Latest / Spoken News / King Harald V of Norway dies at the age of 89 and is succeeded by Haakon VIII.

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King Harald V of Norway dies at the age of 89 and is succeeded by Haakon VIII. · Spoken News

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  Speaker 1: Welcome to Spoken News, where Wikipedia excerpts are read verbatim
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  by a computer. King Harald V of Norway dies at
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  the age of 89 and is succeeded by Hakon VIII.
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  Harald V, King of Norway, died on the morning of
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  the 28th of August, 2026, at the Oslo University Hospital,
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  Riksjö Hospital, at the age of 89. He had been
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  admitted to the hospital since the 17th of August. He
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  was succeeded by his son, Hakon VIII. Haakon VIII is
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  King of Norway, reigning since the death of his father,
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  Harald V, in August 2026. He is the second child
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  and only son of King Harald V and Queen Sonja.
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  Haakon represents the fourth generation of the reigning Norwegian royal
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  family of the House of Glucksberg. He married Mette Maritjesem
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  Hoibi in 2001, and they have two children, Crown Princess
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  Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus. Hakken is a trained
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  naval officer and, as King, is formerly the Supreme Commander
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  of the Norwegian Armed Forces. He has served as a
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  goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Program and has
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  been involved in a range of philanthropic and international initiatives,
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  including membership of the Young Global Leaders Network and its
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  Foundation Board. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in
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  political science from the University of California, Berkeley, and a
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  Master of Science in Development Studies from the London School
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  of Economics. Harald V was King of Norway from 1991
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  until his death in 2026. A member of the House
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  of Glucksberg, Harald was the third child and only son
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  of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Martha of Sweden.
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  He was second in the line of succession at the
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  time of his birth behind his father. In 1940, as
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  a result of the German occupation during World War II,
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  the royal family went into exile. Harald spent part of
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  his childhood in Sweden and the United States. He returned
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  to Norway in 1945 and later studied for periods at
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  the University of Oslo, the Norwegian Military Academy, and Balliol College, Oxford.
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  An active sportsman, Harold represented Norway in sailing at the 1964, 1968,
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  and 1972 Olympic Games, and later became patron of world sailing.
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  Following the death of his paternal grandfather, King Hakon VII,
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  in 1957, Harold became crown prince as his father became
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  King Olav V. He married Sonia Haralson in 1968. Their
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  relationship was initially controversial due to her status as a commoner.
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  They had two children, Martha Louise and Hakon. In 1990,
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  when his father's health declined, Harold became regent and took
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  most of the powers of the monarchy while Olav remained
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  the du jour monarch. Following his father's death in 1991,
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  Harold ascended to the throne. He was the first Norwegian-born
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  monarch to inherit the throne since Olav I V in 1380,
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  a span of 610 years. During his reign, Harald suffered
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  from several health issues, with his son acting as regent
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  several times between 2003 and 2026. He became Norway's oldest
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  reigning monarch in 2024, surpassing his father. Following the death
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  of Elizabeth II, his paternal second cousin, in 2022, he
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  became Europe's oldest reigning monarch. Harold died in 2026 in Oslo,
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  aged 89, and was succeeded by his son, Hakon VIII.
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  That's it for now. See the episode notes for sources
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  and licensing. Thank you.