Norway says goodbye to King Harald V with a massive procession

BarcelonaNorwegians bid farewell to King Harald V, who died on August 28 at the age of 89 after being hospitalized for a bacterial blood infection. The coffin left the Royal Palace and traveled to Oslo Cathedral, where the State funeral was held. The route is just over a kilometer long, but tens of thousands of people filled the streets to see the funeral procession amidst tight security measures.

The State funeral of the monarch, who was in office for 35 years, brought together dozens of members of European royalty, including the monarchs of Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands, as well as heads of state. Once at Oslo Cathedral, a minute of silence was held in honor of Harald V, and Queen Sonja of Norway, Harald V's widow, visibly moved, placed a rose on the coffin.

One of the main unknowns was what the role of Marius Borg would be, the son that Princess Mette-Marit had before marrying Haakon and who has been sentenced to four years in prison, among other crimes, for rape. One of the most controversial images since the monarch's death was when Borg participated in placing the coffin in the chapel of the Royal Palace of Oslo. This Wednesday, at the State funeral, he did not participate in the funeral procession with the rest of the family, and arrived directly at Oslo Cathedral.

The reign of Harald V began in 1991 and his death came at a time loaded with controversy within the royal family due to an Oslo court's conviction of Borg. Following the accusations against Borg, the royal family distanced the next heir to the throne from her half-brother. Princess Mette-Marit has also been involved in another controversy related to the Epstein case files, in which her name appears more than 1,000 times.

Another controversy linked to the death of Harald V is that of the royal sarcophagi. Harald and Sonja of Norway requested 1.8 million euros to pay for their respective sepulchres, a decision that was criticized by the Norwegian press for the lack of a public tender.

The incident on Zelensky's flight

Various European presidents and heads of state attended the funeral, including the Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had a scare on his trip to Oslo. According to the Norwegian Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, the plane was "about" to be struck by a drone this Tuesday, as it was taking off from Moldova to Norway. Sources from the Ukrainian presidency, however, claim that it is "exaggerated" to say that Zelenskyy was in danger.