King Harald's coffin moves to the Palace Chapel today
Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB
At 4pm on Monday, King Harald's coffin will be carried from the Red Drawing Room to the Palace Chapel by the King's children and grandchildren. It will be Queen Mette-Marit's first official duty as queen. On Tuesday, King Haakon VIII takes the oath before the Storting.
At 4pm on Monday, King Harald's coffin will be moved from the Red Drawing Room at the Palace to the Palace Chapel, where it will remain until the funeral. The King's children and grandchildren will carry the coffin through the halls of the Palace.
King Harald V, 1937 to 2026. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB
The coffin was placed in the Red Drawing Room after the royal family accompanied the King from Rikshospitalet on Friday evening. Queen Mette-Marit and Queen Sonja will also take part in Monday's procession.
For Queen Mette-Marit it will be her first official duty as queen. She was not present at the memorial service in Asker Church on Sunday, due to illness.
The Red Drawing Room, here from the royal family’s Christmas photo session in 2025. This is where the coffin will be carried from on Monday. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB
• How the lying-in-state will work
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 from 10am to 6pm every day, so that all who wish may file slowly past the coffin.
Cadets from the Norwegian Armed Forces academies will stand guard, two on each side. The coffin rests on a purple-draped catafalque with the family's wreath attached. The crown, the sword of state, the sceptre and the orb are placed on the coffin.
• The King takes the oath on Tuesday
At 1pm on Tuesday 1 September, King Haakon VIII takes the oath before the Storting, as the Constitution requires. Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra will submit her oath in writing.
The wording of the King's oath is laid down in the Constitution: "I promise and swear to govern the Kingdom of Norway in accordance with its Constitution and laws, so help me God, the almighty and all-knowing."
The first official portrait of King Haakon VIII. Photo: The Royal Court / Ola Vatn / NTB
• Flowers and books of condolence
It is still possible to lay flowers on the Palace Square, right up until the funeral. The Palace gardeners have told VG that nothing is thrown away in the meantime. The flowers are tended and tidied so that the sea of flowers can remain throughout the mourning period.
Books of condolence have been laid out across the country. In Oslo City Hall the book was opened at 10am on Saturday, and among the first to sign was Mayor Anne Lindboe.
"Dear King Harald. You needed no crown to be king. Thank you so much for everything you have done for our city. We will never forget you," she wrote.
• The day of the funeral
The funeral will be held in Oslo Cathedral at 1pm on Wednesday 9 September. According to NTB, the day begins with a private moment in the Palace Chapel for the closest family. The main gate of the Palace is then opened, and a 21-gun mourning salute is fired from Akershus.
The coffin is then carried in a large procession from the Palace to Oslo Cathedral. A smaller procession follows the coffin on to Akershus Castle Church, where the King is laid to rest. After the ceremony a double royal salute is fired from Akershus Castle.
All flags that have flown at half-mast across the country are then raised to full mast. The flag on the Palace balcony remains at half-mast until the coffin has been placed in the Royal Mausoleum, and is then replaced by the state flag at full mast.
Parts of central Oslo will be closed to traffic during the cortege and the procession. The day of the funeral is not an official public holiday.
RoyMob will continue to follow the mourning ceremonies in the days ahead.