Royal Attendance at King Harald V’s Funeral

---

Confirmed:

Norway Royal Family

• Norway Royals + Extended Family
  • No word yet on whether Marius Borg Høiby will be allowed to attend given he is under house arrest.
    • Marius is King Harald’s Step-grandson/Queen Mette-Marit’s son from a previous relationship.

European Monarchies

• Belgium
  • King Philippe & Queen Mathilde
• Denmark
  • King Frederik & Queen Mary
  • ” Other participation from the royal family will be announced later.”

Non-European Monarchies

• None have announced yet they are attending.

Former Monarchies/Royal Houses

• None have announced yet they are attending.

---

Possible:

We have listed the Monarchies we think will attend, breaking it down by how likely.

1,000% (Attendance not Confirmed, but…)

The Scandinavian Monarchies are extremely close friends, relatives, and each other godparents. We expect not just one royal/couple, but there is a good chance multiple royals/ extended family will be attending for each Monarchy. Looking at King Olav’s Funeral Denmark & Sweden each sent at least 4 royals.

• Sweden
  • Likely King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia, possibly with other Sweden Royals.
    • I would be surprised if we don’t see at least one of King Carl Gustaf’s children attending.

100% (Expected)

We expect to see these monarchies send a senior royals. We have listed the most likely person, but given funerals are last minutes, scheduling is a big factor on who can attend.

• Luxembourg
  • Likely either Grand Duke Guillaume and Grand Duchess Stephanie or Grand Duke Henri
    • Grand Duchess Maria Teresa does not travel well. So, I would not expect her to join Henri if he attended.
• Netherlands
  • Likely King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima
    • Queen Maxima is Prince Sverre Magnus’s Godmother.
  • But there is a chance of Princess Laurentien attending in a personal capacity.
    • She is a close friend of Princess Märtha Louise and godmother Märtha Louise’s daughter Leah Behn
    • Princess Laurentien attended Ari Behn’s Funeral (2020) and Princess Märtha Louise’s wedding to Durek Verrett (2024)
• Spain
  • Likely King Felipe and Queen Letizia
    • King Felipe is Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra’s godfather.
• UK
  • Unlikely to be King Charles
    • Queen Elizabeth II as monarch did not attend many foreign heads of state funerals. I would expect Charles to do that same.
    • If he did attend, I would not expect to see Camilla as she does not travel well. So, she does not often do short trips abroad.
  • Likely either Prince William or Princess Anne
    • Princess Anne is King Haakon’s Godmother.

90-99% (Expected, but if they don’t…)

European Monarchies

I think it is likely they will attend. But, these two monarchies are the most common absent. They don’t always attend Big Foreign Royal Events. And were both absent from at least one of the recent big foreign royal events in Norway.

• Monaco
  • Likely Prince Albert of Monaco
    • I would not expect to see Princess Charlene with him.
  • Monaco attended one of the recent big Foreign Royal events in Norway, King Harald & Queen Sonja’s 80th Birthday Gala (2017). But was absent from Princess Ingrid Alexandra’s 18th Birthday Gala (2022).
• Liechtenstein
  • Likely Hereditary Prince Alois
  • Liechtenstein was absent from both King Harald & Queen Sonja’s 80th Birthday Gala (2017), and Princess Ingrid Alexandra’s 18th Birthday Gala (2022).

Former Monarchies/Royal Houses

• Greek Royal Family
  • Likely Crown Prince Pavlos & Crown Princess Marie-Chantal
    • They have been guests at both recent big foreign royals events in Norway: King Harald & Queen Sonja’s 80th Birthday Gala (2017), and Princess Ingrid Alexandra’s 18th Birthday Gala (2022)
    • Crown Prince Pavlos is god-father to Prince Prince Sverre Magnus.
  • The Greek Royals are relatives of the Denmark Royals… and therefore extended family of Norway Royals. And have attended recently foreign royals events in Norway.
• Bulgaria
  • Attended King Harald & Queen Sonja’s 80th Birthday celebrations in 2017
  • Princess Rosario is Prince Sverre Magnus’s Godmother.

70% (Maybe)

Non-European Monarchies

These monarchies attended King Olav of Norway’s Funeral in 1991.

• Japan
• Thailand

Possible Foreign Royal Houses

• Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg
  • Branch of Denmark Extended Royal Family
  • Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg is godmother to Maud Angelica Behn.

Less than 70% (Seems unlikely… But there are always a few surprises on the guest list)

Monarchies outside of Europe

There are different levels of State Funerals in terms of attendance, ranging from every country with diplomatic relations is invited to send a delegate… all the way to only our closest friends/neighbors are invited to send a delegate.

King Harald’s State Funeral is probably in the middle. We will see High European attendance. But outside of Europe, not every country will be invited to send a delegate. Those countries would just be represented by their in-country ambassador. It is a lot easier for security, and logistics that way. Only those countries/Royals with a particularly close or important relationship would be invited.

• Every Other Non-European Monarchy
• Jordan
  • Of Middle Eastern Monarchies, Jordan probably has the highest attendance at European Royal Events. However, I think it is unlikely as Jordan has not been on the guest list for recent Norway Royal Events.
    • Norway attended the Funeral of King Hussein of Jordan (1999) and Wedding of Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan (2024). But Jordan did not attend Funeral of King Olav (1991), Recent Norway Royal Weddings, etc.

Former Monarchies/Royal Houses

With a State Funeral, Norway may be obligated to invite certain countries it has diplomatic relations with… But since Former Royal Houses no longer hold an official role, there is no obligation to invite them to a state event. Their attendance would be in a personal capacity, due to their friendship with the Norway Royal Family.

• Every Other Former Monarchy
• Romania
  • I was thinking about them, as they are one of the most frequent attendees at European Foreign Royal events. In a personal capacity, I think it is unlikely they would be invited to Harald’s Funeral.
    • Romania Royal Family was not invited to recent big foreign royal events in Norway. They did not attend King Olav of Norway’s funeral (1991). And Norway did not send anyone to King Michael’s Funeral (2017).

---