The China Mail - Norway bids farewell to King Harald V, 'grandfather' of the nation

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Britain's Prince William, Spain's royal couple, the presidents of Finland, Germany and the Czech Republic as well as the French and Thai prime ministers were among those due in Oslo to pay their respects to the 89-year-old monarch who died on August 28.

A funeral procession will leave the royal palace at 12:00 pm (1000 GMT).

The casket will be carried on an artillery carriage along the city's main avenue to Oslo's Lutheran cathedral, where the ceremony will begin at 1:00 pm with a minute of silence observed throughout the country.

Norway's royal family, led by new King Haakon VIII, foreign royals, heads of state and dignitaries will take part in the procession on foot.

Only Harald's widow, 89-year-old Queen Sonja, and the new Queen Mette-Marit, who underwent a lung transplant in June, will follow in a car.

Marius Borg Hoiby, Mette-Marit's son from a previous relationship who is under house arrest pending the appeal of a rape and assault conviction, has been granted permission to attend the funeral.

Among other guests announced are Japan's Crown Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, the Scandinavian royal families, the Belgian and Dutch royal couples, Prince Albert of Monaco and Jordan's King Abdullah II.

- High security -

At the end of the religious service, four F-35 fighter jets will fly over the cathedral in a "missing man" formation, as the casket is taken to the Akershus Castle chapel.

There it will be lowered into the crypt of the royal mausoleum, next to Harald's parents and grandparents.

He will be laid to rest in a $2 million sarcophagus whose design remains secret.

Once the burial is completed, flags across the country, which were lowered to half-mast after Harald's death, will once again be raised and church bells will ring for an hour.

Norway's police force has mobilised nearly 3,000 officers in what it has described as "one of the biggest operations" in its history.

Some 3,500 soldiers have also been deployed, while exceptional airspace restrictions have been imposed over much of the eastern part of the country.

Until his death, Harald, who ascended the throne in 1991, was the oldest reigning monarch in Europe.

Despite mounting health woes in his later years, he had always ruled out abdicating, and was extremely popular among his fellow Norwegians.

Embodying an open and tolerant Norway, he made a deep impression by celebrating diversity in a 2016 speech marking the 25th anniversary of his reign.

"Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other," he said, adding: "Norwegians believe in God, Allah, the Universe and nothing."

- Reinvigorated monarchy -

Thousands of Norwegians have filed past the king's casket in the past week, some waiting in line for hours.

The square in front of the palace has been covered with flowers, drawings and candles.

"He was the grandfather of the nation," said Gunn Johnsen, 81, speaking to AFP on Tuesday, explaining that she took an hour-long train ride to pay her last respects.

"Generous, inclusive, kind," added her friend Vigdis Simonsen, 64.

Near the University of Oslo, a large billboard displayed a photo of a smiling Harald with the inscription "Thank you for everything".

Almost three out of four Norwegians, 72 percent, said they support the monarchy, up by eight percentage points from a previous survey in May, in an opinion poll conducted after the king's death and published last week.

Support had dropped to its lowest level in February, when 60 percent said they were in favour of maintaining the monarchy while 27 percent were not.

At the time, the royal family was embroiled in a series of scandals that damaged its image.

Mette-Marit in particular was under heavy criticism for her past ties to the late convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and her son's legal troubles.

While Haakon VIII, 53, is very popular, opinions on the new queen, also 53, remain deeply divided.

S.Davis--ThChM