King Harald V of Norway dies at 87

King Harald V of Norway has died, according to the European country's royal court.

His son is now King Haakon VIII.

"King Harald passed away peacefully at Oslo University Hospital on Friday, 28 August," the royal palace said on its website.

Harald, who was Europe's oldest living monarch, was taken to hospital on August 17.

The palace said he was treated for a bacterial infection in his blood.

"A whole nation is in mourning, and the people of Norway are left with a deep sense of gratitude for a long life in the service of Norway," the country's Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, said in a statement.

"For more than three decades as monarch, Harald V demonstrated an unwavering faith in the Norwegian people. He helped us to see the best in ourselves — and in one another.

"My thoughts and deepest sympathy are with the Queen and the entire Royal Family at this difficult time."

In 2024, he was hospitalised for an infection while on holiday in Malaysia and received a temporary pacemaker at a hospital there.

He was flown home by the Norwegian armed forces and later fitted with a permanent device.

That same year, Harald, Norway's ceremonial head of state since 1991, said he would reduce his official engagements but ruled out abdication, insisting that his oath as king was for life.

Turbulent times for Norway's royals

Harald's death comes at a tumultuous time for the royal family.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit, married to Haakon, is facing intense scrutiny for her friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a relationship for which she has apologised.

Her son Marius Hoiby, born from a relationship before her marriage to Haakon, was found guilty in June of two out of four counts of rape and one count of domestic violence and sentenced to four years in prison after a seven-week trial. Both he and the prosecution have appealed against the sentence.

Two days after Marius was convicted, the palace said Mette-Marit had undergone a successful lung transplant, without specifying when the procedure took place.

After several weeks of recovery, she returned home from hospital and celebrated her silver wedding anniversary with Haakon in August.

Support for the monarchy dropped to 60 per cent in February, from 70 per cent the previous month, according to a Norstat poll published by public broadcaster NRK. That number rose to 64 per cent in May.

Harald had constantly remained popular with Norwegians.

According to the February poll, he was the royal who best represented the Norwegian royal family, with a score of 9.2 on a scale of 1 to 10.

New king expected to keep Haakon as regnal name

Harald's son Haakon, 53, will be Norway's fourth king since the country gained independence from Sweden in 1905, with Mette-Marit, also aged 53, as his queen.

The new king was born Haakon Magnus on July 20, 1973, and went to a state primary school, as is expected of royals in the egalitarian Scandinavian nation — though his secondary school was private.

He joined the navy before studying politics at the University of California, Berkeley and, later, development studies at the London School of Economics.

Haakon developed an early love of music and surfing. He has said that if he were not a royal, he would have aspired to be a pro surfer on the World Tour.

The new king will tell the government which name he has chosen at an extraordinary council of state in the early days of his reign.

He is widely expected to keep his name — as his father did before him — and so become King Haakon VIII of Norway.