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King Haakon VIII Swears Oath to Norway's Constitution as Nation Mourns Harald V
Norway's King Haakon VIII swore an oath of allegiance to the constitution in parliament on Tuesday, succeeding his father Harald V who died last week. Queen Mette-Marit was absent due to complications from her June lung transplant, as explained by medical officials. The new king has adopted the motto 'All for Norway' as the nation prepares for the late monarch's funeral on September 9
By Tertius News AI Desk5 distinct · 6 mastheads · 6 articlesVersion 2Coverage Published
A New Reign Begins
Norway's King Haakon VIII swore an oath of allegiance to the country's constitution in parliament on Tuesday, formally taking the reins of the Scandinavian monarchy after the death of his father, King Harald V, who died on Friday at the age of 89 after a 35-year reign.
Haakon, 53, was driven the short distance from the royal palace to the Storting, or parliament, in an open car, where speaker Masud Gharahkhani read the official announcement of Harald's death and Haakon's succession before the new monarch took the oath.
"I promise and swear that I will govern the Kingdom of Norway in accordance with its Constitution and Laws; so help me God, the Almighty and Omniscient," he said, as reported by multiple outlets.
A Nation in Mourning
The ceremony came as Norway continued to grieve Harald, whose coffin was taken on Monday to the chapel of the royal palace in downtown Oslo, where it will remain until his funeral on September 9. From Tuesday afternoon until September 8, the chapel will be open daily for members of the public to pay their last respects, with visitors barred from taking photographs or film inside and from leaving flowers or other items, the royal palace said.
Queen's Absence Explained
Queen Mette-Marit, who joined Monday's coffin procession in her first official appearance since assuming the title, did not attend Tuesday's ceremony. The palace said she was recovering from a lung transplant she had in June and could not attend due to complications.
Dr. Are Holm, head of the Pulmonary Department at Oslo University Hospital, said in a statement from the palace that complications after a transplant are not uncommon. "The queen has had complications on several occasions since the operation, including today," Holm said. "As a result, the Queen must remain under observation throughout the day. Unfortunately, the Queen will therefore be unable to attend the swearing-in ceremony at the Storting today."
Historical Roots and Symbolic Role
Haakon has adopted the motto "All for Norway," which dates back to his great-grandfather. Norway's monarchy traces its origins to King Harald Fairhair in the ninth century. When Norway regained its independence from Sweden in 1905, three-quarters of voters in a national plebiscite approved restoring the monarchy. Today, the monarchy's role is largely symbolic, with power resting with the elected government and parliament, though the royal family continues to represent the wealthy nation around the world.
Public Support and Family Challenges
A poll published by public broadcaster NRK showed that support for the monarchy has increased following Harald's death, with nearly three out of four Norwegians (72 percent) saying they supported the monarchy, a rise of eight points compared with a previous survey in May.
The late king enjoyed widespread approval despite challenges that have dogged his family recently. Mette-Marit has faced scrutiny for her ties to late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and her son from a previous relationship, Marius Borg Hoiby, is currently under house arrest pending his appeal against a four-year sentence for two rape convictions. On Monday, Hoiby was among those who moved the late king's casket to the chapel of Oslo's royal palace, and he has been granted permission to attend Harald's funeralon September 9, as reported by The Manila Times.
How each outlet told it
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Framing: The headline emphasizes the new King taking the oath in parliament, focusing on the ceremonial succession event.
Facts Included:
New King Haakon VIII swore an oath of allegiance to Norway's constitution in the parliament in Oslo on Tuesday
He succeeded his father Harald V, who died last week
Harald's coffin was taken to the chapel of the royal palace, where it will remain for the public to pay their last respects until a funeral on September 9
Haakon was driven from the royal palace to the Storting, or parliament in Oslo
House speaker Masud Gharahkhani read the official announcement of Harald's death and Haakon's succession
Haakon said: 'I promise and swear that I will govern the Kingdom of Norway in according with its constitution and laws, so help me god, the almighty and omniscient'
Haakon is 53 years old
Harald V died aged 89
Queen Mette-Marit would not be attending the ceremony
Mette-Marit made her first public appearance since assuming the title on Monday in the coffin procession
Mette-Marit is recovering after a lung transplant in June
The palace quoted Are Holm, a pulmonologist at Oslo's University Hospital, as saying complications following a transplant are not uncommon
Holm said Mette-Marit had experienced complications on several occasions, including Tuesday
Holm said: 'As a result, the Queen must remain under observation throughout the day. Unfortunately, the Queen will therefore be unable to attend the swearing-in ceremony at the Storting today'
Norway's royal family can trace its roots back to the ninth century
When Norway regained independence from Sweden in 1905, three-quarters of voters supported the idea of reinstating a largely symbolic constitutional monarchy in a plebiscite
Most political power lies with the elected government and parliament, but Norway's royals retain a predominantly soft power role in diplomacy and promoting the country around the world
Framing: The headline emphasizes the constitutional oath taken by Norway's new king.
Facts Included:
King Haakon VIII has pledged the oath of allegiance to Norway's constitution in Oslo.
Haakon became Norway's monarch when King Harald V died on Friday at 89.
He has adopted the motto 'All for Norway,' which dates back to his great-grandfather.
He was driven the short distance from the royal palace to the Storting, or parliament, in an open car.
Speaker Masud Gharahkhani read the official announcement of Harald's death and Haakon's succession.
Haakon, 53, then took the oath.
The oath: 'I promise and swear that I will govern the Kingdom of Norway in accordance with its Constitution and Laws; so help me God, the Almighty and Omniscient.'
Norway's monarchy has old roots, tracing its origins to King Harald Fairhair in the 9th century.
When Norway regained its independence from Sweden in 1905, three-quarters of voters in a national plebiscite approved restoring the monarchy.
On Monday, Harald's coffin was taken to the chapel of the royal palace in downtown Oslo, where it will remain until his funeral on September 9.
From Tuesday afternoon until September 8, the chapel will be open every day for the public to pay their last respects by filing past the coffin.
The royal palace said in a statement that visitors aren't allowed to take photos or film inside the chapel, and they can't leave flowers or other items.
Haakon's wife, Queen Mette-Marit, joined Monday's coffin procession in her first official appearance since assuming the title.
She has been largely absent from the public eye following her lung transplant in June.
Framing: The headline emphasizes the oath of allegiance and the constitutional context, with a direct quote from the oath.
Facts Included:
Norway's King Haakon VIII pledged an oath of allegiance to the country's constitution in parliament on Tuesday
Haakon became Norway's monarch when King Harald V died on Friday at 89
He has adopted the motto 'All for Norway'
He was driven from the royal palace to the Storting in an open car
Speaker Masud Gharahkhani read the official announcement of Harald's death and Haakon's succession
Haakon, 53, then took the oath
The oath: 'I promise and swear that I will govern the Kingdom of Norway in accordance with its Constitution and Laws; so help me God, the Almighty and Omniscient'
Norway's monarchy traces its origins to King Harald Fairhair in the ninth century
In 1905, three-quarters of voters in a national referendum approved restoring the monarchy
The monarchy's role is largely symbolic as power lies with the elected government and parliament
Harald's coffin was taken to the chapel of the royal palace in downtown Oslo, where it will remain until his funeral on 9 September
The chapel will be open every day from Tuesday afternoon until 8 September for the public to pay respects
The royal palace said visitors aren't allowed to take photos or film inside the chapel and can't leave flowers or other items
Haakon's wife, Queen Mette-Marit, joined Monday's coffin procession in her first official appearance since assuming the title
Mette-Marit has been largely absent from the public eye following a lung transplant in June
The palace said Mette-Marit wasn't going to the ceremony
The palace quoted Are Holm, a pulmonologist at Oslo's University Hospital, saying complications following a transplant aren't uncommon and that Mette-Marit has experienced them on several occasions, 'including today'
Holm said: 'As a result, the Queen must remain under observation throughout the day. Unfortunately, the Queen will therefore be unable to attend the swearing-in ceremony at the Storting today'
Framing: The headline emphasizes the new king's oath-taking ceremony and the nation's mourning for the deceased king.
Facts Included:
King Haakon VIII swore allegiance to Norway's Constitution in parliament on Tuesday
Harald V died on Friday at the age of 89 after a 35-year reign
Haakon adopted the motto 'All for Norway'
Harald's coffin was taken on Monday to the chapel of the royal palace in downtown Oslo
The funeral is scheduled for September 9
The chapel will be open daily from Tuesday afternoon until September 8 for the public
Queen Mette-Marit did not attend Tuesday's ceremony because of complications following her lung transplant
Haakon, 53, became Norway's monarch when Harald died
Speaker Masud Gharahkhani read the official announcement of Harald's death and Haakon's succession
Haakon's oath: 'I promise and swear that I will govern the Kingdom of Norway in accordance with its Constitution and Laws; so help me God, the Almighty and Omniscient'
Norway's monarchy traces its origins to King Harald Fairhair in the ninth century
After Norway regained independence from Sweden in 1905, three-quarters of voters backed the restoration of the monarchy
The monarchy's role is largely symbolic, with power resting with the elected government and parliament
Visitors to the chapel will not be allowed to take photographs or film inside, nor leave flowers or other items
Mette-Marit's appearance at Monday's coffin procession was her first official one since assuming the title of queen
Mette-Marit has largely been out of the public eye since her lung transplant in June
Are Holm, a pulmonologist at Oslo's University Hospital, said complications after a transplant are not uncommon and Mette-Marit has experienced them on several occasions, 'including today'
The Queen must remain under observation throughout the day
Framing: The headline emphasizes the king's constitutional oath, focusing on the formal act of swearing allegiance.
Facts Included:
Norway’s King Haakon VIII took an oath before parliament on Tuesday
Haakon became king when his father King Harald V died on Friday morning aged 89
Haakon is 53 years old
Haakon swore to abide by the Scandinavian country’s constitution
Haakon recited the oath in the parliament’s main chamber
Haakon’s wife, Queen Mette-Marit, 53, was not beside her husband as she is still recovering from her June 17 lung transplant
Dr. Are Holm, head of the Pulmonary Department at Oslo University Hospital, said in a statement from the palace that complications after a transplant are not uncommon
Holm said: 'The queen has had complications on several occasions since the operation, including today.'
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Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the distinct outlets we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimKing Haakon VIII swore an oath of allegiance to Norway's Constitution in parliament on Tuesday.
ClaimHaakon's oath was: 'I promise and swear that I will govern the Kingdom of Norway in accordance with its Constitution and Laws; so help me God, the Almighty and Omniscient.'
ClaimAre Holm, a pulmonologist at Oslo's University Hospital, said complications after a transplant are not uncommon and Mette-Marit has experienced them on several occasions, including the day of the ceremony.
ClaimAre Holm said: 'As a result, the Queen must remain under observation throughout the day. Unfortunately, the Queen will therefore be unable to attend the swearing-in ceremony at the Storting today.'
5 distinct · 6 mastheads · 6 articles consulted: Deutsche Welle, The Canberra Times, Euronews.com, India Today, The Manila Times, South China Morning Post27 claims extractedVersion 2Written 2026-09-01