King Harald V of Norway laid to rest in royal-filled ceremony in Oslo

The funeral of King Harald V of Norway has been laid to rest in Oslo, with a plethora of royals from across Europe in attendance.

Australian-born Queen Mary of Denmark and husband King Frederik were among the bus-load of royals putting on a strong show of support for widowed Queen Sonja and the new King Haakon VIII.

The funeral, 12 days after the monarch’s death, started with a procession of the coffin from Royal Palace to Oslo Cathedral at midday (8pm AEST) on Wednesday.

As a 21-gun salute rang out across the capital, King Haakon led the procession for his father’s bier alongside his sister Princess Märtha Louise, daughter Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra and son Prince Sverre Magnus.

His wife, Queen Mette-Marit, and mother, Queen Sonja, followed behind in a motorcade.

The Norwegian royal family was joined by most of the 31 royals in attendance, as they followed on foot for the 1.2-kilometre procession.

The royal women were all dressed in black ensembles, while the men wore ceremonial uniforms of their respective countries for the solemn occasion.

Princess Anne was not only there as a representative for her brother King Charles but was also on hand to support her godson, King Haakon.

Behind the royals in the procession were more than 20 international politicians and dignitaries, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

As the procession approached the cathedral, King Haakon stopped to salute a military guard of honour.

The Reverend Olav Fykse Tveit, Preses of the Bishops’ Conference for the Church of Norway, an Evangelical-Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity, greeted the royal family with handshakes and words of comfort.

Queen Sonja and Queen Mette Marit took their places either side of King Haakon in the front row of the cathedral, with the pair both seen crying behind their veils during the emotional service.

The funeral service began with a one-minute silence at 1pm (9pm AEST). Local media reported a single mobile phone began ringing inside the cathedral during this time.

Similarly, Shaman Durek Verrett, the late king’s son-in-law, was seen wiping away tears as he sat behind the king and queens, next to his wife Princess Märtha Louise.

Seated in the same row was Marius Borg Høiby, a convicted rapist and stepson of the new king who had taken part in a ceremony earlier in the mourning period but skipped the royal procession.

He arrived directly at the cathedral with Princess Märtha Louise’s daughters and Shaman Durek before the procession began.

Intimate and poignant service

In a poignant moment after the bier arrived into the cathedral, Queen Sonja, Harald’s wife of 57 years, placed a single red rose on top of the casket, next to an arrangement of white flowers.

The ceremony was held inside the same cathedral as the couple’s wedding in 1968, with Harald dying just a day before the couple’s 58th anniversary.

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During this speech, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, paid tribute to the Queen who stood alongside their king during his 35-year reign, making the widow emotional as he nodded to her in thanks.

Norwegian parliament’s speaker, Masud Gharahkhani , called King Harald a man of the people who “wasn’t afraid to meet people in his rubber boots”, speaking to his approachable nature of the late monarch.

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, who is King Harald’s goddaughter, honoured “Uncle Harald” by reciting the prayer of St Francis of Assisi during the service.

Following the service, an air force flyover took place with several F-35 fighter jets flying over central Oslo as the royals began a second procession.

In a beautiful show of solidarity, neighbouring monarchs King Frederik of Denmark and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden flanked King Haakon as the trio walked directly behind the coffin. Gustaf is also Haakon’s godfather.

Members of parliament followed behind the royals for the one-kilometre walk.

A military band and troops led the procession, with about 3500 armed forces involved in Wednesday’s ceremony.

A motorcade, carrying the remaining European royals, followed in the procession from Oslo Cathedral to Akershus Castle Church, where the late king’s ancestors are buried.

The three Nordic kings saluted the coffin as it was taken to the royal mausoleum in the crypt ahead of the private ceremony for the family and royal guests.

Following the service, the casket was lowered into the crypt of the palace church, where there are two sarcophagi (or stone coffins) with other buried royals.

As King Haakon and Queen Mette-Marit emerged from the church into the Akershus Fortress courtyard, flags around the country were returned to full-staff ending the official 12 days of mourning.

A double royal salute was fired and church bells rang out across the country.

The entire entourage was then driven back to the Royal Palace, where a private wake was to take place for royals and dignitaries.

Norwegians also got their first balcony moment with their new king, queen and crown princess after the family arrived back at the palace.

Locals turned out in their hundreds of thousands

Police estimated more than 118,000 Norwegians lined the streets of the city centre to watch the first of two royal processions on the day.

Dozens of churches, libraries, cultural centres and city halls around the country made big screens available for people to watch the funeral, public broadcaster NRK reported.

About 46,000 people lined up over the past 12 days to pay their respects to the late monarch as he lay in state.

King Harald, the first Norwegian-born monarch to inherit the Norwegian throne in more than 600 years, died in hospital on August 28 while the 89-year-old was being treated for a serious blood infection.

He was the oldest-reigning monarch in Europe at the time of his death, having spoken out against abdication as some of his peers had done.

Massive royal turnout to farewell beloved king

Queen Mary and King Frederik, together with their son, Crown Prince Christian, weren’t the only royals honouring the much-loved king, who was on the throne for 35 years.

Swedish neighbours were out in force, with King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia in attendance.

Their daughters Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Madeleine, as well as son Prince Carl Philip, together with his wife Princess Sofia were also there.

Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia were also there, along with King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, Crown Princess Catharina-Amalia and Princess Beatrix of The Netherlands.

Prince Albert of Monaco and his wife Princess Charlene attended, as did Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, along with King Abdullah and Queen Rania of Jordan.

Representing King Charles and the British monarchy, Prince William and his aunt Princess Anne attended.

Similarly, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Japan represented Emperor Naruhito at the royal ceremony.

Smaller European nations were also present, including Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg and his wife Stephanie, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.

Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein, with his wife Hereditary Princess Sophie, and Princess Katherine of Serbia also attended.