The King Lies in the Palace Chapel: This Is the Mourning Period

King Harald's coffin was placed in the Red Drawing Room at the Royal Palace after the royal family accompanied him from Rikshospitalet on Friday evening. At 4pm on Monday 31 August the coffin is carried on to the Palace Chapel, where it will remain until the funeral.

The Palace Chapel opens to the public at 2pm on Tuesday 1 September, and stays open until 6pm on the day before the funeral. From 2 September the chapel is open for the public to file past from 10am to 6pm every day.

The cortège carrying the King's coffin through Oslo on Friday evening. Photo: NTB

• The mourning period

The country is in official mourning from the death until the funeral. Flags at royal residences and state buildings are at half-mast. Events continue, but within a dignified framework that acknowledges the nation's grief.

• Books of condolence across the country

Books of condolence are being laid out across Norway. At Oslo City Hall the book is laid out on Saturday at 10 am, and books are available in all eleven cathedral cities and in many local churches. The Royal House has also opened a digital book of condolence on its website.

• The funeral

The funeral service will be held in Oslo Cathedral, with a ceremony, a 21-gun salute and a procession through Oslo. A private ceremony follows at the Akershus Castle Chapel. The date has not yet been announced.

• A minute's silence

On the day of the funeral, a minute's silence will be observed across the country at 1 pm. The silence is opened and closed by three tolls of the church bells.

• The final resting place

King Harald will be laid to rest in the Royal Mausoleum beneath Akershus Castle, where Norway's earlier monarchs rest. In 2024 the government allocated 20 million kroner for a royal sarcophagus.

RoyMob is following the mourning ceremonies in the days to come.