Norway mourns King Harald as crowds gather at royal palace

Thousands of Norwegians gathered on Saturday to say goodbye to King Harald in front of the royal palace, where he lies in ‌state, with many well-wishers remembering his sense of inclusiveness and tolerance. Europe's oldest monarch, who emerged from the shadow of his well-loved, extrovert father to become a reformer during more than three decades on the throne, died on Friday at the age of 89.

Late on Friday, throngs lined the streets of ‌Oslo in pouring rain to watch the funeral cortege travel from Oslo University Hospital, where Harald died, to the royal palace. Flags were ‌flying at half-mast throughout the country and portraits of the late king in gala uniform were everywhere, from bus stops, trams and metro stations to shops, offices and public buildings.

As the nation mourned Harald, attention also turned to the succession. Crown Prince Haakon, the late king's only son, automatically became king upon his father's death under Norway's constitutional monarchy. King ⁠Haakon VIII ​will speak to the nation in ⁠a televised address at 1900 local time (1700 GMT) on Saturday. On Tuesday, he will take the oath in front of parliament, when he will swear to defend Norway's constitution ⁠and laws.

He became king the moment his father passed away. There will be no coronation as they were abolished by parliament in 1908. TOLERANCE AND INCLUSIVENESS

The ​main avenue in central Oslo, Karl Johan, was tightly packed with Norwegians of all walks of life heading towards the palace, clutching ⁠flowers, handwritten cards, drawings and small national flags. On what should have been the 58th wedding anniversary of Harald and Queen Sonja, who survives him, they praised the late king's spirit ⁠of ​inclusiveness.

"He meant a lot to us immigrants ... We felt really very included. So, thanks to him, I feel so Norwegian," Veselina Vitanova, a 43-year-old teacher originally from Bulgaria, told Reuters outside the palace. Another referred to a speech Harald delivered in 2016 that went viral worldwide, in ⁠which he said: "Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys and girls and boys who love each other".

"It embodies the way he ⁠felt about people and the ⁠way he wanted us Norwegians to feel about each other," said Mari Eidsvaag, 32, who wore a T-shirt emblazoned with that sentence, a rainbow and a drawing of King Harald. "I think it's a very important statement, ‌especially these days," she ‌told Reuters.