Haakon VIII ascended the throne after the death of Harald V. This is the motto he chose
Norway has a new monarch. During an extraordinary government meeting, King Haakon VIII announced his royal name and motto. He chose the words „Alt for Norge”, which were also used by his father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
Pictured: King Haakon VIII and his father, Harald V.
Jørgen Gomnæs / Det kongelige hoff
The change on the Norwegian throne took place on Friday, 28 August 2026. King Harald V died at 6:35 a.m., and under the provisions of the Constitution, his son Haakon assumed the role of head of state at that very moment. Formalities related to the change of monarch began before noon.
Haakon VIII ascends the throne. He retains his predecessors’ motto
At around 11 a.m., the new king arrived at the Royal Palace together with the new heir to the throne, Princess Ingrid Alexandra. Shortly afterwards, members of the government arrived and began the meeting with a minute of silence. The extraordinary meeting started at 11:30 a.m. It was chaired by Haakon as king for the first time.<br /><br />The monarch informed the government that his father had died that day at 6:35 a.m. He also announced that he would take the name Haakon VIII and retain the motto “Alt for Norge”, meaning “Everything for Norway”. The same words had previously been used by Harald V and his direct predecessors. The king thanked members of the government and the people of Norway for their support and condolences offered to the royal family.
Ingrid Alexandra is the eldest daughter of the Norwegian crown princely couple, who will ascend the throne after the death of Haakon VIII.flickr.com/ Statsministerens kontor/ photo: Ingrid Brandal Myklebust/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/
The royal standard returned to the mast. Norway begins a period of mourning
Shortly after the extraordinary meeting began, the royal standard on the roof of the Royal Palace was once again raised to full mast. This signalled that Norway had a new king. Earlier that day, the flag had been lowered to half-mast following news of Harald V’s death. His death will continue to be marked by flying the royal flag at half-mast on the palace balcony.<br /><br />The government also decided to introduce a national period of mourning, which will last until after the deceased monarch’s funeral. After the meeting ended, government members signed the book of condolences at the palace one by one. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre was the first to do so. Government representatives then went out to the square in front of the palace, where they laid flowers and lit candles.
Ascending the throne does not complete the formalities related to the change of monarch. Haakon VIII will have to take the constitutionally required oath before the Norwegian parliament (Storting), which, according to the information provided, is likely to take place within a few days. Princess Ingrid Alexandra will also have to take a written oath so that she can serve as regent if necessary.
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