The Royal Palace announced this Sunday that the State funeral of King Harald of Norway, who passed away on August 28, will be held on Wednesday, September 9 at the Oslo Cathedral. Representatives of Norwegian institutions and members of the royal houses of Europe will attend the ceremony, and after the funeral, the remains of the former Norwegian monarch will be buried in the royal pantheon of the Akershus Fortress, where his parents, Olav and Marta, and his grandparents, Haakon and Maud, already rest.

The king is dead, long live the King. Minutes after Harald of Norway was officially declared deceased, his son, and until now crown prince, Haakon, in accordance with the Norwegian constitution, has automatically assumed the head of state, becoming the fourth king of the modern era of Norway after his great-grandfather, Haakon VII, his grandfather, Olav V, and his own father. This very Friday, Haakon VIII will convene the Council of State to sign the acceptance act and deliver his first message to the nation. The until now crown prince, who has just turned 53, receives the Viking throne at the worst moment for the Norwegian monarchy weakened by the situation faced by the until now princess Mette-Marit, who, besides recovering from a lung transplant, has to overcome the situation of her eldest son Marius Borg, who is serving house arrest after being convicted of rape and abuse, and her own crisis after her connections with the sexual criminal Jeffrey Epstein were revealed.