Flower sellers line the road to Norway’s royal palace as mourners pay tribute to King Harald V

Flower stalls have appeared along Karl Johans gate as grieving Norwegians make their way to the Royal Palace to pay tribute to King Harald V.

Gudson Berisha was the first seller to set up on the route. He usually runs an online flower shop, but said the king’s death gave him the idea of selling flowers to people heading toward the palace.

“I wanted to honor the king. I thought it was sad that people were walking up without flowers,” Berisha told NTB.

The tribute has drawn long queues. A total of 6,960 people filed past King Harald’s coffin in the palace chapel on Saturday, according to the palace. Wait times reached nearly seven hours that morning before falling below an hour later in the day.

By around 11 a.m. on Sunday, visitors faced an estimated five-hour wait. The palace said 3,290 people had passed the coffin by Sunday afternoon, but warned that it was difficult to estimate how the queue and total attendance would develop later in the day.

Queen Mette-Marit and Queen Sonja were due to travel in one of the king’s cars during the funeral procession. The palace said Crown Prince Haakon, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Sverre Magnus and Princess Märtha Louise would walk behind the coffin. It did not say whether several other members of the royal family would join the procession.

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I wanted to honor the king. I thought it was sad that people were walking up without flowers.