Image source, Getty Images

Norway's King Harald V has died at the age of 89, after he was taken to hospital last week for treatment for a rare blood condition.

The palace says he died peacefully there at 06:35 local time (04:35 GMT) on Friday morning.

His body has since been transferred to the Royal Palace, where crowds of mourners - including Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre - have streamed to lay flowers and flags.

After 35 years on the throne, Harald will be remembered as a popular figure who modernised the monarchy, broke with tradition by marrying a commoner - Queen Sonja - and served as a unifying figure during Norway's most difficult moments.

Norway now has a new king, 53-year-old Haakon - now King Haakon VIII. The country's parliament, the Storting, says he will take the oath of allegiance to the country's constitution on 1 September.

We're now closing our live coverage, but you can continue reading about the late King Harald V and what's next for Norway in our news story.

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Following his funeral, King Harald V will be laid to rest at Akershus Fortress.

The fortress sits in central Oslo and has overlooked the city for more than 700 years. The Royal Mausoleum, where Norway's monarchs are buried, is located beneath the castle church within the fortress grounds.

King Harald is expected to be laid to rest there alongside several members of the royal family, including his father, King Olav V, his mother, Crown Princess Martha, and his grandparents, King Haakon VII and Queen Maud.

The date and time of King Harald's funeral have not yet been announced.

Image source, NRK

The vehicle carrying the late King Harald's coffin has parked inside the Royal Palace and the gates have closed.

Several people in military attire gently remove the coffin and carry it at waist height inside.

The livestream of the procession has now ended. Stay with us as we share some pictures we have just received.

King Harald V's coffin has just entered the Royal Palace through the large front gates.

On arrival, it was greeted by trumpets and several military personnel standing to attention.

People are still gathered outside, despite the pouring rain.

Image source, Reuters

King Harald's coffin continues to make its way past the umbrellas and raincoats of people who have come to pay their respects in Oslo.

Some people can be seen carrying Norwegian flags, while others hold up their phones to watch the procession go by.

The procession is taking place in near silence.

The crowds become denser as the coffin moves through the centre of Oslo, where the city's trams usually pass.

As it turns the corner, the vehicle carrying the coffin almost disappears among the umbrellas lining the street.

Image source, NRK

These are some of the aerial pictures coming in of the coffin transfer - you can watch the footage live at the top of the page.

Starting at the national hospital in Oslo, the procession will end at the Royal Palace.

You can see a map of the route in our earlier post.

Image source, NRK

Image source, NRK

Image source, NRK

Citing Oslo police, public broadcaster NRK says that more than 10,000 people are in the area to honour King Harald after his passing.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, NRK

A coffin has been placed in the back of a vehicle outside the hospital, and a motorcade made up of a series of black cars has slowly left the site.

Several police officers in fluorescent jackets on motorbikes are leading the procession ahead of the vehicle carrying the coffin.

Norwegians have gathered in the rain to watch the late king go past as his body slowly starts to make its way towards the Royal Palace.

Image source, NRK

Image source, EPA

We’ve just received a picture showing King Haakon VIII and Queen Mette-Marit arriving at the chapel at Oslo University Hospital earlier today.

Image source, NRK

The bier procession for King Harald V is now under way.

The late king’s coffin is being moved from the hospital where he died to the Royal Palace.

We’ll bring you the key moments here, and you can also watch live at the top of the page.

The procession carrying King Harald V's coffin isn't under way yet, but many people have braved the wet weather to watch from the streets around the hospital.

Among them are hospital staff, still wearing their scrubs, with some clutching umbrellas.

Image source, NRK

Image source, NRK

Image source, NRK

We're still waiting for the procession carrying King Harald V's coffin to reach the Royal Palace in Oslo.

Crowds have gathered along the route, with many people lining the streets to pay their respects to the late monarch.

We'll bring you updates as the procession gets under way.

Remember, you can click Watch live at the top of the page to follow along.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

• King Haakon VIII has become Norway's new king following the death of his father, King Harald V, who died after 35 years on the throne.
• The new king announced his royal motto, keeping the words used by his father, grandfather and great-grandfather: "All for Norway."
• Crowds of mourners have gathered outside Oslo's Royal Palace, where flowers continue to be laid. Senior politicians, including Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide and Labour finance minister Jens Stoltenberg, have been among those paying their respects.
• Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere also paid his respects and said Norway was "united in grief and gratitude" in a televised address, adding that the late king's "legacy lives on".
• Oslo Mayor Anne Lindboe announced she also cancelled her wedding, which had been due to take place on Friday.
• At 17:30 BST, King Harald's coffin will be moved from the hospital to the Royal Palace.

Mourners have gathered across Oslo to pay their respects to King Harald V following his death.

Outside the Royal Palace, a sea of flowers and tributes has continued to grow throughout the day.

Others have visited Oslo Cathedral, where a book of condolences has been opened for members of the public.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

The ascension of King Haakon to Norway's throne means that his wife, Mette-Marit is the country's queen. King Harald's wife, Queen Sonja, will also retain her title.

Mette-Marit and Haakon met at a music festival in her home city of Kristiansand in 1999, and she was dubbed by the press as the Cinderella of Kristiansand - a reference to her humble beginnings.

Their relationship sparked public debate. Mette-Marit was a single mother to a four-year-old child whose father had served time for cocaine possession, and three days before her marriage to Haakon she apologised for her "wild past".

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

As crown princess, Mette-Marit took up popular causes including support for people with HIV and promotion of literacy. She received widespread sympathy in 2018 after being diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. The condition led her to have a lung transplant earlier this year, from which she is still recovering.

This year also saw her son from a previous relationship, Marius Borg Høiby, convicted of rape in a high-profile trial - a conviction he is appealing. And she has also issued a public apology for her ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

King Haakon will take an oath before the Norwegian parliament, the Storting, on Tuesday.

Storting President Masud Gharahkhani tells the BBC the oath will take place at around 13:00 local time (12:00 BST) on Tuesday.

When a new monarch ascends to the throne they must take an oath in the Storting promising to govern Norway in line with its constitution and laws.

The ceremony emphasises that Norway is a constitutional monarchy, according to the Storting's website.

Flocks of mourners have gathered outside the Royal Palace in Oslo, where the piles of bouquets and Norwegian flags are growing.

Multiple politicians have been seen there, including foreign minister Espen Barth Eide and finance minister Jens Stoltenberg of the Labour Party, as well as leader of the Conservative Party Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

With King Haakon VIII now the head of state, his daughter Ingrid Alexandra, 22, now becomes the crown princess and heir to the Norwegian throne.

It's only in recent decades - since the constitution changed in 1990 - that women have been given the right to inherit the Norwegian throne.

It means that Ingrid Alexandra could be Norway's first female monarch since the 15th Century.

Born and raised in Oslo, the princess completed her military service in 2025, having spent 15 months as an engineer soldier and rifleman.

In May 2025, it was announced that she was to move to Australia to study international relations and political economy at the University of Sydney.

Environmental protection and climate change have previously been given as her key interests on the royal family's website - although the biographies are currently unavailable while the site is updated.

Image source, Getty Images