King Harald V’s death created a major shift in the Norwegian royal family, including a title change for his wife, Queen Sonja.
The late king passed away on 28 August at the age of 89 after being hospitalised with a rare blood condition called haemolytic anaemia. Queen Sonja joined other senior members of the royal family on Tuesday to witness her son, King Haakon, and her granddaughter, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, take the constitutional oath as the new King and heir apparent to the throne respectively.
During her husband’s 35-year reign from 1991, Sonja used the official title “Hennes Majestet”, translated in English to “Her Majesty”.
© Getty ImagesMette-Marit, Haakon, King Harald V and Queen Sonja
Following Harald’s death and her son Haakon’s accession to the throne, the royal will go by Queen Sonja and no longer holds the style of “Majesty”, which is reserved for Norway’s reigning monarch and their spouse. The styling now belongs to Haakon’s wife, Mette-Marit.
HELLO! has reached out to the palace for comment.
© Getty ImagesQueen Sonja and her daughter-in-law Mette-Marit
New royal titles
The late King Harald and Queen Sonja’s son Haakon assumed the new title of King Haakon VIII upon his father’s death last week. On Tuesday, the new King took his oath to the constitution.
“I promise and swear to govern the Kingdom of Norway in accordance with its constitution and laws, so help me God the Almighty and the All-Knowing!” the oath read, translated from Norwegian.
He added: “The Queen and I confirm that we are available to carry out our duty for the country and the people.”
© NTB/AFP via Getty ImagesKing Haakon VIII of Norway takes the oath as his daughter Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway looks on
His 22-year-old daughter, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, joined her father in taking the oath of allegiance. In the wake of her grandfather’s death, the young royal’s title is now HRH The Crown Princess.
While her husband and daughter marked a major new milestone, Mette-Marit was absent from the swearing-in ceremony due to complications following her lung transplant operation, the Royal House said in a press release. Pulmonologist Are Holm at the National Hospital said: “It is not uncommon for complications to occur after a lung transplant.
“The Queen has had complications on some occasions since the operation, including today. As a result, the Queen must be observed throughout the day. The Queen will therefore unfortunately not be able to attend the swearing-in ceremony in the Storting today.”
Queen Sonja’s final message for her late husband
© NTB/AFP via Getty ImagesQueen Sonja’s message for King Harald
The royal family will bid farewell to Harald with a main state funeral on 9 September.
Ahead of the main funeral, Queen Sonja paid tribute to her late husband of 57 years on Monday with a touching personal message on a wreath left by Harald’s coffin at the Palace Chapel. Her message was monogrammed on a ribbon which read: “Takk for et godt liv”, translated to English as: “Thank you for a wonderful life”.