The funeral service for King Harald V of Norway, who died on 28 August 2026, took place in Oslo domkirke (Oslo Cathedral) yesterday, 9 September 2026 at 1 p.m.
The funeral service was officiated by the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Norway, Olav Fykse Tveit, assisted by the Bishop of Oslo, Sunniva Gylver. Cathedral Cantor Marcus André Berg, the Oslo Cathedral Choir, and others also participated. The president of the Storting, Masud Gharahkhani, and the prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, held memorial speeches, while Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden said the prayer for peace (attributed to Francis of Assisi) (in Swedish), while Mathis Eira read a bible text (John 10:14, 28–29) in North Sami. More details about the ceremony can be read in the program here (pdf).
Procession
King Harald V's coffin left the Royal Palace at noon and was taken in procession to Oslo Cathedral. The format of the procession was:
- Mounted police
- The Royal Norwegian Guard's Signal Corps and the Norwegian Armed Forces Staff Band
- The Royal Norwegian Guard's standard with mourning cloth and standard guard
- Honorary Company (His Majesty the King's Guard)
- Chief of the Court Olav Heian-Engdal
- King Harald V's coffin on a palanquin flanked by His Majesty the King's Adjutant's Staff
- HM King Haakon VIII, HRH Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Sverre Magnus and Princess Märtha Louise
- HM Queen Mette-Marit and Queen Sonja in A2 (car)
- Foreign royalty (see below)
- President of the Storting, Masud Gharahkhani, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Supreme Court Justice Toril Øie
- Visiting heads of state or their representatives (see below)
- The Government and Government Council
- Presidency of the Storting
- Representatives of the Supreme Court
- The Speaker of the Sami Parliament and the President of the Sami Parliament, State administrators and the Governor of Svalbard
- Mayor of Oslo Anne Lindboe
- Royal Court senior officials
- Senior representatives of the Armed Forces
Visiting royals in the procession
- HM King Carl Gustav XVI of Sweden
- HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
- HRH Prince Daniel of Sweden
- HRH Prince Carl Philip of Sweden
- HRH Princess Sofia of Sweden
- HRH Princess Madeleine of Sweden
- Christopher O’Neill
- HM King Abdullah of Jordan
- HM Queen Rania of Jordan
- HSH Prince Albert II av Monaco
- HSH Princess Charlene of Monaco
- HM King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
- HM Queen Máxima of the Netherlands
- HRH The Princess of Orange (Princess Catharina-Amalia)
- HM King Philippe of Belgium
- HM Queen Mathilde of Belgium
- HM King Felipe of Spain
- HM Queen Letizia of Spain
- HM King Frederik of Denmark
- HM Queen Mary of Denmark
- HRH Crown Prince Christian of Denmark
- HRH Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg
- HRH Grand Duchess Stéphanie of Luxembourg
- HRH Grand Duke Henri (Emeritus) of Luxembourg
- HSH Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein
- HRH Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein
- HRH Crown Prince Fumihito Akishino of Japan
- HRH Crown Princess Kiko Akishino of Japan
- HRH The Prince of Wales (Prince William)
- HRH The Princess Royal (Princess Anne)
- HRH Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece
Non-royal foreign Heads of State in the procession
- Germany: Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
- Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
- Lithuania: President Gitanas Nausėda
- Moldova: President Maia Sandu
- Estonia: President Alar Karis
- Albania: President Bajram Begaj
- Canada: Governor General Louise Arbour
- Slovenia: President Nataša Pirc Musar
- The Czech Republic: President Petr Pavel
- Latvia: President Edgars Rinkēvičs
- Finland: President Alexander Stubb
- Iceland: President Halla Tómasdóttir
- Georgia: President Mikheil Kavelashvili
- Greece: President Konstantinos Tasoulas
- Poland: President Karol Nawrocki
- Ireland: President Catherine Connolly
- Hungary: President András Baka
Prime ministers
- Denmark: Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen
- Morocco: Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch
- Sweden: Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson
- Thailand: Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul
- France: Sébastien Lecornu
Guest list
I have tried to compile a guest list for the funeral service based on the list published at the Government website (pdf), newspaper surveys including VG's list, calendars and press releases of various royal and princely houses and press agencies. Oslo Cathedral has around 930 seats, but I have focused on the official represenatives of the various countries as well as the closest relatives of the royal family of Norway.
Norway
King Haakon VIII
Queen Mette-Marit
Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra
Prince Sverre Magnus
Queen Sonja
Princess Märtha Louise
Durek Verrett
Princess Astrid Mrs. Ferner
Maud Angelica Behn
Leah Isadora Behn
Emma Tallulah Behn
Marius Borg Høiby
Members of the Haraldsen, Ulrichsen, Lorentzen, Ferner, Høiby, Tjessem, Behn and Verrett families.
Some of the titles are unofficial, such as "First lady" or "First gentleman", and should be regarded as a description only.
Albania
President Bajram Begaj
First lady Armanda Begaj
Algeria
Ambassador Feriel Ryma Yousfi-Ighil
Angola
Ambassador Alcino Isata Conceiçaõ.
Argentina
Ambassador Claudio Giacomino
Australia
Ambassador Dave Matthew Vosen
Austria
President of the Federal Council, Christine Schwarz-Fuchs
Belgium
King Philippe
Dronning Mathilde
Brazil
Ambassador Rodrigo de Azeredo Santos
Bosnia-Hercegovina
Ambassadør Hoda Dedić
Bulgaria
Ambassador Tsvetana Krasteva
Canada
Governor General Louise Arbour
Colombia
Luis Antonio Dimaté Cárdenas
Chile
Ambassador Helmut Lagos Koller
China
Ambassador Zhou Jingxing
Croatia
Gordan Grlić Radman
Cuba
Ambassador Hugo Ramos Milanés
Cyprus
Ambassador Doros Venezis
Czech Republic
President Petr Pavel
Denmark
King Frederik X
Queen Mary
Crown Prince Christian
Princess Benedikte (also Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg)
Count Axel of Rosenborg
Countess Jutta of Rosenborg
Count Carl Johan (the elder) of Rosenborg
Countess Vanessa of Rosenborg
Count Carl Johan (the younger) of Rosenborg
Countess Sidsel of Rosenborg
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen
Egypt
Gamal A. Metwally
El Salvador
Ambassador Claudia Beatriz del Carmen Beltrán Gálvez
Estonia
President Alar Karis
First lady Sirje Karis
EU
Ambassador-designate Peter van Kemseke
Finland
President Alexander Stubb
First lady Suzanne Ines-Stubb
France
Prime minister Sébastien Lecornu
Georgia
President Mikheil Kavelashvili
First lady Tamar Bagratoni (member of a junior branch of the royal house of Bagratoni)
Germany
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
First lady Elke Büdenbender
Ghana
Foreign secretary Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
Greece
President Konstantinos Tasoulas
The Holy See
Cardinal Christophe Pierre
Archbishop Julio Murat, Ambassador to Norway
Hungary
President András Baka
India
Ambassador Gloria Gangte
Indonesia
Ambassador Teuku Faizasyah
Iran
Alireza Jahangiri
Iraq
Ambassador Ali Yassin Mohammed Karim
Ireland
President Catherine Connolly
First gentleman Brian McEnery
Iceland
President Halla Tómasdóttir
First gentleman Björn Skúlason
Italy
Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti
Iraq
Ambassador Ali Yassin Mohammed Karim Al-Rahmani
Israel
Chargé d'affaires Eytan Halon
Japan
Crown Prince Akishino
Crown Princess Kiko
Jordan
King Abdullah
Queen Rania
Kazakhstan
Ambassador Adil Tursunov
Kosovo
Ambassador Nita Luci
Latvia
President Edgars Rinkēvičs
Lesotho
Ambassador Nts'ebo Moshoeshoe (surely related to the royal house, which dynastic name is Moshoesoe)
Liechtenstein
Hereditary Prince Alois
Hereditary Princess Sophie
Lithuania
President Gitanas Nauseda
First lady Diana Nausédiené
Luxembourg
Grand Duke Guillaume
Grand Duchess Stéphanie
Grand Duke Henri
Malta
Marlene Mizzi
Mexico
Ambassador Omar Fayad Meneses
Moldova
President Maia Sandu
Monaco
Prince Albert
Princess Charlene
Montenegro
Vice President of the Parliament Ervin Ibrahimovic
Morocco
Prime minister Aziz Akhannouch
Myanmar
Chargé d'affaires Yin Po Myat
The Netherlands
King Willem-Alexander
Queen Máxima
The Princess of Orange (Catharina-Amalia)
Princess Beatrix
North Macedonia
Ambassador Driton Kuqi
Pakistan
Minister of Communications Abdul Aleem Khan
Palestine
Ambassador Marie Antoinette Sedin
Peru
Ambassador Rolando Ruiz Rosas Cateirano.
The Philippines
Ambassador Enrico T. Fos
Poland
President Karol Nawrocki
Portugal
Foreign secretary Paulo Rangel
Qatar
First secretary at the embassy, Fatima Al-Mohannadi
Romania
Foreign secretary Oana Țoiu
Russia
Ambassador Nikolay Korchunov
Saudi Arabia
Minister of State Prince Turki bin Mohammed Al Saud (grandson of the late King Fahd)
Slovakia
Deputy prime minister Tomáš Taraba
Slovenia
President Nataša Pirc Musar
First gentleeman Aleš Musar
South Korea
Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Nam In-soon
Spain
King Felipe
Queen Letizia
Queen Sofia
South Africa
Ambassador Delores Camilla Kotzé
Sudan
Ambassador Kamal Bashir Ahmed Mohamed Khair
Switzerland
Former president Viola Amherd
Sweden
King Carl Gustaf
Queen Silvia
Crown Princess Victoria
Prince Daniel
Prince Carl Philip
Princess Sofia
Princess Madeleine
Chris O'Neill
Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson
Tord Magnuson
Madeleine Kogevinas (King Harald's first cousin)
Bernhard Mach
Desirée Kogevinas
Countess Marie-Christine Ullens de Schooten
Thailand
Prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul
Tunisia
Foreign secretary Mohamed Ali Nafti
Turkey
Deputy Foreign Minister Mehmet Kemal Bozay
Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
First lady Olena Zelenska
United Arab Emirates
Minister of Tolerance Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubak Al Nahyan
United Kingdom
The Prince of Wales (Prince William)
The Princess Royal (Princess Anne)
USA
Under Secretary of State for foreign affairs Allison Hooker
Vietnam
Ambassador Le Thi Thu
(Please tell if I have missed someone!)
Former monarchies
Bulgaria
Prince Kyril, Prince of Preslav
Katharine Butler (partner of the former)
Rosario Nadal (former wife of Prince Kyril, sponsor of Prince Sverre Magnus)
Greece
Crown Prince Pavlos
Queen Anne Marie
Princess Alexia
Carlos Morales Quintana
Prince Nikolaos
Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg
Princess Alexandra zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (daughter of Princess Benedikte of Denmark)
Serbia
Crown Prince Alexander
Crown Princess Katherine
Official Norway
President of the Storting, President Masud Gharahkhani and all the members of the Storting
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and his Government
Former prime minister Kjell Magne Bondevik
Former prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland
Former foreign ministers
Various former politicians
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Toril Øie and other members of the Supreme Court
Mayor of Oslo, Anne Lindboe
Chief of Defence Eirik Kristoffersen
The county mayors
The Bishops of Norway and former bishops of Oslo, including Andreas Aarflot, who officiated the funeral of King Olav V in 1991 and Gunnar Stålsett, who officiated the wedding of King Haakon and Queen Mette-Marit, in 2001
Leading members of Sametinget (the Sami Parliament) and former presidents
Other
Representatives of other churches and religious communities
Representatives of minorities (Kvens, Roma, Romani)
Representatives of various royal patronages
Several heads of different organisations and associations
Several sports leaders and administrators
Several former and present athletes
Several actors
Friends of King Harald and Queen Sonja
Friends of King Haakon and Queen Mette-Marit
Procession to Akershus Castle Church
After the funeral, the coffin was taken in procession to Akershus Castle Church. Included in the procession were:
- Mounted police
- The Royal Norwegian Guard's Signal Corps and the Norwegian Armed Forces Staff Band
- The Royal Norwegian Guard's standard with mourning cloth and standard guard
- Honorary Company (His Majesty the King's Guard)
- Chief of the Court Olav Heian-Engdal
- Presiding Bishop of the Church of Norway, Olav Fykse Tveit
- King Harald V's coffin on a palanquin flanked by His Majesty the King's Adjutant's Staff
- HM King Haakon together with HM King Carl Gustaf of Sweden and HM King Frederik of Denmark
- The President of the Storting, the Prime minister and the Chief Jusstice of the Supreme Court
- Leading members of the court
- A large group of cars with other guests (17 cars, I think)
In the castle church there was a private ceremony for the royal family and royal guests. The President of the Storting, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the presidents of Iceland and Finland were also present.
The coffin was then lowered into the crypt in the Castle Church. Later the coffin was to be carried into the Royal Mausoleum (which is not in the crypt, but forms a protrusion from the crypt) and placed in the new sarcophagus. Prior to King Harald's funeral the Royal Mausoleum consisted of the sarcophaguses of King Haakon VII and Queen Maud and of King Olav V and Crown Princess Märtha. See Slektshistoriewiki for more details (in Norwegian) and photos. Details of King Harald's sarcophagus will be given later.
After the ceremony in Akershus Castle Church, the king and queen came out into the courtyard of Akershus Fortress. Flags flying at half staff were raised to full staff and a double royal salute (21 x 2 shots) was fired. At the same time, church bells throughout Norway rang for one hour.
Then King Haakon, Queen Mette-Marit, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Queen Sonja and Prince Sverre Magnus were driven back to the Royal Palace along the same route that the procession had taken.
Some minutes before 5 p.m. they came out on the balcony to greet the people. Afterwards the king and queen held a reception for representatives of official Norway, visiting heads of state, royals and family.
© 2026 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth.
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