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King Harald V’s coffin is now lying in state in the Palace Chapel at the Royal Palace in Oslo, where it will remain until his state funeral on September 9. Cadets from the Norwegian Armed Forces’ military academies are maintaining an honor guard beside the coffin around the clock, while members of the public are welcome to come and pay their respects during visiting hours.
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King Harald’s coffin surrounded by the wreathes from his family.
Several wreaths with white flowers and embroidered ribbons have been placed on either side of the coffin. The most affecting of them was left by Queen Sonja, whose ribbon bore her personal monogram alongside a message in Norwegian that translates in English as “thank you for a good life.” A second wreath, signed from King Haakon, Queen Mette-Marit, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Sverre Magnus, and Marius Borg Høiby, carried a single word: “takk,” meaning “thank you.” NRK noted a third wreath from King Harald’s daughter, Princess Märtha, her husband Durek Verrett and the princess’s three daughters: “Thank you for everything dear father, grandfather and father-in-law. We are so happy for you”
The message from Queen Sonja carries the weight of a love story that spanned nearly seven decades. The two first met at a party in Oslo in 1959 and kept their relationship hidden for years because Sonja was a commoner, the daughter of a clothing merchant. Harald ultimately told his father, King Olav V, that if he could not marry Sonja he would not marry at all. King Olav relented, and the couple wed at Oslo Cathedral on August 29, 1968. They were married for 57 years.
Resting on top of the coffin are the Royal Crown of Norway and the national sword, two pieces of royal regalia that have accompanied every Norwegian monarch in death since 1844. The crown is made of 20-karat gold and decorated with pearls and precious stones. Together, the two objects symbolize the king as the country’s ruler and its defender.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at @rk.passport.