Five-hour wait to pay respects at King Harald V’s coffin

Visitors wanting to file past King Harald V’s coffin at the Palace Chapel had to expect a wait of about five hours on Sunday morning.

A Palace employee confirmed the estimate to an Aftenposten reporter at the site. The Palace expects the queue to become considerably shorter later in the afternoon and is encouraging visitors to spread their visits across the day and evening.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II will attend Harald’s funeral on Wednesday, the Jordanian royal household told NTB. Harald made his final state visit to Jordan in 2020, shortly before the coronavirus pandemic began. During that visit, Abdullah showed the Norwegian royal couple the site on the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized. Harald himself was baptized with holy water from the river, in keeping with Norwegian royal tradition, and both Harald and Queen Sonja received a blessing there.

The royal regalia displayed beside Harald’s coffin also carry a formal significance. Researcher Øystein Ekroll of the Nidaros Cathedral Restoration Workshop told NTB that rituals surrounding a monarch’s death must be performed correctly, at the right time and in the right place. The crown and the sword of state symbolize the king’s power and dignity, as well as the monarchy’s role as a state institution.

Preparations for Wednesday’s funeral continued across Oslo during the weekend. Workers were building a canopy and steps at Oslo Cathedral, where the ceremony will take place, while a large tribune was being constructed in the square outside.

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Rituals are things that must be done in the right way, at the right time and in the right place. Therefore, it is very important that what is done after the king’s death is done correctly.