Norway announces funeral for King Harald V on September 9

King Harald V’s funeral will move through Oslo in a formal procession before ending at the crypt beneath Akershus Fortress. The ceremony will take place on September 9 at 1 p.m. at Oslo Cathedral, where the presiding bishop of the Church of Norway, Olav Fykse Tveit, will officiate.

The day will begin privately at the Royal Palace chapel for the king’s closest family members. The main entrance to Akershus Fortress will then open, followed by a 21-gun funeral salute. Harald’s coffin will travel in a large procession from the Royal Palace to the cathedral, accompanied by members of the royal family, Norwegian public figures and guests from Norway and abroad.

After the cathedral service, a smaller procession will take the coffin to the chapel at Akershus Fortress. A private ceremony there will be attended mainly by family members, European royal houses and a limited number of Norwegian institutional representatives. Harald will be buried in the crypt beneath the fortress church, followed by a double royal salute.

After the burial, the royal family and guests will return to the Royal Palace. The new king, Haakon VIII, and his family will greet the public from the balcony before a reception for government representatives, foreign guests, relatives and other attendees.

The public will be able to view Harald’s coffin at the Royal Palace chapel from Tuesday. It will be moved there on Monday afternoon from the Red Room, where it had been placed after his death. Harald died at Oslo’s National Hospital on Friday morning at the age of 89, after being admitted on August 17.