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.

Harald of Norway will go down in history as the first heir to the throne who dared to challenge dynastic laws by breaking a centuries-old tradition in European courts and marrying a commoner. It is known to be his only act of rebellion in his 89 years of life. Today, the third king of modern Norway leaves behind his widow Sonia Haraldsen, the young woman he fell in love with in the late 1950s and with whom, after a ten-year effort and obtaining his father’s permission, he married in 1968.

The extraordinary flood on Wednesday in the Himalayas left a trail of 392 dead so far, and more than 1,400 missing. The toll becomes more tragic as Nepal shakes off the mud and China supplies data sparingly. Also explanations.