(Photo by: Heiko Junge / NTB)
Friday morning, at 6:35 a.m., His Majesty King Harald V, my father, whom I loved so dearly, passed away. We are in mourning. At the same time, it gives us comfort and strength to know that so many people mourn with us. It has been a powerful and deeply moving experience to see Palace Square filled with people, flowers, messages and candles. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
By Boa M. Kalvik
Dear Father, thank you for being such a wonderful father to Märtha and me. Warm and dependable. You were also a gentle and humorous grandfather; a loving and caring husband; a generous father-in-law; and a brother and uncle with whom everyone loved spending time.
You were the head of our family, and together with my mother, you embraced and brought us all together with a natural authority that perhaps you were not entirely aware of yourself. Above all, you were a person who always remained true to your values and your commitments. You supported and cared for us all. It makes me proud to think of everything you endured — and everything you stood up for.
I will miss him. I will miss his laughter. I will miss his warm and gentle way of meeting people and dealing with situations. My father always made those around him feel at ease.
He was a good listener, especially when meeting children and young people, for whom he had a special place in his heart.
His large, warm royal hand was gently extended to both young and old whenever someone needed an extra hand to hold. He met everyone with respect and generosity — and never made distinctions between people.
He travelled to comfort those affected by hurricanes — dressed in a padded jacket and rubber boots.
He apologised to the Sami people for the injustices committed against them — on behalf of us all.
He wept with us after we lost so many people on Utøya and in the Government Quarter.
He brought us together by putting into words who we Norwegians are.
I picture him in his sailing boat — wearing a cap and sunglasses, laughing heartily. There, he could simply be himself, gaining energy and experiencing immense joy in competition with other passionate sailors.
And I remember the image of his broad smile as he lay in a hammock in the Amazon — where he finally fulfilled his childhood dream of spending a few days living alongside the Yanomami people. A dream born out of his commitment to protecting the world’s animals and nature.
I know that many of you will also miss much of this.
Throughout the country — and around the world — there are thousands of people who today cherish even more deeply the memories they have of meeting him. Memories that will live on in people’s hearts and in their family histories.
As King, my father represented Norway and the Norwegian people with pride and joy. Through visits throughout the country, at events here at the Royal Palace, and in his work for Norway abroad.
In driving snow at a cross-country skiing stadium.
On the Palace balcony on 17 May.
On a state visit with Nelson Mandela.
It was also a great source of strength for him to have my mother, Queen Sonja, as his life partner and someone with whom to share his life’s work. She helped ensure that together they became a strong royal couple, complementing one another so well. I know how much she meant to King Harald’s ability to stand so firmly in his life’s service — in the life’s work they shared.
Today marks 58 years since they were married.
Happy wedding anniversary, dear Mother.
King Harald witnessed our country through a period of enormous change. From the moment, as an eight-year-old boy, he set foot on the quay at Oslo City Hall upon returning home after the Second World War — until today — Norway has undergone tremendous positive development.
Today, we are a welfare society in which people from different backgrounds live together and find ways to make life work alongside one another.
At the same time, the world has once again become more insecure and unpredictable than it has been throughout most of King Harald’s reign. This also affects us here in Norway and has brought a new sense of gravity into our lives.
Now that my father has passed away, a great responsibility awaits me.
He constantly reminded us in the family that each person must do things in their own way. Find their own form. Be themselves.
He succeeded his father, King Olav — who, in turn, succeeded his father, King Haakon.
Now it is my turn.
I am deeply grateful to have my family around me, and for the tremendous support that Queen Mette-Marit and our children give me.
I would also like to thank my mother and my sister for the strength they share, even as they themselves stand in the midst of their grief over the loss of a beloved husband and father.
Our family has experienced the importance of standing together in order to stand strong — both within ourselves and for one another.
Especially in difficult times.
Our unity is a great strength in the work we are to do for Norway.
After King Harald’s long and distinguished reign, it is now **we** who must accompany one another into a new era.
Queen Mette-Marit and I wish to be present and attentive. The Queen, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra and I will always strive to understand the different circumstances and realities of people’s lives.
No one knows today what those of us living in this country will face together.
But what we do know is that we shall stand by one another through both good days and difficult ones.
We believe in a Norway firmly rooted in our history and in everything that has shaped us over time.
We believe in government by the people — and in democracy.
We believe in a society built upon law and justice — where every person is of equal worth.
A society in which we recognise and value one another’s strengths — so that together we can create a Norway in which everyone has the opportunity to contribute and feel at home.
We believe in a Norway where there is room for everyone.
We shall know the strength of our community — and know within ourselves that we are one people.
Dear everyone,
Today, I feel profound gratitude towards those who came before me.
Each of them was a King for his time. They were loved, respected and meant a great deal to many people. I have learned much from all of them.
Like King Haakon, King Olav and King Harald, I adopt the royal motto:
All for Norway
“All for Norway” means fighting to ensure that everyone in Norway has the opportunity to live a free life. It also entails a responsibility to ensure that we, as a nation, make a positive contribution to the world.
And it means — in the final consequence — being willing to risk everything, including one’s life, for Norway’s freedom and independence.
Today, we are a family in mourning, and a people in mourning.
We thank King Harald for everything he was and everything he did — for Norway and for everyone in our country.
With God’s help and the support of the people, I look forward to the great responsibility that lies ahead of me.
I pray that we may all unite around the ancient wish:
May God preserve our country.