Their Serene Highnesses Prince Albert II and Princess Charlène travelled to Oslo on Wednesday, September 9, to attend the state funeral of King Harald V of Norway, joining royalty and dignitaries from across Europe and beyond as Norway laid to rest a monarch who reigned for 35 years.
Ahead of the funeral, Prince Albert ordered flags to be flown at half-mast on the Prince’s Palace and public buildings across Monaco, from 8am to 8pm on the day of the ceremony. The Palace described the gesture as a reflection of the solidarity and friendship between the Kingdom of Norway and the Principality, as well as Monaco’s continued commitment to the historical and diplomatic ties uniting the two states.
The Sovereign and Princess had already extended their condolences directly to King Harald’s son and successor, King Haakon VIII, in a letter sent shortly after Harald’s death on August 28. In it, Prince Albert reaffirmed to the new King the continuity of the relations of esteem, cooperation and mutual respect between Monaco and Norway, while paying tribute to King Harald’s decades of service to his country, singling out in particular his commitment to environmental protection and to the Olympic values of sport, inclusion, cultural diversity and human rights, values Prince Albert said reflected the late King’s deep humanity and would remain an important part of his legacy.
In Oslo, the Prince and Princess joined a wide gathering of European royalty for the funeral itself, held at Oslo Cathedral at 1pm local time. King Harald’s coffin, draped in the red Norwegian royal standard, was carried in procession from the Royal Palace behind a 21-gun salute, followed by King Haakon VIII, Queen Sonja, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Sverre Magnus and Princess Märtha Louise. The service followed the funeral liturgy of the Church of Norway, opening with a nationwide minute of silence and including memorial addresses from the President of the Storting and Norway’s Prime Minister.
Alongside the Monégasque Sovereigns, other attendees included Britain’s Prince William, standing in for King Charles, and Princess Anne, attending in a personal capacity, King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark, King Felipe, Queen Letizia and Queen Sofia of Spain, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium, and King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, alongside representatives of the Japanese and Liechtenstein royal families and a number of heads of state and government, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Following the service, King Harald’s coffin was carried in procession to Akershus Fortress for private burial in the Royal Mausoleum, bringing to a close a period of national mourning that saw more than 46,000 people file past the late King as he lay in state over the preceding week.