King Harald V of Norway, who went into exile in the United States as a child during the Nazi occupation of his homeland and refused a string of European noblewomen to marry his school sweetheart, died on Friday (August 28, 2026). He was 89.
The palace said he died at the National Hospital in Oslo at 6:35 a.m.
“For more than three decades as monarch, Harald V demonstrated an unwavering faith in the Norwegian people. He helped us to see the best in ourselves — and in one another. To avoid capture, his mother fled with him and his sisters, Ragnhild and Astrid, first to Sweden and then by boat to the U.S., while Harald’s father and grandfather went into exile in Britain with Norway’s government. That puts me under pressure, but I take it as a challenge.”
Like other royal houses in Europe, the Norwegian monarchs serve a largely symbolic role, enjoying celebrity status while real power in the democracy of 5.5 million rests with an elected parliament. Harald was crowned after his British-born father, King Olav V, died in January 1991, and reigned during an oil-and-gas-driven economic boom in his country. Harald was 3 years old when the Nazis occupied Norway at the start of World War II.
Because my father and grandfather did most things right, “This is not least.
“A whole nation is in mourning and the people of Norway are left with a deep sense of gratitude for a long life in the service of Norway,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said in a statement. File picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting King Harald V during an audience hosted by the Norwegian monarch in Oslo, Norway | Photo Credit: via MEA “It has been my experience that the monarchy stands strong,” he once said.
