Marrakech – King Mohammed VI has sent a message of condolences to King Haakon VIII of Norway, the Scandinavian country’s new sovereign, following the death of his father, King Harald V, the Royal Palace in Rabat announced Friday.
In his message, the Moroccan monarch said he learned with deep sadness of the death of Harald V, who worked tirelessly throughout his life in the service of the Norwegian people and embodied the unity of the nation. The king conveyed his deep sorrow on this painful occasion.
Writing in his own name and on behalf of the Royal Family and the Moroccan people, King Mohammed VI extended his condolences to King Haakon VIII, Queen Sonja, the Royal Family of Norway, and the Norwegian people.
The message came only hours after Norway announced the death of its monarch earlier today. Harald V, Europe’s oldest reigning monarch, died at Oslo University Hospital at 6:35 a.m. on Friday at the age of 89. He had reigned for 35 years.
His son, Crown Prince Haakon, automatically succeeded him and is expected to reign as King Haakon VIII. Harald leaves his wife of 57 years, Queen Sonja, two children, and five grandchildren. His granddaughter, Ingrid Alexandra, now becomes heir to the throne.
Harald had been hospitalized on August 17 with hemolytic anemia, a rare condition marked by the rapid destruction of red blood cells that brings on fatigue and shortness of breath. He later developed an infection. Crowds gathered outside the palace and laid flowers after officials warned that his condition had turned “extremely serious.”
Born near Oslo in February 1937, Harald was Norway’s first king born on Norwegian soil since the 14th century. He was three years old when the Nazis occupied Norway. His mother fled with him and his sisters to Sweden and then the United States, while his father, Olav, and grandfather, Haakon VII, went into exile in Britain. The family returned home in June 1945.
He took the throne in January 1991 after the death of his father, presiding over decades of oil-fueled prosperity. He retained the motto his father and grandfather had used: “All for Norway.”
Harald married Sonja Haraldsen, a businessman’s daughter, on August 29, 1968, after courting her for nine years and winning his father’s reluctant permission. The couple had two children, Haakon and Märtha Louise.
He earned lasting public affection for his 2011 speech after Anders Behring Breivik’s attacks killed 77 people, when he told mourners that the belief in freedom is stronger than fear.
His death comes at a difficult time for the monarchy. Crown Princess Mette-Marit faced scrutiny in early 2026 over her contacts with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and her son, Marius Borg Høiby, was sentenced in June to four years in prison on two counts of rape and other charges.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre described a nation in mourning, and the government declared a national period of mourning.
Read also: King Harald V: From Wartime Exile to 35 Years on Norway’s Throne
