Like other royal houses in Europe, the Norwegian monarchs serve a largely symbolic role, enjoying celebrity status while real power in the democracy of 5.5 million rests with an elected parliament.<\/p>\n
Harald was crowned king after his British-born father, King Olav V, died in January 1991, and reigned during an oil-and-gas-driven economic boom in his country.<\/p>\n
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Crown Prince Harald of Norway on his 21st birthday in 1958.Bettmann Archive \/ Getty Images file<\/p>\n
Harald was born in 1937 in Asker, near Oslo, becoming the first Norwegian prince to be born in the country since King Olav IV in 1370. In the following centuries, Norway didn\u2019t have a king of its own until Harald\u2019s grandfather, Haakon VII, was elected king following the 1905 dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway.<\/p>\n
Harald was 3 years old when the Nazis occupied Norway at the start of World War II. To avoid capture, his mother fled with him and his sisters, Ragnhild and Astrid, first to Sweden and then by boat to the U.S., while Harald\u2019s father and grandfather went into exile in Britain with Norway\u2019s government.<\/p>\n
Haakon\u2019s refusal to go along with German demands garnered respect among his people.<\/p>\n
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King Olav V of Norway and his son Prince Harald in London in 1963.Evening Standard \/ Hulton Archive via Getty Images file<\/p>\n
During their time in the U.S., the Norwegian royals were often guests at the White House. Harald was 6 when he carried out his first official duty, christening new warplanes at a Norwegian air base in Canada.<\/p>\n
The family was reunited in Norway in June 1945, shortly after the end of the war. Harald attended public schools, the Norwegian military college and Oxford University.<\/p>\n
Like his father \u2014 an Olympic champion sailor in 1928 \u2014 Harald loved the sea and sailboats. He represented Norway at several Olympics, and in 1987 he skippered his yacht to gold in the World Championships.<\/p>\n
As a young man, Harald was urged to find a bride among the princesses of Europe. For nine years he shunned a series of noblewomen, holding out until he finally won his father\u2019s permission to marry his school sweetheart, Sonja Haraldsen, the daughter of a successful businessman.<\/p>\n
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Norway’s Crown Prince Harald and Sonja Haraldsen after the announcement of their engagement, in Oslo in 1968.NTB \/ AFP via Getty Images file<\/p>\n
King Olav had feared the marriage would weaken Norway\u2019s still-young monarchy. Instead, Norwegians greeted the Aug. 29, 1968, wedding with jubilation, and later embraced Sonja as their queen. The couple had two children, Haakon and his older sister, M\u00e4rtha Louise.<\/p>\n
The Norwegian Constitution was altered in 1990 to allow the first born, regardless of gender, to take precedence in the line of succession. However, it was not applied retroactively, meaning that Haakon continued to take precedence over his sister.<\/p>\n
When Harald assumed the throne on Jan. 21, 1991, he adopted the same motto his father and grandfather had used: \u201cAll for Norway.\u201d He spent the next years trying to modernize the monarchy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been my experience that the monarchy stands strong,\u201d he once said. \u201cThis is not least because my father and grandfather did most things right. That puts me under pressure, but I take it as a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harald won the praise of the country with an emotional speech at a memorial service after a right-wing extremist, Anders Behring Breivik<\/a>, killed 77 people in bomb and gun attacks in Norway in 2011.<\/p>\n \u201cI remain convinced that the belief in freedom is stronger than fear. I remain convinced in the belief of an open Norwegian democracy and society. I remain convinced in the belief in our ability to live freely and safely in our own country,\u201d the king said.<\/p>\n In 2016, Harald gave an unexpected and impassioned speech<\/a> in support of LGBTQ+ equality, refugees and religious tolerance, saying \u201cNorwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other.\u201d He added that many Norwegians have emigrated from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Poland and other countries and that they \u201cbelieve in God, Allah, the universe and nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n The public speech extolled the diversity of the Scandinavian nation and was viewed on social media by millions.<\/p>\n During his reign, the royal family suffered relatively few of the scandals that have plagued their peers in the Swedish and British royal families, though Harald\u2019s daughter M\u00e4rtha Louise gave up royal duties after raising eyebrows by saying she could communicate with angels and becoming engaged to an American man who identifies as a shaman.<\/p>\n The Norwegian royal family did face unflattering attention in early 2026 as Harald\u2019s daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Mette-Marit<\/a>, faced renewed scrutiny<\/a> over her connections with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. That raised questions over her judgment, though she is not accused of any wrongdoing. Mette-Marit apologized<\/a> for the situation she put the royal family<\/a> in, part of a broader apology for all those she had \u201cdisappointed.\u201d<\/p>\n At around the same time, her eldest son, Marius Borg H\u00f8iby<\/a>, was convicted of rape in a high-profile trial and sentenced to four years in prison. H\u00f8iby, Mette-Marit\u2019s son from a previous relationship before she met Haakon, has no royal titles or official duties.<\/p>\n![\"Norwegian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/260828-norway-royals-rs-da52ae.jpg\")
From left, Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Queen Sonja of Norway and King Harald V of Norway, in Oslo in 2016.J\u00f8rgen Gomn\u00e6s, the Royal Court \/ Getty Images file<\/p>\n
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King Harald was Europe\u2019s oldest monarch.Julian Parker \/ UK Press via Getty Images file<\/p>\n