The funeral of Harald of Norway: a gymkhana through Oslo and some tense encounters

BarcelonaHe died on August 28th and until September 9th he has been and will continue to be news. It seems like an eternity for a heart that no longer beats, but the demands of burying a king seem not to allow for greater speed. And even more so in the case of a king like Harald V of Norway, a monarch loved by his people who was in office for 35 years. Perhaps if the farewell were faster, Norwegian society would interpret it negatively. For this reason, the funeral rites of the late king will feature all the necessary pomp and circumstance. Including 21 cannon shots and a whistle from his royal ship.

The date announced by the Norwegian royal house for King Harald's state funeral is September 9th. Throughout all these days, the institution's machinery has worked hard to organize the farewell, which will feature representation from European royal houses and also many others from around the world, with whom the deceased had had plenty of time to establish strong ties during his extensive reign. Among the first to confirm their attendance is the Swedish royal family, which will send no less than 10 members. Beyond the obvious proximity between the two families for geopolitical reasons, there is also blood. King Harald was a second cousin of King Carl Gustaf of Sweden and they had as common ancestors Frederick Francis III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and his wife, Anastasia of Russia. King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, Princess Madeleine with her husband, Chris O'Neill, and Princess Christina – sister of the monarch – and her husband, Tord Magnuson, will be the representatives of the House of Bernadotte.

More (royal) family

The Norwegian royal family, descendants of the House of Glücksburg, are directly related to the deposed Greek royal family –which at the time of closing this text had not yet confirmed the attendees– and to the Danish royal house, which has already announced that they will send King Frederik and his wife, Queen consort Mary. While waiting for the agenda to be finalized, it is not ruled out that the Queen emerita of the Danes, Margrethe, will also attend. The Danish monarchs have had to suspend an official visit to Belgium scheduled for September 8th. The interest in suspending it was mutual on the part of both heads of state, as Philippe and his wife, Queen consort Mathilde, will also be present at Oslo Cathedral. Philippe's grandmother, Princess Astrid, and Harald's mother, Princess Märtha, were sisters.

The Dutch royal family will also have a special presence at the event. Apart from the logical presence of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, heads of state like the deceased, there will also be Crown Princess Catharina-Amalia and her grandmother, the former Queen Beatrix, currently holding the rank of princess since she abdicated in favor of her son. The royal family of the Netherlands has always been very close to that of Norway. King Harald was the baptismal godfather of the late Prince Friso, son of Beatrix and brother of the current King Willem-Alexander. Máxima, for her part, is the godmother of Sverre Magnus, second son of the now Norwegian King Haakon VIII.

Tense meetings

Mette-Marit's meeting with the Grand Dukes of Luxembourg, Guillaume V and Stéphanie, will be curious. In the leaked Epstein papers, conversations from the now Norwegian queen were found stating that their wedding—who were then heirs to the throne—had been extremely boring and that she did not predict a very long marriage for them. He will be accompanied by his father, the Grand Duke Emeritus, Henri, who will go without his wife, Maria Teresa, unless there is any change. From Monaco, in principle, only Prince Albert will attend. You never know if Charlene will be there, finally. It is part of the magic. From outside European borders, it has emerged that there will be a presence from the Japanese imperial house. However, the Japanese representatives at the event will not be Emperor Akihito or Empress Consort Masako. The ancient family will be represented by Akishino and Kiko, who are the emperor's younger brother and his wife.

On behalf of the Spanish royal family, the envoys will be King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, as well as Queen Sofia, the Queen Emerita. In fact, the latter is the result of so many royal intermarriages that she is related to all the other royals in Europe. The King and Queen's daughters are not expected, as they are about to start the school year. It will be curious to see if Juan Carlos makes the effort to attend the funeral or not, and whether the narrative that prevails is that he was not allowed to attend so there could be no photo with the current monarchs or that he simply does not have good enough health to go anywhere other than sailing in Sanxenxo and having lunch with his pals. The non-verbal communication of the hypothetical meeting of the four will also be delightful.

A funeral obstacle course

While all these royal families and political representatives from other countries wait at Oslo Cathedral for Bishop Kari Veiteberg to celebrate the funeral starting at 1:00 PM – together with Olav Fykse Tveit, Presiding Bishop of the Church of Norway –, the day will be quite a bit longer for the family. As has transpired, before the public funeral, a private ceremony is scheduled at the royal palace chapel for the monarch's relatives. Upon finishing, a 21-gun funeral salute will be fired from Akershus Fortress. Once they have finished echoing, the King's coffin will be transported to Oslo Cathedral. This transfer will consist of a very crowded procession in which the deceased's family will be present, as well as figures from Norway's social, political, and religious life, along with some foreign dignitaries.

During the state funeral there will be a minute of silence that will be extended to the whole country. Once the event ends, there will be a procession in reverse of the first one that will lead a group of people –much smaller than the previous one– from the temple to the fortress from the beginning. There is the crypt where Harald, the first king born in Norway in more than 500 years, will be buried with his family and with only a few other European monarchs present. Once this part of the liturgy is concluded, the flags will no longer be at half-mast and will be raised to the top throughout the country. In addition, a double royal salute will be fired and the royal ship Norge will emit a signal that will serve to indicate that everything has ended throughout the length and breadth of the Scandinavian country.

The political magnifying glass

Obviously, one of the main interests in this meeting will be to see what role Queen Consort Mette-Marit plays – a former friend of Epstein, who recently underwent a lung transplant and missed some of the events prior to the official funeral for health reasons – and Marius Borg, the son she already had before marrying the current king and who is currently under house arrest after being sentenced to prison for two rapes and abuse, among other scandals. Also in the spotlight will be Martha Louise, sister of King Haakon, and her husband, a shaman named Durek Verrett, who has publicly stated that he is half-reptile and descends from the Egyptian pharaohs. Verrett, like Mette-Marit, has also recently had health problems: in August he underwent a kidney transplant, which is why he might be absent from his father-in-law's funeral.

Whatever the result of this whole show may be, which perhaps it is better that the beloved King Harald did not have to witness for much longer, Haakon will step out onto the balcony of the royal palace to greet the people, who incredibly continue to show great support for the monarchy. Afterwards, all the leaders and monarchs will dine at the expense of the Norwegian public treasury. What happens then will no longer be broadcast. Enjoy your meal!