Norwegians mourn King Harald as son succeeds to throne

“LIKE A GRANDFATHER”

Europe’s oldest reigning monarch, King Harald had been in hospital in Oslo since Aug 17, suffering from haemolytic anaemia, a condition caused by an abnormally rapid destruction of red blood cells that leads to fatigue and shortness of breath.

Store said Harald, who ascended to the throne in 1991, was “a king of his time and for his time”.

He said Harald accompanied Norway through decades of enormous change during which the country “grew richer, we became more numerous, and we became more diverse”.

Thousands of Norwegians massed outside the palace in Oslo throughout the day and even as heavy rains started pouring down in the evening.

They laid down mountains of flowers, cards and red, white and blue national flags, and many hugged and held each other.

“He has meant a great deal, he has been a unifying king, he has been a king of the people,” Line Stousland, 49, told AFP, before going to lay down a bouquet of flowers.

She added that he had been “like a grandfather to the whole nation”.

Harald was widely seen as the embodiment of an open and tolerant Norway.

“I really have to mention all the speeches he has given over the years, which have meant a lot to Norway, both in difficult times and also when there have been events to celebrate,” 37-year-old Martin Korslund, who arrived at the palace Friday evening, told AFP.

Many of those AFP spoke with pointed in particular to Harald’s speech after one of the country’s biggest recent traumas – a devastating massacre in 2011.

Neo-Nazi Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people in twin attacks, in Norway’s worst massacre since World War II.

Harald “was someone who always seemed to find the words that brought us together and gave us a sense of security,” Caroline Vagle, a reporter for magazine Se og Hor, told AFP.

Tributes poured in from leaders around the world, including those of France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan and Ukraine, as well as the royal houses of Europe.