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| King Harald is dead at 89: Norway's monarch passes away after hospital stay as King Charles pays tribute to his cousin | |
| 2026-08-28 | |
| [Daily Mail, where America gets its news] King Haakon VIII has taken the throne in Norway during an outpouring of grief for Harald V following his death at 89. Haakon's new role follows the passing of his father - a cousin of King Charles III - who died today after a brief stay in hospital. Harald was being treated for haemolytic anaemia, a disorder that causes red blood cells to be destroyed at an abnormally fast rate. The new monarch was announced alongside a photo of Haakon, 53, the former Crown Prince, who is now officially His Majesty King Haakon VIII. He shares two children with his wife Mette-Marit, 22-year-old Princess Ingrid Alexandra and 20-year-old Prince Sverre Magnus. With Ingrid now second in line to the throne, she would be the first female monarch in Norway for more than 600 years if she were to become queen - the last being Queen Margaret I, who died in 1412. Mette-Marit, 53, faced intense scrutiny following the release of the Epstein Files, which revealed she stayed at paedophile Jeffrey Epstein's Palm Beach residence in 2013 – after he was convicted for soliciting sex from girls as young as 14. One email released suggested she was still in contact with the billionaire financier just months before his death. The new queen claimed this year that she had been misled by the late sex offender as she sought to contain the fallout. Fresh scandal also came in June when Mette-Marit's son, Marius Borg Høiby, was convicted on two counts of rape and jailed for four years following a six-week trial that laid bare allegations of violence, drug abuse and sexual misconduct. An Oslo court also found him guilty of assaulting his former girlfriend, Nora Haukland, issuing threats and committing traffic offences, although he was acquitted of two other rape charges. The 29-year-old had been charged with sexually assaulting four women who were asleep or otherwise unable to resist between 2018 and 2024. The conviction marked a fall for Høiby, who grew up in the public eye after his mother married the then Crown Prince Haakon in 2001 when he was just four. Although he does not hold a royal title or carry out official duties, he has long been closely associated with the Norwegian Royal Family. Following Harald's death today, the palace said his health had 'deteriorated' after he contracted an infection, with members of the Norwegian Royal Family rushing to his bedside on Thursday. 'It is with deep grief that we announce that His Majesty King Harald has passed away,' Norway's Royal Court said in a statement. 'King Harald died peacefully at Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, Friday, August 28 at 6.35am.' On Friday, King Charles said he had extended his 'deepest and most heartfelt condolences' to the Norwegian Royal Family following the death of his 'dear cousin'. The pair were second cousins once removed, sharing great-great-grandparents Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark. 'As Norway mourns the loss of so towering a figure, my whole family join in remembering a much-loved kinsman and friend whose kindness, compassion and deep sense of duty echoed from across the sea and across the decades,' King Charles III said. 'The Queen and I extend our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to Queen Sonja and all her family, as Britain shares in Norway's grief at this time of such heartbreaking loss.'
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| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2026-08-28 14:00 |