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Norway's newly proclaimed King Haakon VIII delivered his first televised address to the nation on Saturday, paying tribute to his father, King Harald V, who died a day earlier at the age of 89.
Speaking with visible emotion, the 53-year-old monarch praised his father as a man who never wavered from his principles. "Above all, you were a person who always stayed true to your values and commitments," Haakon said of the late king.
Haakon reflected on the outpouring of public grief that has unfolded outside the Royal Palace in Oslo since Friday, where more than 20,000 people paid their respects that day alone, and where crowds continued to gather Saturday with flowers, tributes and candles. He described witnessing the scene as "a powerful and moving experience."
He added that the shared mourning offered a measure of comfort. "We are in mourning, yet at the same time it brings comfort and strength that so many are grieving together with us," he said.
The address carried an unexpected personal note: Harald and Queen Sonja would have marked their 58th wedding anniversary on Saturday. Choking back tears, Haakon addressed his mother directly. "Happy wedding anniversary, dear Mum," he said.
Flags across Norway flew at half-mast Saturday as mourners continued adding flowers to the growing memorial outside the palace. Harald, who reigned for 35 years, retained broad public support despite scandals that touched his family in the later years of his rule.
In his remarks, Haakon thanked his father for being "a good dad" to him and his sister, Princess Martha Louise, while acknowledging the weight of the responsibility now before him.
He recalled his father's guidance to the family that each member should forge an individual path. "He constantly reminded us in the family that each of us must do things in our own way. Find our own form. Be ourselves," Haakon said, before declaring simply, "Now it is my turn."
Condolences have arrived from European royal houses and world leaders. U.S. President Donald Trump described Harald as "a strong, proud, and greatly respected man."
Earlier Saturday, Haakon held a series of audiences at the palace with leaders of the Church of Norway, parliament and the Supreme Court.
He also received Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store for a viewing of Harald's casket, which had been transferred to the palace from Oslo University Hospital on Friday evening.
Store was later seen greeting mourners informally outside the palace, moving through the crowd and shaking hands.
A national period of mourning has been declared, though no date has yet been set for Harald's funeral. Haakon is scheduled to swear an oath of allegiance before parliament on Tuesday.
Under Norway's constitutional monarchy, the king holds a largely ceremonial role, with executive authority resting with the elected government.
City halls throughout the country opened condolence books Saturday for members of the public to leave written messages. In Oslo, Mayor Anne Lindboe, who had postponed her own wedding after news of the king's death, was the first to sign the book.
"Dear King Harald, you didn't need a crown to be a king. Thank you so much for everything you have done for our city. We will never forget you," she told reporters she had written.
Among those who followed her, 68-year-old Unni Zetterquist Thorsen said she had thanked the late king for his "patience and strength through difficult times in Norway."
Haakon and his wife, Queen Mette-Marit, are not expected to undergo a coronation ceremony, since Norway abolished coronations in 1908.
Like his father and grandfather before him, however, Haakon could opt to have his reign formally blessed in a ceremony at Trondheim Cathedral, the historic site where Norwegian monarchs were crowned between 1814 and 1906.
Harald had long been regarded as a symbol of an open, tolerant Norway, credited with steering the monarchy toward a more modern and modest public image.
Harald had been hospitalized in Oslo since Aug. 17 with haemolytic anaemia, a condition in which red blood cells are destroyed abnormally quickly, leading to fatigue and shortness of breath. His health had been declining in recent years, prompting him to reduce his official duties.
The royal family has faced a difficult year. Queen Sonja, also 89, was briefly hospitalized in May with heart problems. Queen Mette-Marit, Haakon's wife, has come under scrutiny over past ties to the late American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In June, her son from a relationship prior to her marriage to Haakon, Marius Borg Hoiby, was sentenced to four years in prison for two rapes, a verdict now under appeal. Mette-Marit, 53, who suffers from a serious lung disease, underwent a lung transplant in July.
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