King Harald V funeral draws 48,000 in Oslo

Norway bid farewell to King Harald V on Wednesday as police said 48,000 people lined the procession route in Oslo before a funeral service attended by foreign dignitaries and royal families.

Harald died on August 28 at age 89. Until his death, he was the oldest reigning monarch in Europe. His son and heir, King Haakon VIII, followed the casket on foot after it was carried on an artillery carriage draped in the red royal banner.

Queen Sonja and Queen Mette-Marit followed the procession by car. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Britain's Prince William, Scandinavian royal families, royal couples from Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands, Japan's crown prince, the presidents of Finland and Germany, and the French and Thai prime ministers were among the guests.

The service at Oslo's Lutheran cathedral began at 1:00 pm with a nationwide minute of silence. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said in his eulogy that Harald had balanced being stately and down-to-earth and had spoken of a Norway where people were there for one another.

Four F-35 fighter jets flew over the cathedral in formation after the religious service. The casket was then taken to Akershus Castle church, where it was to be lowered into the royal mausoleum after a private family ceremony, next to Harald's parents and grandparents.

Harald was to be laid to rest in a $2 million sarcophagus whose design has not been made public. He had been on the throne since 1991 and had ruled out abdicating despite health problems late in life.

The funeral took place under high security, with almost 3,000 police deployed. Flowers, drawings and candles had covered the square in front of the palace for days as Norwegians honoured the king.

An opinion poll published after Harald's death put support for the monarchy at 72 percent, up eight percentage points from a previous survey in May. Support had fallen earlier in the year during scandals involving members of the royal family.