Norway's new king to be known as Haakon VIII

Norway's King Harald V died early on Friday after more than 10 days in hospital and was succeeded by his son

Norway's new monarch has taken the name King Haakon VIII, the royal palace said in a post on Instagram on Friday, as widely expected by royal observers.

Norway's King Harald V died early on Friday after more than 10 days in hospital and was immediately succeeded by his son, until now known as Crown Prince Haakon.

The new king has chosen the personal motto "Everything for Norway", in keeping with the motto picked by his father, grandfather and great-grandfather since Norway's modern-day monarchy was established in 1905.

Norway had six kings named Haakon in the Middle Ages. When the modern-day monarchy was established in 1905, the first king chose the name Haakon VII.

Multiple challenge

Harald's death comes at a tumultuous time for the royal family.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit, married to Haakon and who becomes the new ​queen, is facing intense scrutiny for her friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a relationship for which she has apologised.

Read More: King Harald V, Norway's reform-minded head of state, dies at 89

Her son Marius Hoiby, born from a relationship predating her marriage ⁠to Haakon, was found guilty in June of two out of four counts of rape and one count of domestic violence and sentenced to four years in prison after a seven-week trial. Both he and the prosecution have appealed the sentence.

Two days after Marius ​was convicted, the palace said Mette-Marit had undergone a successful lung transplant, without specifying when the procedure took place.

After several weeks of recovery in hospital, she returned home and celebrated her silver wedding anniversary with Haakon in August.

Support for the monarchy dropped to 60% in ​February 2026, from 70% the previous month, according to a Norstat poll published by public broadcaster NRK, rising slightly to 64% in May.

Harald had constantly remained popular with Norwegians. According to the February poll, he was the royal who best represented the Norwegian royal family, with a note of 9.2, on a scale of 1 to 10.