{"id":342027,"date":"2026-09-09T18:18:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T18:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/342027\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T18:18:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T18:18:22","slug":"tearful-queen-sonja-supported-by-grieving-norwegian-royals-at-king-haralds-funeral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/342027\/","title":{"rendered":"Tearful Queen Sonja supported by grieving Norwegian royals at King Harald’s funeral"},"content":{"rendered":"

Queen Sonja<\/a> is saying a final emotional goodbye to her husband, King Harald<\/a>, today in Oslo.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Norway’s late monarch will be laid to rest in a state funeral held at Oslo Cathedral following his death on 28 August at the age of 89. Harald’s wife Queen Sonja was supported by members of the Norwegian royal family, including their son King Haakon<\/a>, as she bids farewell to her husband of 57 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Royals from around the world gathered to pay their respects to the late King, including Prince William and Princess Anne (King Haakon’s godmother) who attended to represent the British royal family.\u00a0<\/p>\n

See the most poignant photos of Norway’s royal family from the day here.<\/p>\n

WATCH LIVE: PRINCE WILLIAM AND PRINCESS ANNE ATTEND KING HARALD’S FUNERAL<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Queen\u00a9 Getty Images<\/p>\n

Queen Sonja was seen gazing out the car window as her late husband’s coffin was transported from the Royal Palace to Oslo Cathedral on Wednesday morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ahead of the main state funeral, the royal family honoured the late King Harald’s memory with a touching tribute. The King’s coffin was previously moved from the Red Room of the Palace to the Palace Chapel where the royals left two wreaths on either side.<\/p>\n

Queen Sonja dedicated a wreath to her husband with a ribbon that read: “Takk for et godt liv”, which translates to English as: “Thank you for a wonderful life”. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Queen\u00a9 NTB\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Queen Sonja looked sombre in sunglasses and a sheer black veil over her face as she rode in the car alongside her daughter-in-law, Queen Mette-Marit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Queen Sonja and King Harald had been married since 1968 and would have celebrated their 58th anniversary on 29 August, one day after King Harald’s death. The Norwegian royal family marked the occasion with a heartbreaking tribute of photos from across their relationship and life together.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“‘I don’t think anyone can live a life without love’ – King Harald, 2013. Today, King Harald and Queen Sonja would be celebrating their 58th. wedding day. Through a long life, they stood by each other’s side. Today, we also remember the love they shared over six decades,” a caption for the post read.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Queen\u00a9 WireImage<\/p>\n

Queen Sonja wore a string of pearls on the day while Queen Mette-Marit opted for a wide-brimmed hat and netted veil over her blonde locks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mette-Marit previously pulled out of her husband King Hakkon’s swearing-in ceremony on 1 September.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She was later seen being driven to the National Hospital in Oslo<\/a> by her husband.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Prince\u00a9 Getty Images<\/p>\n

While Queen Sonja arrived by car, King Haakon walked behind his father’s bier alongside his two children, Prince Sverre Magnus and Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, and his sister Princess Martha Louise, leading the procession.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Representatives of royal houses and heads of state joined the procession, including Britain’s Prince William and Princess Anne, and Denmark’s Queen Mary and King Frederik X.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The procession moved forward in silence as members of the public watched on and bid their own farewell to the King. \u00a0 <\/p>\n

\"The\u00a9 NTB\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra wore all black for the sombre occasion with a netted veil covering her face.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ingrid Alexandra became the heir to the Norwegian throne after the passing of her grandfather.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Crown\u00a9 NTB\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra walked behind the procession alongside her aunt, Princess M\u00e4rtha Louise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both royals had their hair slicked back in elegant up-dos and kept in place with black veiled headbands.\u00a0<\/p>\n

M\u00e4rtha wore a smart black dress and coordinating blazer, opting for a pearl necklace similar to the one her mother, Queen Sonja, wore.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Queen\u00a9 AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Queen Sonja and Queen Mette-Marit stepped out of the car together and made their into the cathedral to farewell the late King Harald.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Media\u00a9 AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Queen Sonja took her sunglasses off beneath her sheer veil, which cascaded down past shoulders. She kept the veil in place with a black hat over her styled hair.<\/p>\n

\"King\u00a9 POOL\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

King Haakon sweetly supported his mother with a comforting hand on her back as the Norwegian royals made their way into the cathedral.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Queen Mette-Marit was there by her husband’s side for the difficult day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Son\u00a9 AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Queen Mette-Marit’s son Marius Borg H\u00f8iby joined the rest of his family for the funeral on Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Marius, who was sentenced to four years in prison in June following a high-profile trial, has been out of jail and under house arrest at the royal estate of Skaugum since July. He was convicted of rape, though he had denied the most serious of the allegations against him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Son\u00a9 AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Marius was seen wearing a suit for the occasion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mette-Marit’s son previously appeared alongside the Norwegian royals as they accompanied Harald’s casket to the Palace Chapel, three days after the monarch’s death.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Harald was not his grandfather by blood, but he became “an important grandfather figure” to him, Se og H\u00f8r<\/a> royal reporter Caroline Vagle told HELLO!.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Man\u00a9 Getty<\/p>\n

Princess M\u00e4rtha Louise’s husband, Durek Verrett, was in attendance<\/a> alongside his wife and her daughters, despite undergoing a kidney transplant in late August.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Love you dad. I will miss all our fun times together,” he previously paid tribute to the late royal online.<\/p>\n

\"Durek\u00a9 Getty<\/p>\n

“M\u00e4rtha’s family has been very supportive and loving. I always feel safe and can talk to them about anything,” Durek previously told HELLO! about his close bond with the royals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I can’t discuss our private conversations, but she has a very wise father and mother,” he added.<\/p>\n

\"Preses\u00a9 AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Queen Sonja and her son King Haakon were warmly greeted by Preses Olav Fykse Tveit and the Bishop of Oslo Sunniva Gylver ahead of the funeral service.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Queen\u00a9 POOL\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Queen Mette-Marit was seen wiping away her tears during the funeral service at Oslo Cathedral.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Norway's\u00a9 POOL\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Queen Sonja said a heartbreaking farewell to her long-time husband as she placed a red rose on his coffin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Queen\u00a9 POOL\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The royal placed a single red rose stem on top of the coffin, which stood out amongst the arrangement of stark white flowers.<\/p>\n

\"Queen\u00a9 POOL\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Queen Sonja’s family were there to support her throughout the funeral service. The royal stayed close by her son and his wife and her two grandchildren, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Today we say goodbye to King Harald V. King Harald’s carriage left the Castle and was taken in procession to the Oslo Cathedral, where the burial will take place,” the Norwegian Royal House shared in a message while the state funeral was underway.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"King\u00a9 WireImage<\/p>\n

King Haakon was a pillar of support for his mother as he held on to her hand outside the cathedral.\u00a0<\/p>\n

British royal family\u00a0
\n \"Prince\u00a9 Getty Images<\/p>\n

Prince William and Princess Anne joined other representatives from European monarchies to walk behind Harald’s bier for the poignant funeral procession.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Prince\u00a9 Getty Images<\/p>\n

William looked smart for the sombre occasion in a suit and tie while Anne, who is King Haakon’s godmother, opted for a fitted black jacket and neck scarf. <\/p>\n

\"Princess\u00a9 Getty Images<\/p>\n

While William was there to represent his father King Charles, in keeping with royal protocol that the sovereign does not attend the funerals of other heads of state, Anne attended in a personal capacity.<\/p>\n

Anne looked smart in her blazer with her signature coiffed hairstyle, accompanied by a black headpiece.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Monaco’s royal family
\n \"Prince\u00a9 Getty Images<\/p>\n

Monaco’s Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene walked side by side alongside royal representatives from around the world for the procession.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Charlene dressed in a modest tailored look with her hair swept back beneath a netted veil.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Charlene\u00a9 Getty Images<\/p>\n

Charlene looked chic in one of her go-to style combinations: a power suit. The royal opted for a fitted long-sleeve jacket that cinched at the waist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sweden’s royal family
\n \"King\u00a9 Getty Images<\/p>\n

As Sweden’s monarch, King Carl XVI Gustaf led the House of Bernadotte for the royal procession in Oslo.<\/p>\n

\"Sweden's\u00a9 AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Sweden’s King was joined by his daughter, Crown Princess Victoria, and her husband Prince Daniel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Like many of the royals, Victoria opted for a netted veil to cover her face, which she paired with a belted black dress and leather hand gloves to keep the cold at bay.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Princess\u00a9 Getty Images<\/p>\n

Princess Madeleine and her husband Christopher O’Neill also made the trip to Oslo to bid farewell to Norway’s late King. <\/p>\n

\"Crown\u00a9 Getty<\/p>\n

Crown Princess Victoria took to the lectern to speak during the service.<\/p>\n

Danish royal family
\n \"King\u00a9 WireImage<\/p>\n

After arriving by the Royal Yacht Dannebrog on Wednesday morning, King Frederik X and Queen Mary of Denmark were accompanied to the funeral by their 20-year-old son, Crown Prince Christian.<\/p>\n

\"Queen\u00a9 Getty Images<\/p>\n

Queen Mary looked elegant<\/a> in her black, tailored coat dress, with a black, circular-rimmed hat. She completed her look with opaque tights and styled her hair in a neat bun.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jordanian royal family
\n \"Queen\u00a9 Getty Images<\/p>\n

Abdullah II of Jordan and Queen Rania of Jordan walked alongside Princess Charlene and other royals for the procession.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Queen\u00a9 Getty Images<\/p>\n

Queen Rania made an elegant appearance in a black midi-length dress, which was fitted at the waist with a thin gold belt. She put on a pair of sunglasses during the walk and carried a matching black bag.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Japanese royals
\n \"Prince\u00a9 Getty Images<\/p>\n

Japan’s Emperor Naruhito was represented at Harald’s funeral by Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko, who walked ahead of Britain’s Prince William and Princess Anne.<\/p>\n

Naruhito had previously attended King Harald’s father, King Olav’s funeral back in 1991.<\/p>\n

\"Princess\u00a9 Getty Images<\/p>\n

Crown Princess Kiko wore a smart blazer and midi skirt which she paired with a black hat. <\/p>\n

Dutch royals
\n \"Queen\u00a9 Getty Images<\/p>\n

King Willem-Alexander, Queen M\u00e1xima and Princess Catharina-Amalia all attended alongside Princess Beatrix for the Dutch royal family.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Queen M\u00e1xima and her daughter both kept their hair in place with matching black headbands. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Beatrix\u00a9 Getty Images<\/p>\n

Princess Beatrix, who was Harald’s third cousin once removed, also made the journey to Oslo.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Queen Sonja is saying a final emotional goodbye to her husband, King Harald, today in Oslo.\u00a0 Norway’s late…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":342028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[126202,71024,9,24,63,71022,122,124,123,1431],"class_list":["post-342027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-king-haakon","tag-king-harald","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queen-sonja","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-royalty"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/342028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}