Haakon, 53, succeeded his late father, King Harald, as the new head of the Norwegian monarchy upon the King’s death on Aug. 28
Credit: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB / AFP via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- King Haakon of Norway has acceded to the throne following the death of his father, King Harald, on Aug. 28
- The 53-year-old monarch took the regnal name Haakon VIII
- Rather than a coronation ceremony, on Tuesday, Sept. 1, the new King will take an oath before the Storting, the supreme legislature of Norway, in a consecration ceremony
King Haakon of Norway is the newest European king, but his accession won’t be marked with a coronation like King Charles.
Haakon has succeeded his father, King Harald, who died on Friday, Aug. 28. Following the news of the King’s death, Haakon and his daughter and heir, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, attended a cabinet meeting with members of the Norwegian government at the Royal Palace.
On Tuesday, Sept. 1, King Haakon VIII will take an oath in the consecration ceremony.
Unlike the lavish 2023 coronation held at Westminster Abbey that feted King Charles’ accession to the throne, the ceremony that marks the start of King Haakon’s reign will be much more subdued.
Norway has not held a coronation ceremony since 1906, when King Haakon VII and Queen Maud were crowned and anointed at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim. Two years later, the Storting, the supreme legislature of Norway, struck down the article on coronation in the Constitution.
When King Olav V succeeded his father in 1957, a much simpler consecration ceremony was held, involving a benediction of the new monarch and a sworn oath before the Storting.
King Harald continued the consecration tradition when he took the throne in 1991, alongside his wife, Queen Sonja. Now, King Haakon — who has taken the regnal name King Haakon VIII — is set to follow suit.
Credit: NTB/AFP via Getty Images
During the ceremony, which still takes place at Nidaros Cathedral, the new monarch swears their oath before the Storting, declaring, “I promise and swear that I will govern the Kingdom of Norway in accordance with its Constitution and Laws; so help me God, the Almighty and Omniscient.”
The King’s wife, Queen Mette-Marit, is also expected to be consecrated during the ceremony. Their children, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 22, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 20, are expected to attend; however, Marius Borg Høiby, Mette-Marit’s untitled son from a previous relationship, remains on house arrest after being found guilty of two counts of rape, among other offenses, in June.
Similarly, King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark did not have a coronation ceremony upon his accession to the throne in 2024, after his mother, Queen Margrethe, made the shocking decision to abdicate. Instead, a proclamation of the new reign was made at Christiansborg Palace.
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King Harald died on the morning of Friday, Aug. 28, after several years of health issues and weeks of hospitalization as his condition deteriorated.
The King was hospitalized for the second time this year on Aug. 17, with the Royal House announcing at the time that it was due to side effects from other ongoing medical treatment. At the time, it was said that the King would be on sick leave for two weeks and Crown Prince Haakon was declared the regent in his father’s stead.
Credit: Per Ole Hagen/Getty
Less than a week later, the palace released an update on the monarch, saying that King Harald’s condition had “worsened” and he was receiving antibiotics for a “bloodstream bacterial infection.”
Then, on Aug. 27, the Royal House announced that the King’s health had once again “deteriorated” and his condition was “very serious.” Queen Sonja and Crown Prince Haakon canceled their upcoming royal engagements to be by his bedside and members of the royal family were pictured arriving at the Oslo University Hospital to visit with the King.
Crowds of well-wishers also began laying flowers in Palace Square in Oslo, in front of the royal palace, almost a full day before the news of the King’s death was made public.
Amid his declining health in recent years, King Harald made it clear that he had no plans to abdicate the throne prior to his death, referencing the oath he swore before the Storting in 1991 when he took the throne.
When asked during a royal outing with Prince Haakon in January 2024 if he might pass down the crown like Queen Margrethe of Denmark recently had, the King admitted, “No, I don’t really have it.”
“I stand by what I have said all along. I have taken an oath to the Storting, and it lasts for life,” he said.
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