Norwegian King Harald V was laid to rest in Oslo on Wednesday after a state funeral attended by dozens of European royals and heads of state, including the Prince of Wales and three Nordic kings. The funeral followed nearly two weeks of national mourning for the 89-year-old monarch, who reigned for 35 years. His son, King Haakon VIII, succeeded him, marking the end of a long era of royal leadership in Norway.

The funeral procession, which began at Akershus Fortress, the medieval castle where Harald was later laid to rest, was attended by thousands of people who lined the route. After the ceremony and burial, the Norwegian royal family, including the new King Haakon, his wife Queen Mette-Marit, and his mother and Harald's widow Queen Sonja, greeted crowds from the palace balcony. A minute's silence was observed throughout the country, with Harald described as a popular, modernising figure.

During the funeral service at Oslo Cathedral, Mette-Marit was seen wiping her eyes, as Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre delivered a eulogy, saying Harald had struck 'a balance between being stately and down-to-earth and that he had 'made Norway greater'. Queen Sonja, who was also visibly emotional during the ceremony, laid a red rose on Harald's coffin. A poignant moment occurred as three bell tolls marking the end of a minute's silence in the cathedral was briefly interrupted by a mobile phone alarm going off.

The funeral also included a 'missing man' formation of four F-35 fighter jets, a traditional military honor. Harald's casket was then carried in a procession to the Palace Chapel at Akershus Fortress, where a private ceremony was attended by family members, foreign royals and other guests including the country's prime minister. King Harald was laid to rest there alongside several members of the royal family, including his father King Olav V, his mother Crown Princess Märtha, and his grandparents, King Haakon VII and Queen Maud.

Norwegian flags across Oslo were raised from half mast to the top to mark the end of the burial, while the royal family returned to the royal palace. In a display of gratitude for the support they had received since the king's death on 28 August, the family - Haak, Mette-Marit, Ingrid Alexandra, Sverre Magnus and Sonja - then appeared on the balcony to greet tens of thousands of people who had gathered outside.

The family faced personal challenges in the final months of Harald's life, including Mette-Marit's frequent contact with Jeffrey Epstein, which she later described as a regret. Her son, Marius Borg Høiby, was given a four-year jail term for two counts of rape in June and is under house arrest pending appeal. Høiby was granted permission to attend the funeral and sat in the second row during the cathedral ceremony alongside Märtha Louise's children.

What remains unknown is the full extent of the personal challenges faced by the royal family and how they will navigate their new roles in the wake of Harald's death.