Harald had not yet turned six when World War II disrupted his life. In April 1940, German troops invaded Norway. While his grandfather Haakon VII and his father, Crown Prince Olav, headed to London, he, along with his mother and two sisters, left for the United States. There he became acquainted with Washington, Bethesda, American education, and his first official duties with Norwegian soldiers.
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In June 1945, the young prince returned to his country and became the first member of the royal family to attend a public school. He continued his secondary studies in Oslo before training both at university and at Norwegian military schools. Later, he completed his education at Oxford, where he studied history, economics, and political science, but it was in water sports where the young prince particularly excelled.
Passionate about sailing since childhood, he represented Norway at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, Mexico in 1968, and Munich in 1972, as the flag bearer of his country and captain of boats that projected the image of an athletic and popular monarchy. Later, as king, he continued competing in regattas, accumulating European and world titles in yachts, maintaining a nautical career that extended well beyond his 80s. A skier, hunter, and fisherman, Harald has cultivated the image of a monarchy close to nature, rooted in its mountains and fjords.
On a personal level, his life was marked by a long emotional battle. In 1958, Crown Prince Harald met, at friends’ house, a young brunette with hazel eyes: Sonja Haraldsen, daughter of a merchant from Oslo. It was love at first sight. But for King Olav, that union was unthinkable: Sonja was not of royal blood. The government wondered what to do, public opinion was moved, the press mentioned other possible princesses. Harald stood firm.
For nine years, he opposed his father. At 30, he issued an ultimatum: either he married Sonja, or he would never marry. In a dynasty with no other direct heir, this decision even threatened the continuity of the monarchy. Olav eventually gave in. On August 29, 1968, Harald and Sonja’s wedding was held at Oslo Cathedral. Through this union, Norway saw its monarchy come down from an immutable pedestal to approach the real life of its subjects.
The couple had two children: Princess Märtha Louise, born in 1971, and Prince Haakon, future heir, born in 1973. They grew up in a family where sailing, skiing, and outdoor life were as important as official ceremonies. But preparation for the royal role was constant. After the death of Haakon VII in 1957, Olav became king, and Harald, at 20, became crown prince. From an early age, he attended cabinet meetings, assumed the regency when his father was absent or ill, and made official visits. He learned a role that is both symbolic and a constitutional discipline.
On January 17, 1991, fate took a turn. Olav V died at 87. From the first hours of his reign, Prince Harald, now king, had to organize national mourning while affirming his own legitimacy. On June 23, 1991, he was crowned at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, the historic site of Norwegian kings. He resumed the family motto: “Alt for Norge” — “All for Norway” — and immediately decided to modernize an institution with an essentially symbolic role, without direct political power, but with real moral influence.
The king bet on transparency by publishing the royal household’s accounts and regularly opening the palace to the public. He renovated and made available to Norwegians and tourists several royal residences. He used his speeches — particularly the year-end and Parliament opening addresses — to promote tolerance and ecology, especially involving himself in environmental defense. He also adapted the institution to social changes: it was under his reign that equal succession was adopted, allowing his granddaughter Ingrid Alexandra to someday become queen of Norway.
Harald refused to reproduce the rigidity that marked his own youth. When his son Haakon introduced him to Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, a young woman who was already a mother of a small child and had a turbulent past, the king decided to support this union rather than oppose it. He confirmed once again that the Norwegian monarchy was not disconnected from reality. Likewise, he respected the decision of his daughter Märtha Louise, who renounced her royal highness title to pursue an independent career, between literature, spirituality, and entrepreneurship.
But it is especially in times of crisis that the figure of Harald V took on its full meaning. The day after the July 22, 2011 attacks, which shook Oslo and the island of Utøya, the king became a moral reference. His unifying speeches called for calm, unity, and the defense of an open society. He reminded that freedom was stronger than fear, that Norway must remain an inclusive and welcoming democracy. His presence alongside families, his willingness to listen, and his support deeply moved the population and durably reinforced his popularity.
However, the moral compass of which the king is guardian would be undermined at the end of his reign. The crown is going through the worst crisis in its history, shaken by scandals and embarrassing revelations involving some of its members. The 2026 publication of documents in the United States revealed constant and sometimes intimate correspondence between Princess Mette-Marit and the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein between 2011 and 2014. The princess also had to deal with the legal problems of her son, Marius Borg Høiby, who was sentenced that same year to four years in prison without parole for two rapes and 32 other charges.
These cases have sparked an unprecedented debate in the political sphere and Norwegian public opinion about the legitimacy and future of the institution. Although most Norwegians remain attached to the crown and constitutional monarchy, criticisms arise demanding deep reforms to prevent such excesses. Those who dream of a republic even denounce the inherent problems of a monarchical regime.
In recent years, Harald V also had to deal with the progressive deterioration of his health, which led him to reduce his official agenda. On several occasions, his son Haakon assumed the regency, in accordance with the Constitution, and is now expected to succeed him. Despite his problems, the king always refused to abdicate, faithful to his grandfather’s formula, considering that one is king “until death.” A way to respect the oath taken before the Storting (Parliament) and to maintain, in a very modern country, symbolic continuity.
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