Prince William will travel to Oslo on Wednesday, September 9, to represent his father, King Charles III, at the state funeral of Norway's King Harald V, Buckingham Palace confirmed Saturday. The Prince of Wales will be joined by his aunt, Princess Anne, who is attending in a personal capacity as godmother to Norway's new monarch, King Haakon VIII.
The duty falls to William under long-standing royal protocol, which holds that a reigning British monarch does not attend the funerals of other heads of state. It's a role William has taken on before - he represented King Charles at the funeral of Pope Francis in April 2025.
King Harald, who reigned for 35 years and was widely regarded as a modernizing, unifying figure for Norway, died on August 28 at age 89. As monarch, he also served as the constitutional head of the Church of Norway, and his funeral will reflect that role: the state service at Oslo Cathedral will be led by Olav Fykse Tveit, president of the Church of Norway, before a private burial at Akershus Fortress.
King Charles, who has been receiving cancer treatment while maintaining his official calendar, released a statement calling Harald a "much-loved kinsman and friend whose kindness, compassion and deep sense of duty echoed from across the sea and across the decades." Norway's new king, Haakon, gave an emotional televised tribute to his father, simply saying, "Thank you for being such a good dad."
Large crowds have already gathered in Oslo to pay their respects, with thousands passing through the Royal Palace chapel during Harald's lying-in-state. Queen Sonja, his widow of 58 years, will lead the family in mourning.
For a monarchy whose reigning head has, for generations, also carried spiritual responsibility over a national church, Harald's funeral is a reminder that even in an increasingly secular Europe, faith and public duty have remained quietly bound together at the highest levels.
Related Article: Norway's King Harald V, Who Led the Church of Norway for 35 Years, Dies at 89
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