Norway’s new king has addressed the nation following the death of his father, King Harald V.
In a deeply personal speech, King Haakon paid tribute to his father as a parent, grandfather and monarch, while also reflecting on the responsibility he now assumes and the values he hopes will define his reign.
The speech was warmly received. NRK commentator Lars Nehru Sand called the new King a “first class communicator”, following the “credible and genuine” speech.
Crown Prince Haakon became King Haakon VIII following the death of his father, King Harald V in the early hours of Friday morning.
The speech was delivered in Norwegian. Here is an unofficial translation of the speech in full:
King Haakon's First Speech
Dear everyone,
Yesterday morning at 6:35, His Majesty King Harald V, my father, whom I loved so dearly, passed away.
We are grieving. At the same time, it brings comfort and strength to know that so many are grieving with us. It has been a powerful and moving experience to see the Palace Square filled with people, flowers, messages and candles. Thank you so very much.
My dear father, thank you for being such a wonderful dad to Märtha and me. Warm and reassuring. You were also a gentle and funny grandfather. A loving and considerate husband. A generous father-in-law. A brother and uncle whom everyone loved spending time with. You were the head of our family, and together with my mother you embraced us all and brought us together with a natural authority that perhaps you were not entirely aware of yourself.
Above all, you were a person who always stood firmly by your values and your commitments. You supported and looked after all of us. It makes me proud to think of everything you endured — and everything you stood up for.
I am going to miss him. I will miss his laughter. His warm, understated way of meeting people and dealing with situations. My father always made the people around him feel at ease.
He was a good listener. Especially when he met children and young people, for whom he had a special place in his heart.
That large, warm royal hand would gently reach out to young and old alike when they needed an extra handshake. He treated everyone with respect and generosity — and never made distinctions between people.
He travelled to comfort those affected by a hurricane — dressed in a padded jacket and rubber boots.
He apologised to the Sámi for the injustices committed against them — on behalf of us all.
He cried with us after we lost so many at Utøya and in the government quarter.
He brought us together by putting into words who we Norwegians are.
I picture him in his sailing boat — wearing a cap and sunglasses, his laughter ringing out. There he could simply be himself, recharge his batteries and experience immense joy, competing alongside other passionate sailors.
And I picture his enormous smile as he lay in a hammock in the Amazon, where he finally fulfilled his childhood dream of spending a few days living with the Yanomami people. It was a dream born from his commitment to protecting the world's animals and natural environment.
I know that many of you will miss these things too.
Across the country — and around the world — there are thousands of people today who treasure their memories of meeting him more than ever. Memories that will live on in people's hearts and in their family stories.
As King, my father represented Norway and the Norwegian people with pride and joy. Through visits around the country, at events here at the Palace, and while working on behalf of Norway abroad.
In driving snow at the cross-country skiing stadium.
On the Palace balcony on 17 May.
On a state visit with Nelson Mandela.
It was also a great source of strength for him to have my mother, Queen Sonja, as his life partner and to share his duties with her. Together they became a strong royal couple who complemented one another well.
I know how much she meant to King Harald, and how much she helped him remain so steady in his life's work. In the life's work they shared.
Today marks 58 years since they were married. Happy anniversary, dear Mum.
King Harald accompanied our country through a period of enormous change. From the moment he stepped ashore at Rådhuskaia as an eight-year-old on his return home after the Second World War until today, Norway has undergone tremendous positive development.
Today we are a welfare society in which people from different backgrounds live together and find ways to understand one another.
At the same time, the world is once again more uncertain and unpredictable than it was during most of King Harald's reign. That affects us here in Norway too, and has brought with it a renewed sense of seriousness.
Now that my father has passed away, a great responsibility awaits me.
He often reminded those of us in the family that each person has to do things in their own way. Find their own form. Be themselves. He succeeded his father, King Olav, who in turn succeeded his father, King Haakon.
Now it is my turn.
I am deeply grateful to have my family around me, and for the tremendous support that Queen Mette-Marit and our children give me.
I would also like to thank my mother and my sister for the strength they share at a time when they themselves are in the midst of grief over the loss of a beloved husband and father.
Our family has learned how important it is to stand together in order to remain strong — both within ourselves and for one another. Also in difficult times.
Our unity is a great source of strength for the work we are to do for Norway.
After King Harald's long and eventful service as King, it is now we who will accompany one another into a new era. Queen Mette-Marit and I want to be present and to listen.
The Queen, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra and I will always seek to understand the different circumstances in which people live their lives.
None of us knows today what we who live in this country will face together. But what we do know is that we will accompany one another through both good days and difficult ones.
We believe in a Norway that is firmly rooted in our history, in everything that has shaped us over time.
We believe in government by the people — and in democracy.
We believe in a society built on law and justice — and in which every person is of equal worth.
A society in which we see and recognise one another's strengths, so that together we can create a Norway in which everyone can contribute and feel at home.
We believe in a Norway with room for everyone.
We shall draw strength from our sense of community — and know within ourselves that we are one people.
Dear everyone,
Today I feel an immense sense of gratitude towards those who came before me. Each was a king for his time. They were loved and respected, and they meant a great deal to many people. I have learned much from every one of them.
Like King Haakon, King Olav and King Harald, I take as my motto: “All for Norway.”
“All for Norway” means fighting to ensure that everyone in Norway has the opportunity to live a free life. It also means accepting our responsibility as a nation to make a positive contribution to the world.
And, ultimately, it means being willing to risk everything, even one's life, for Norway's freedom and independence.
For its peace we stand guard.
Today, we are a family in mourning, and a people in mourning.
We thank King Harald for everything he was and everything he did — for Norway, and for everyone in our country.
With God's help and the support of the people, I look ahead to the great responsibility that lies before me. I ask that we all unite around the old wish:
May God preserve our country.
