King Harald’s funeral

[JustAnotherWhinger]

Details about the funeral didn’t really seem to fit in any of the other threads so started this one

It’s looking like there’s going to be a very large turn out of royals at Harald’s funeral on Wednesday.

Prince William will be representing Charles III
Princess Anne will also attend - she is a godmother to Haakon.

The King & Queen of Sweden (he is one of haakon’s godparents)
Crown Princess Victoria & Prince Daniel (Harald was Victorias godparent)
Prince Carl-Philip & Princess Sofia
Princess Madeleine & Chris O’Neilk
Princess Cristina & Tord Magnusson

King Willem-Alexander & Queen Maxima
Princess Beatrix
Princess Amalia, The Princess of Orange

King Philippe & Queen Mathilde

King Frederik and Queen Mary
Queen Margarethe (also one of Haakon’s godparents)
Crown Prince Christian
Princess Benedikte

Crown Prince Fumihito & Crown Princess Kiko

Grand Duke Guillaume & Grand Duchess Stephanie
Grand Duke Henri

King Felipe & Queen Letizia
Queen Sofia

Prince Albert of Monaco

A big turn out from some of the royal houses, not unexpected, from the ones closest to the Norwegian families

Abide with me was gorgeous

The silence with so many people there is moving

Kings Haakon, Carl-Gustav and Frederik walking behind the coffin now

That’s a very lovely touch

The 3 Scandinavian kings.

Is it members of his household walking behind? I notice most of them are not decorated. So would make sense

I’m in Bergen, church bells are ringing and there’s just been a gun salute although I didn’t count the shots.

Obviously the new Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra is going to be front row as the heir to the throne.

Märtha Louise and Shaman Durek are probably more of a protocol problem as non-working royals who have engaged in some dubious business practices

According to the Norwegian press - Marius Borg Hoiby is wearing an electronic tag together with his funeral attire

Thank you for the thread, I find this sort of thing fascinating. I thought was a lovely poignant day it has been without has much pomp as Britain puts behind such events. Wonderful to see the royals and politicians walking behind the coffin - did they all walk the whole way from the palace?

I do think though, it’s time the UK for over itself and that that King should have attended. Harald came to the Queen’s funeral. If he’s not medically able to do so, then say so, but this idea the reigning monarch never attends another’s funeral seems very arrogant. Anyone else think the same?

I was also interested to see many in military uniform (even Monaco!) but not the Dutch king. Anyone know why this might be?

I was also interested to see many in military uniform (even Monaco!) but not the Dutch king. Anyone know why this might be?

Unlike most other European monarchies, the Dutch government (which includes the King as Head of State) collectively acts as Commander in Chief of the Dutch armed forces, not the King individually. So he never wears a ceremonial uniform.

Willem-Alexander did train with the military and held a number of honorary roles as Prince of Orange, but had to resign them when he became King.

(Other interesting fact - the uniform form King Frederik wore today is worn with the badges of the Order of St Olaf, but not the red sash. So we didn’t get the pleasing harmony of the three Scandinavian kings in matching red sashes as they walked from the cathedral back to the Palace 😕).

Do you mind me asking if there is any update about Queen Margrethe? I understand that she was due to attend the funeral today but was admitted to hospital a couple of days ago?

I've been wondering how she is but haven't heard any news

Does anyone know if there is a full (formerly) livestream available on YouTube with a commentary? The BBC one isn’t available on IPlayer and the Sky one has no commentary. I want to know who everyone is.

Just wondering about Queen Sonja . . . will she now become Queen Mother or do the Norwegians have a different title for the widow of a monarch?

Thanks, that’s really interesting, I didn’t know that about the Dutch structure.

Please tell me more about the red sashes; I just thought each country must have their own way of doing things.

Also, now I think about, William was not in military uniform. What was the status required to wear uniform amongst the royal guests?

She is Queen Sonja.

The UK Queen Mother only became the Queen Mother because it would have been confusing with two Queen Elizabeths.

Queen Mary remained Queen Mary because there was no name confusion - even when Britain had 3 Queens between 1952-53

@AustenitesUnite no news here other than that she's in hospital. She seems quite frail.

AAh, that's so sad to hear. Many thanks for the update

Please tell me more about the red sashes; I just thought each country must have their own way of doing things.

The red sash is part of the insignia of Norway’s award of chivalry, the Order of St Olav. Recipients are given the sash, badges in the shape of a star, and a collar-style necklace to wear when they attend formal events in Norway. Generally it is awarded to Norwegian citizens to mark exceptional achievements, but also to foreign heads of state. Given the close relationships between the Scandinavian monarchs, the Kings of Sweden and Denmark each have been awarded the Order. Royal protocol says if you are visiting a country and the relevant dress code includes orders, you wear the highest order you hold from the country you are visiting.

It was reported by the press that men attending the funeral were requested only to only wear a military uniform if they also had the order of St Olav. So the three Scandi kings all wore the appropriate uniform they are entitled to wear as commander in chief of their respective military, and their Norwegian order. This is where the protocols clashed! Frederik of Denmark wore the appropriate uniform for a church service (it’s a Danish naval uniform), but the navy rules state you don’t wear a sash with that uniform. So he was the odd man out in the procession back to the palace. He did have his star badge on, though.

(This is a protocol minefield! Prince Phillip once attended the funeral of King Badouin of Belgium wearing the green and yellow Order of the Leopard from Zaire rather than the purple Belgian Order of Leopold - clearly there had been a muck up somewhere in the packing. It was quite the gaffe 🤣 )

(To answer your question about William - obviously he has uniforms he could wear but he hasn’t received the Order of St Olav, so he wore a suit. This not surprising, as generally only the Head of State and their direct heir receives foreign orders, and William has only been the direct heir for the last 4 years, Charles spent 64 years as the Prince of Wales - I suspect he has nearly the full set!)

I think we should celebrate Margrethe. She designed her own clothes, and also opera and theatre sets, and also illustrated lots of of books (including The Lord of the Rings, with approval from JRR Tolkien). She was extremely talented.

This video of the Norwegian royals going onto the balcony to greet the crowd and Sonja getting the largest cheer is really quite emotional

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdEjd_6gmAC/?stkn=MTF6ZTVyN2VyaW5sZw==

That same Instagram has some clips of the other royals, especially William and Anne are featured, greeting the family. There’s actual audio of William chatting to Ingrid-Alexandra about the music.

Quite usual to see such private moments between them.

You can also tell the friendship between Haakon and Willem-Alexander in one of them as it’s a proper man hug between them

I was intrigued by the videos of the receiving line too, JustAnotherWhinger. Prince Daniel of Sweden is another who is clearly a good friend of new King Haakon - he went straight in with a big hug and then there was a lot of manly shoulder patting as they chatted 😀

And Catharina Amalia of the Netherlands and Ingrid Alexandra likewise - they hugged warmly and Catharina blew her a kiss as she was leaving.

Daniel is clearly a hugger as well as Sonja and Ingrid-Alexandra were recipients of big hugs.

The other one that caught my eye in the videos of the receiving line was Charlene of Monaco curtsying to Ingrid Alexandra. She absolutely did not need to do so, but she seems to have a thing for just curtsying to everyone

I've just heard that Queen Margrethe was discharged from hospital this afternoon. I hope she makes a good and speedy recovery from her recent health problems

Such a remarkable & talented lady ~ I've always admired how she managed to achieve so much whilst still carrying out her royal duties