992, the new King went to visit the people who had lost their homes and livelihoods. 

Many remember King Harald in his blue padded jacket and green rubber boots. 

He couldn’t fix what had been destroyed.

But he could be there.

He could look. He could listen.

That was to be a defining feature of King Harald.

He was there in our best moments. And in our worst moments too. 

Just as on 22 July 2011.

We saw a King who was deeply distressed.

He did not try to separate himself from the grief.

He was there inside it, together with all of us.

Our joys and sorrows were our King’s joys and sorrows.

Our King was just that: our King.

 

Like his father and his grandfather before him, King Harald was a monarch of, and for, his time.

He reigned in a Norway that was undergoing great change.

The country grew more prosperous.

The population increased.

We became more diverse.

And old ideas about who could call themselves Norwegian, who belonged, and how people should live their lives, were being challenged.

King Harald helped to give the new Norway a language. 

In his speech at the garden party hosted by the King and Queen in the Palace Park in 2016, he expressed this in a way many still remember today: 

‘Norway is you. Norway is us.’ 

That summed up his fundamental view of the country of which he was the monarch: there was a place for everyone. 

He was a King who listened to us and saw us.

And who cared about us with all his heart.

King Harald stood up for those who risked being marginalised in our society.

He spoke on behalf of those who couldn’t always make their voices heard. 

 

In the past years, it was clear that he was aging.

He did not try to hide it.

But he kept on working as long as he had the strength. 

It is hard not to smile at last year’s photos from Bjørnøya, far out in the stormy Barents Sea.

The Queen went ashore first. To check the conditions.

Then she gave the green light.

And the King followed.

On the quay stood a tractor with a trailer attached. And on the trailer was a picnic bench.

King Harald sat down. And the tractor carried him across the island.

As he said himself, he had been transported in many different kinds of vehicles during his life, but this was a first. 

That was King Harald in a nutshell. He could strike a balance between being stately and being down-to-earth. And he lived up to his motto ‘We give our all for Norway’ in everything he did as our King. 

 

Today, Norway is standing still.

Our hearts go out to Queen Sonja.

To King Harald’s children, grandchildren and extended family.

King Harald has passed away.

But his legacy lives on.

A whole nation stands united in grief and in gratitude.

Today we also open our arms to our new King and Queen, King Haakon VIII and Queen Mette-Marit.

A great responsibility is being carried forward.

They are taking on their new roles at a time of mourning.

They have our full confidence and support. 

It is reassuring to know that King Haakon will reign under the same motto as his father, grandfather and great-grandfather before him – We give our all for Norway.

An era has ended.

A new era is beginning. 

The King is dead. Long live The King!