Thousands visit King Harald’s coffin in Oslo

About 4,500 people had visited King Harald’s coffin by 6:30 p.m. Saturday, according to Norway’s royal household.

Earlier in the day, Norwegian media reported a queue of about 1.2 kilometers outside the palace chapel in Oslo. Palace guards told news agency NTB that people had been waiting around seven hours to pay their respects. By Saturday evening, the wait had fallen to less than an hour.

The chapel remains open until 11 p.m. Saturday. It will also open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday and Monday, and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The royal household announced on Friday that it would extend opening hours ahead of the funeral.

King Harald will be buried at 1 p.m. on Sept. 9 at Oslo Cathedral. Family members, representatives of Norway’s public institutions and guests from abroad are expected to attend. Denmark’s King Frederik, Queen Mary, Queen Margrethe, Crown Prince Christian and Princess Benedikte are among the listed attendees. Harald died aged 89 on Aug. 28 at Oslo’s National Hospital after treatment for hemolytic anemia and a bacterial infection in his blood.