Photo credit
Photo by Kimm Saatvedt // Det kongelige hoff // The Royal Court // King Harald V Norway 2025
Norway’s Beloved King Harald Dies at 89, Remembered for Groundbreaking LGBTQ Allyship
King Harald V of Norway dies at 89, succeeded by son Haakon VIII. Remembered for groundbreaking 2016 LGBTQ+ speech as first European monarch to publicly endorse equality. Full tribute coverage from The Guardian, NBC News & PinkNews.
Norway and wider royal community are mourning King Harald V of Norway, who has died at the age of 89 after more than 35 years on the throne. The Norwegian monarch passed away on Friday 28 August 2026 at Oslo University Hospital following a blood infection, according to multiple international reports including The Washington Post.
King Harald will be particularly remembered across Norway and beyond for his pioneering stance on LGBTQ+ rights, a position that made him one of Europe’s most inclusive monarchs. In a landmark speech delivered in September 2016, Harald declared publicly that «Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other», becoming the first reigning European monarch to explicitly endorse LGBTQ+ equality from the palace.
His son, Crown Prince Haakon, has now succeeded him as King Haakon VIII, marking the beginning of a new chapter in Norway’s royal history.
The late King Harald’s LGBTQ+ advocacy extended far beyond that single speech. According to PinkNews and The Independent, he consistently used his largely ceremonial platform to champion diversity, refugee rights and religious tolerance throughout his reign. He spoke openly about Norwegians believing «in God, in Allah, in the universe and in nothing», reflecting his commitment to pluralism.
Royal figures across Europe have paid tribute following the announcement. King Charles III of Britain, Harald’s second cousin once removed, issued a statement expressing «profound sadness» and praised the Norwegian king’s legacy of modernisation and inclusion, E! News reported.
Born in 1937, Harald fled Nazi-occupied Norway with his family as a young child, spending early war years in exile in the United States including at the White House. His marriage to Sonja Haraldsen, a commoner, initially sparked scandal but ultimately endeared the couple to the Norwegian public over five decades.
Tributes continue to pour in from LGBTQ+ organisations worldwide, with many highlighting how Harald’s 2016 speech broke royal protocol barriers and gave legitimacy to the community at the highest levels of European monarchy. Flowers and memorial cards have already begun appearing at the Royal Palace in Oslo, according to People Magazine and NBC News.
