In his New Year’s address delivered on the evening of December 31, 2022, King Harald spoke to the many challenges facing Norway, Europe, and the world—the climate crisis, the war in Ukraine following the Russian invasion, and the rising number of refugees emigrating to the continent.
In that speech, the monarch, then 84 years old, urged Norwegians not to let fear overwhelm them. According to Harald, it is precisely in times of greatest difficulty that some of the most valuable qualities of Norwegian society emerge: empathy, humanity, and a sense of community. Values that, in his view, have always served as a bulwark against crises and divisions.
These words also aptly describe how the king interpreted his role as monarch. His life story was one of transformation. It is the story of a child forced to leave his home because of the war, of a young prince who had to wait nine years before he could marry the woman he loved, and of a monarch who made closeness to ordinary people one of the pillars of the monarchy.
A close-up of King Harald of Norway
Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images
Under his reign, Norway became even more modern, open, and inclusive
Throughout his long reign, Harald sought to remain close to his citizens, listen to them, and represent a modern, open, and inclusive Norway. Norwegians consider him not only their king, but a deeply familiar figure, holding a cultural significance akin to the late Queen Elizabeth II in the United Kingdom.
Harald V was born on February 21, 1937, in Skaugum, Asker, the residence of the Crown Prince’s family. He was the son of Crown Prince Olav—who would become King Olav V—and Crown Princess Märtha. His grandfather was King Haakon VII. The first prince of Norwegian descent born in 567 years, his birth held special significance for the young Norwegian monarchy. Before him, Olav and Märtha had had two daughters, Princesses Ragnhild and Astrid, but at the time, the law of succession excluded women from the throne. With Harald’s birth, the male line of succession to the crown was secured. In 1990, the Norwegian Constitution was amended to introduce primogeniture without distinction of sex for those born after the amendment took effect. Due to this legislative timing, Crown Prince Haakon, born in 1973, will inherit the throne from Harald ahead of his older sister Märtha Louise, while Haakon’s daughter, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, born in 2004, is ahead of her brother Sverre Magnus.
