The reactions in the European royal houses to the death of King Harald have been swift. Kings Felipe and Letizia, in addition to sending a telegram of condolence, have published a statement on social media expressing their sorrow over the passing of the Norwegian monarch. “With our respect and admiration for his figure, as well as with deep sadness, we express our condolences for the loss of H.M. King Harald V, an example of responsibility, dignity, simplicity, and tireless dedication to the service of Norway and its people, before and during his 35 years of reign. Our condolences, with fraternal affection, to the Norwegian royal family.
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The first to react were his neighbors from the Nordic countries. From Sweden, King Carl Gustaf, Harald’s second cousin, wrote “Both as head of state and as a successful athlete, King Harald was an exceptional representative of his country. He gave everything for Norway.” The Danish court made public King Frederik’s letter of condolence to his second cousin King Haakon, in which, besides highlighting his role as king, they refer to family relations: “Your father meant a lot to my mother and to the two of us. With his warm and subtle humor, and his unwavering serenity, Uncle Harald made others feel comfortable and at ease in his presence. He was an extraordinary man, with a spark in his eyes and a big heart.” Condolences were also made public by King Charles III of England, Willem and Máxima of the Netherlands, Felipe and Matilde of Belgium, and the Grand Dukes of Luxembourg.
The relationship between the Spanish and Norwegian royal families, like that of most European royal houses, goes back several generations; almost all are descendants of Queen Victoria of England. Queen Maud of Norway and Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain, great-grandmothers of Haakon VIII and Felipe VI respectively, were first cousins, and their children, King Olav and Don Juan of Bourbon, maintained a close relationship throughout their lives. There was also a good relationship between King Juan Carlos and King Harald, although not as close as that maintained by their parents, and besides the respective official visits and usual contacts as counterparts, both families coincided in family celebrations. The Kings of Spain traveled to Oslo in 1993 to attend the silver wedding anniversary of the Norwegian Monarch and Sonia, and coinciding with the date, they also attended the Cycling World Championship where Miguel Indurain finished second.
Don Juan Carlos awarded Harald the highest decoration of the Spanish Crown, the Golden Fleece, in 1995, during a State visit made by the Norwegian Monarch to Spain, when he also traveled to Santiago de Compostela and was moved upon seeing the cathedral.
In 1997, Kings Juan Carlos and Sofía, accompanied by Prince Felipe, Infanta Elena with her then husband, Jaime de Marichalar, and Infanta Cristina accompanied by her fiancé, Iñaki Urdangarin, attended the celebration of King Harald’s 60th birthday, which he celebrated with a royal houses meeting that included a three-day cruise through the Norwegian fjords aboard the royal ship ‘Norge’.
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On that same ship, King Harald docked every summer in Palma, where he went to compete in the King’s Cup regattas alongside King Juan Carlos and then Prince Felipe.
The friendship between the third generation has been fading, although it was close during the time Prince Felipe had a relationship with the Norwegian Eva Sannum with whom he attended the wedding of Mette Marit and Haakon. Although it was claimed that Sannum had been invited to the ceremony because she was a friend of Mette-Marit, in reality it was Prince Felipe himself who had introduced his girlfriend, whom he had met in Madrid, to Prince Haakon.
Years later, the then heirs to the Norwegian throne chose Felipe de Borbón as godfather of Princess Ingrid Alexandra, whom the current king accompanied at her confirmation ceremony and also at the celebration of her coming of age. On May 22, 2004, Harald and Sonia, accompanied by Haakon and Mette Marit and Marta Luisa and her then husband Ari Behn attended the wedding of Felipe and Letizia.
King Juan Carlos and Sofía, who made their first State visit to Norway in 1982, during the reign of Olav V, returned to Oslo in 2006, on another State visit, where King Juan Carlos highlighted the “enviable progress” experienced by the country during Harald’s reign. The Norwegian king, in turn, highlighted the “admirable Spanish transition” and the key role played by Juan Carlos I. During the trip, both monarchs visited the first of the five frigates that Spain had built for the Norwegian Navy in what was, until then, the largest export operation in the history of Spanish naval military.
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