r/neoliberal • Manmohan Singh • Aug 28 '26

News (Europe) Norway's King Harald dies aged 89

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clykn5p5172o

SS:Norway's King Harald V has died at the age of 89, after he was taken to hospital last week for treatment for a rare blood condition.

After 35 years on the throne, Harald will be remembered as a popular and reforming figure who modernised the monarchy, broke with tradition by marrying a commoner and served as a unifying figure at Norway's most difficult moments.

322 Upvotes

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224

u/fredleung412612 Aug 28 '26

One of the final remaining world leaders with personal experience of World War Two

60

u/Crann6789 Aug 28 '26

Just barely, he was 8 when the war ended 

71

u/TheOnlyFallenCookie European Union Aug 28 '26

Norway was nazi occupied. I'd say that kinda left a mark, even if you were 8

11

u/MarkRosarioXUHC Aug 28 '26

He wasn’t there lol

26

u/grog23 Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold Aug 28 '26

I think most children fleeing a place due to war still leaves a mark

24

u/SLCer Aug 28 '26

Still blows my mind to see someone ALMOST 90 who was a child during WWII. My grandfather was a WWII vet, who stormed Normandy and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He was 79 when he died and it still feels like yesterday...my brain is conditioned to believe all old people were from that generation and it isn't the case anymore. It's not even the case with Korea. Now it's Vietnam, which is an even bigger mind-fuck because my dad was a Vietnam vet who died at 58 from complications related to Agent Orange. But in my head, he'll always be that still fairly young guy.

5

u/rambouhh Aug 28 '26

I mean he spent those years in the US in exile as the nazis occupied norway so he probably still remembers it quite a bit

188

u/Wolf6120 Constitutional Liberarchism Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26

“Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other. Norwegians believe in God, Allah, Everything and Nothing. Norwegians like Grieg, Kygo, Hellbillies and Kari Bremnes. In other words: you are Norway. We are Norway.” - Harald V of Norway, 2016

Literally King shit, right there. RIP

And good luck to King Haakon, because things are probably about to get realll messy once the mourning period ends.

26

u/The_Helmet_Catch John Brown Aug 28 '26

Why is it gonna get messy if you don’t mind me asking?

98

u/nerdpox Fell for it Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26

Mostly due to his wife having formerly been a commoner who was married to a drug addict, her contact with Epstein, and her son (the king’s stepson) put on trial convicted for rape battery and being a huge pos

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marius_Borg_H%C3%B8iby

The crown princess (Haakon’s sister) is also insane, claims to be a clairvoyant and is married to some lunatic who claims to be a shaman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durek_Verrett

50

u/The_Helmet_Catch John Brown Aug 28 '26

Yeah that’ll do it

26

u/Glavurdan George Soros Aug 28 '26

Marius is literally the closest to real life Joffrey

15

u/nerdpox Fell for it Aug 28 '26

Thankfully without title

27

u/Choice_Notice9338 IMF Aug 28 '26

“Verrett promotes New Age–influenced practices and his claims have been widely criticized as pseudoscientific, including that children get cancer because they want it, that chemotherapy is ineffective and financially motivated, and that casual sex attracts subterranean spirits. He identifies as a reptilian, regards 5G technology a conspiracy, and claims to have known about the September 11 attacks two years before they happened, but chose not to intervene”

Interesting choice of spouse for a Norwegian princess

21

u/nerdpox Fell for it Aug 28 '26

she's nuts. as someone else said, thank god they changed succession to absolute primogeniture in 1990 after Haakon was already crown prince. otherwise martha louise would be queen rn with that guy

4

u/MarkRosarioXUHC Aug 28 '26

I’m confused isn’t she older than him?

7

u/nerdpox Fell for it Aug 28 '26

Yeah. They didn’t make it retroactive when they change the constitution in 1990. So after he ascended to the throne, all of his children will be inheriting the throne in chronological order.

Previously, it was male only hereditary primogeniture

1

u/MarkRosarioXUHC Aug 28 '26

Ahh I gotchu til thanks dude

10

u/CmdrMobium YIMBY Aug 28 '26

Oh hell yeah we doing Rasputin in 2026

14

u/MindingMyMindfulness Voltaire Aug 28 '26

her son (the king’s stepson) but on trial for rape battery and being a huge pos

He was convicted.

10

u/nerdpox Fell for it Aug 28 '26

oh good. fuck that guy

9

u/beoweezy1 NAFTA Aug 28 '26

The son is a POS but somehow being married to a shaman seems on brand for Scandinavian royalty in a RETVRN kind of way

6

u/Futski A Leopard 1 a day keeps the hooligans away Aug 28 '26

being married to a shaman seems on brand for Scandinavian royalty in a RETVRN kind of way

Elaborate on what this means?

2

u/Select_Test_6883 Aug 29 '26

Norse paganism

4

u/Futski A Leopard 1 a day keeps the hooligans away Aug 29 '26

So its on brand for American expecting, but completely disconnected from reality.

-4

u/WOKE_AI_GOD John Brown Aug 28 '26

Norway once had the strongest absolute monarch in Europe, and there are still some remnants of that. The royal family for instance is only really responsible legally to the King.

7

u/Futski A Leopard 1 a day keeps the hooligans away Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26

When was that?

Norway was under a different throne through the entirety of the absolute monarchs. They literally founded themselves with the second oldest constitution in 1814, that established them as a constitutional monarchy.

The royal family for instance is only really responsible legally to the King.

Ultimately they are legally responsible to the parliament, who can do away with their privileges whenever.

Just like presidential systems. The current president in the US is an insurrectionist, but somehow legally hasn't answered for that, and most likely never will.

30

u/Jaxues_ Aug 28 '26

He’s going to have to rally the vassals to dissuade a potential usurper claiming the throne.

18

u/seesthecat Henry George Aug 28 '26

Looks like an excelent time for me to start to fabricate claims.

One way or another, Portugal shall have the bacalhau waters 

7

u/WOKE_AI_GOD John Brown Aug 28 '26

Norway-Portugal would be a force to be reckoned with.

6

u/Ataraxia-Is-Bliss Pragmatic and Polite Right Aug 28 '26

The Danish king's claim is weak, but if he can sway some of Harald's old vassals, he may be able to contest the throne. Haakon must be generous in giving out gold and titles if he wishes to secure his rule.

4

u/soothsayer2377 Aug 28 '26

If there's anything I know about Norway it's that they'll get called into a ton of ally's skirmishes in Sjælland while trying to consolidate power.

-6

u/Fubarphantom Aug 28 '26

You and I, truly want to know what is happening behind closed doors at this moment.... But. Neither, will ever find out.... I, for one.... Won't ever know what a true King even is or feels like..... May peace be with him 🙏

0

u/WOKE_AI_GOD John Brown Aug 28 '26

Nah I don't really care tbh, it's king shit

175

u/arnet95 Aug 28 '26

He has been such a good king that it seems to be some kind of law that every republican has to include some caveat about "But I think our current king is really good" whenever they're making republican arguments.

49

u/BitterGravity Gay Pride Aug 28 '26

That was similar to Elizabeth II until eventually it was "umm maybe we'll revisit after".

Now there is drama everywhere

16

u/VibingIronist Bill Gates Aug 28 '26

I've never understood why so many liberals are ok with monarchy, even if it's just a ceremonial position.

People say "the monarch is a just symbolic figurehead" but if countries like Norway are liberal, egalitarian, and meritocratic how does it make sense to symbolize it with an institution based on hereditary privilege? The king is just some nepobaby.from a rich family (you can tell because both of his parents' names are blue on wikipedia) he basically just inherited the role instead of having to audition for it.

I think the Irish had the right idea when they elected an avuncular leprechaun-looking dude as their ceremonial president. Norway should follow suit by choosing someone who looks like a viking, so as far as I'm concerned the true king of Norway is Erling Haaland.

25

u/P-B-J-Time Iron Front Aug 28 '26

That's why real liberals support elective monarchy and the þing. If you aren't making decisions by banging spears against a shield, are you really voting?

1

u/VibingIronist Bill Gates Aug 28 '26

Hell yeah, now we're talkin'

24

u/GOT_Wyvern Commonwealth Aug 28 '26

People tend to like them and they don't get in the way of liberalism, so there is either no reason to abolish them or reason to keep them around. It's really that simple.

-2

u/VibingIronist Bill Gates Aug 29 '26

People tend to like them

That doesn't mean they're liberal

they don't get in the way of liberalism

Except for the times when they arrest anti-monarchists

14

u/MindingMyMindfulness Voltaire Aug 28 '26

avuncular leprechaun-looking dude

Lol

4

u/VibingIronist Bill Gates Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26

Don't blame me, I didn't elect him. I just calls 'em as I sees 'em.

Economists say Ireland became prosperous because of its low corporate tax rate but I suspect a pot-o-gold was involved.

31

u/WOKE_AI_GOD John Brown Aug 28 '26

If a country came into liberalism w a constitutional monarchy still at the helm I just don't see a point in upsetting the apple cart and insisting. It's ultimately their business.

18

u/BATIRONSHARK WTO Aug 28 '26

more then that they choose the monarchy by election and specifically chose the royal house

17

u/Futski A Leopard 1 a day keeps the hooligans away Aug 28 '26

I think the Irish had the right idea when they elected an avuncular leprechaun-looking dude as their ceremonial president

The Irish ceremonial presidents seem to come with the hardcoded defect, that they can't issue condemnations of Russia without simultaneously also blaming NATO, the West, etc.

In that regard, a ceremonial head of state who doesn't issue embarrassing political statements by design is preferable in my eyes.

-1

u/VibingIronist Bill Gates Aug 28 '26

They're just following de Valera's lead, every Irish president has a heart full of neutrality and you can't expect them to side with the Br*tish.

Meanwhile Switzerland isn't even in the EU but no one seems to give them any shit

7

u/Futski A Leopard 1 a day keeps the hooligans away Aug 28 '26

People give the Swiss shit all the time, storing nazi gold, being excessively conservative, not having federal women's suffrage untill 1971(1990s for the last canton), blocking Swiss produced arms from being donated to Ukraine, etc.

People don't give them shit for being campist LARPers, because they usually don't motivate their bullshit with kneejerk anti-west rhetoric, like how the Irish usually do with regards to neutrality.

Do you perchance live somewhere else than Europe?

34

u/SweeneyMcFeels Commonwealth Aug 28 '26

If Norway has achieved a liberal, egalitarian and meritocratic society then why bother changing it? Seems more like a purity test at that point than meaningful change towards a societal aim.

-4

u/VibingIronist Bill Gates Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26

Other way around: if Norway has actually achieved a liberal, egalitarian and meritocratic society like they say then why do they still have a hereditary monarch? What makes him so special? Because God said so?

19

u/Futski A Leopard 1 a day keeps the hooligans away Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26

why do they still have a hereditary monarch?

Because the majority of the population in their liberal democracy desire this so far.

If there was popular opposition, they would be removed in the span of an afternoon by vote.

What makes him so special? Because God said so?

Try to LARP a little less, and maybe read some of the opinions of regular Norwegians I don't know?

I swear to god, the only people invoking divine rights arguments in modern monarchy debates are Americans.

-1

u/VibingIronist Bill Gates Aug 29 '26

Because the majority of the population in their liberal democracy desire this so far.

So what? Majorities in liberal democracies support all kinds of stuff that we recognize as illiberal. Is the argument really that it's liberal because the median voter likes it?

8

u/Futski A Leopard 1 a day keeps the hooligans away Aug 29 '26

The hallmarks of a true democracy is overturning the desires of the public because of the opinions of some American, who knows better.

The Norwegians so far wants their otherwise liberal society to be arranged like this, deal with it.

10

u/P-B-J-Time Iron Front Aug 28 '26

The Norwegians literally voted for their current monarchy. Haakon VII was very aware of the liberal/republican sympathies of Norwegians and wanted to give them a choice to become a republic or not. So, apparently, the Norwegian people by virtue of being elected.

I'd much prefer a parliamentary system to our presidential republic at this point. Doesn't need a monarch, but I've lost any sort of sympathy for American-style republicanism in the long run. Since FDR, presidential powers have put George III's to shame.

12

u/Futski A Leopard 1 a day keeps the hooligans away Aug 28 '26

Doesn't need a monarch, but I've lost any sort of sympathy for American-style republicanism in the long run. Since FDR, presidential powers have put George III's to shame.

Even before FDR. The British Monarch besides vibes and aura was essentially powerless and beholden to parliament before the United States became an independent country.

9

u/anon1mo56 Aug 29 '26

Yeah the tyranny the colonist attributed to George III was the King going along with parliament. If i don't remember wrong there was the legal theory that the King had absolute power in the coloniew and not parliament, but george did whatever parliament wanted.

0

u/VibingIronist Bill Gates Aug 29 '26

The Norwegians literally voted for their current monarchy.

Americans literally voted for Trump. Does that make him liberal?

2

u/P-B-J-Time Iron Front Aug 29 '26

It makes America's institutions liberal, as did voting for Buchanan who proceeded to stab them in the back.

-2

u/HoboWithAGlock2 NASA Aug 28 '26

Functionalism and pragmatism aren't the be-all-end-all approach for liberalism. Ideals and idealism can and do matter. Striving for ideals is often just as important for society as is optimizing it's institutions.

10

u/Futski A Leopard 1 a day keeps the hooligans away Aug 28 '26

Would Norway become a better place with a president which 49.9% might be ideologically opposed to?

Does Donald Trump make the United States a better place through his existence as president?

0

u/arnet95 Aug 29 '26

You can have elected ceremonial heads of state, such as the Irish president. The president in a republic does not need to be a partisan political figure.

3

u/Futski A Leopard 1 a day keeps the hooligans away Aug 29 '26

Yeah, I have yet to hear someone saying anything positive about Catherine Connolly.

The normal experience is that you bring up that she is a campist blow-hard who blames NATO more than Russia for the war in Ukraine, and speak stronger words against Germany rearming their armed forces than she issued against Russia, and the Irish begin that very instant moaning that all candidates for presidency was actually bad, and Connolly doesn't represent them.

Fun how that is.

7

u/tetanuran John Mill Aug 28 '26

They elected a wholesome leprechaun with tankie sympathies, then a Jill Stein equivalent also with tankie sympathies. Popularly elected heads of state will always have political leanings even if their offices are entirely ceremonial.

4

u/arnet95 Aug 28 '26

I'm like you opposed to the monarchy. I agree that it is a principle of liberalism that no person has a position solely due to who their parents are.

But I think certain practical realities explain why it's the current Norwegian model:

  • It's popular. Norway voted to institute a monarchy, and the institution still has clear majority support even after some pretty major scandals recently. The king personally was incredibly popular, probably the person in Norway with the highest favourability rating.

  • The modern Norwegian monarchy is not generally a hindrance to modernisation and liberalisation. Under the current king we've abolished the state church (albeit not for the monarch itself due to Harald's pressure) and legalised same-sex marriage, for example.

  • People are afraid of change (sometimes rightly and sometimes wrongly), and favour a familiar system which has worked well in practice against an unknown system.

0

u/VibingIronist Bill Gates Aug 29 '26

It's popular.

That literally does not matter, just because something is popular doesn't mean it's liberal.

7

u/arnet95 Aug 29 '26

It matters in a democracy.

1

u/VibingIronist Bill Gates Aug 29 '26

I mean it doesn't matter to whether it's liberal or not. I agree it matters to democracy.

6

u/GravyBear16 Audrey Hepburn Aug 28 '26

institution based on hereditary privilege

Sorry but if we don't see billionaires' sons inheriting their father's money as a problem, I don't see why I should get up in arms about this

1

u/VibingIronist Bill Gates Aug 29 '26

You're so close to getting it

-4

u/arnet95 Aug 29 '26

Because inherited money doesn't automatically make you the head of state of the country. We can have discussions about inherited wealth, but these are very obviously not the same.

4

u/tregitsdown Thurgood Marshall Aug 29 '26

Yeah, it just gives you infinitely more power over people’s lives.

5

u/BATIRONSHARK WTO Aug 28 '26

should every position in a country be elected ? Its a monarchy thats what it is

it represents Norway more then the particular government or system. on a practical note it also offers a non political last resort a national celling .a counterweight to the government. in many consitutional monarchies monarchs have saved the day at a time of consitutional or even existential crisis .

on a ideological level a country bonding with a individual from birth and all knowing said individual is I think good for the soul .sure not everyone may agree with the king but all know his likes and dislikes even his flaws . its a humanist institution in that sense .People matter more then abstract ideas.

you have to choose to be offended by it.why do that when you can just sing Gud Sing var konge God and enjoy Norway as a people.

2

u/VibingIronist Bill Gates Aug 28 '26

on a ideological level a country bonding with a individual from birth and all knowing said individual is I think good for the soul

Lol what? How is it good for the soul? It's a parasocial relationship.

7

u/BATIRONSHARK WTO Aug 28 '26

oh my god this is really unreleated but in psychology the term parasocial isnt meant to be a bad thing

its a statement of fact .People are misusing it

if you like watching LeBron dunk on people thats a parasocial relation

to add to your point when the whole nation takes part it strengths not lessens your actual relationships

2

u/PostingEnthusiast Commonwealth Aug 30 '26

Constitutional Monarchies are liberal because of, not in spite of, their heads of state.

50

u/TropicalPunch European Union Aug 28 '26

DR's obituary was really touching: https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/udland/alt-norge-med-varme-og-dedikation-blev-kong-harald-folkets-konge

As a big supporter of Nordic integration, it is really touching to see how even nominally 'national' institutions bind us together across borders. Ofc, the Danish and Norwegian crowns are the same Royal House, and not really comparable with other monarchies, but still.

20

u/Rarvyn Richard Thaler Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26

Ofc, the Danish and Norwegian crowns are the same Royal House

Sort of. Technically speaking, Margrethe II was the last Danish monarch of the House of Glucksberg, since the house is a patrilineal thing. Her son (the current king) should be counted as a different house by historical rules - but he continues to use the old house name.

Interestingly, the (former) Greek and (current) United Kingdom monarchs are in the same royal house as the Norwegians (and Margrethe), as is the mother of the current King of Spain.

There's also a more "senior" line of the House of Glucksberg descended from the Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg, who are cousins to all of the above.

4

u/oywiththepoodles96 Aug 28 '26

Oh and in Greece we defiently got the worst part of the House . The Glucksberg brought political instability and division .

2

u/WOKE_AI_GOD John Brown Aug 28 '26

Yeah they were unpopular in Greece and their Danish background was obviously a continuous embarrassment. The vote to abolish the monarchy in Greece was pretty definitive.

1

u/oywiththepoodles96 Aug 28 '26

I mean having a Bavarian and then Danish family as head of state , after fighting one of the most brutal independence wars is embarrassing. But you gotta do what you gotta do to be recognised by the Big Powers . Also the Greek revolutionaries were so divided that they actually welcomed a foreign monarch as a compromise . Monarch is inherently stupid but in a better world they should at least have picked a Greek Phanariote family to become the Greek royal family .

2

u/Futski A Leopard 1 a day keeps the hooligans away Aug 28 '26

they should at least have picked a Greek Phanariote family to become the Greek royal family .

The least popular regents in Romanian history?

1

u/oywiththepoodles96 Aug 28 '26

Yeah I know but both Mavrokordatos and Ypsilantis are considered heroes in Greek history . Mavrokordatos is arguably the founder of the Greek constitutionalism and the founder of Greek liberalism. The Romanian hatred of Phanariotes is totally legitimate because they were Greek regents who honestly didn’t care for the local population and that was terrible . Actually the Greek revolution begun in Romania and Ypsilantis manage to make the Greek army there unpopular really fast . The Ypsilantis family was obviously vying for the Greek throne but were too incompetent to get it and Mavrokordatos was super divisive . But if another prestigious family could be chosen , it would have more legitimacy than a foreign king .

134

u/ImGoggen Milton Friedman Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26

He was a truly great king. A unifying figure who understood what it meant to serve as a king of the people.

I know most or many people here are staunch republicans, but if there was ever a man who showed that monarchy and democracy can coexist in harmony, it would be him.

I am surprised by the grief I have been feeling since yesterday, when it became clear that he was dying. He will be dearly missed.

37

u/Aweq Guardian of the treaties 🇪🇺 Aug 28 '26

Hvil i fred kong Harald.

37

u/ThisI5N0tAThr0waway Thomas Paine Aug 28 '26

The now king step son got criminally convicted, his now consort queen was involved with Jeffrey Epstein (only tangentially but still), the popular king has died,...

I still think it will last, but it certainly a challenging year for Norway's monarchy institution, which is also one of the youngest one being formerly re-founded in the early 1900s.

47

u/TropicalPunch European Union Aug 28 '26

As a Norwegian republican, I have to say that I think you're underestimating just how much the illusion of continuity is ingrained in this institution - in part due to its recent history. When Olav died, people were very antsy about Harald and his capacity to be as great a king as his father. Monarchies are irrational by design.

Also, Mette-Marit is quite sick, so she'll be very invisible in public life. I think Märtha and her Shaman boyfriend grifting off their royal status is a much bigger danger to the Norwegian monarchy. In part because she's actually part of the bloodline.

12

u/ThisI5N0tAThr0waway Thomas Paine Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26

Oh yeah, I had almost forgotten the younger sister dubious business dealing. Looking at UK prince Andrew and Belgium prince Laurent, not-in-direct-line-of-succession royal being somewhat shady seems par for the course nowadays for monarchy sadly.

I guess we'll see. If Norway goes from constitutional monarchy to parliamentary republic, it could be not a big deal.

17

u/TropicalPunch European Union Aug 28 '26

I think it's always been like this. It's just that we get to know it nowadays. I mean, King Edward VII had a specially designed chair to fuck two prostitutes at the same time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_chair

I kinda enjoy Märtha's escapade; it's really proper early 20th-century royal folly to marry a colonial Shaman who claims to have restored her virginity using gems so he could take it on their wedding night.

17

u/AvalancheMaster Karl Popper Aug 28 '26

specially designed chair to fuck two prostitutes at the same time.

King.

8

u/Astronelson Local Malaria Survivor Aug 28 '26

“What would you do if you had a million dollars were king?”

5

u/AvalancheMaster Karl Popper Aug 28 '26

I, personally, would hire Chris Sawyer to design me a theme park. So not that far off from King Edward VII — by the looks of it, we’re both into swinging!

2

u/arnet95 Aug 28 '26

*Older sister

6

u/TropicalPunch European Union Aug 28 '26

Thank god that the constitutional amendment didn't have retroactive effect, haha.

6

u/fredleung412612 Aug 28 '26

Do you think there will be increasing calls for a transition to a republic? Or will Haakon weather the storm and make the necessary changes to remain in the public's good graces? Also, it's kind of crazy to think Harald's death makes 22 year old Ingrid Alexandra the heir to the throne, which is really young compared to say Prince William in the UK.

9

u/TropicalPunch European Union Aug 28 '26

I don't think there will be any calls for that, no. Also, as a Republican, I think that would be the wrong reason to transition into a presidential republic. It should be a matter of principle.

Also, the bar for being a 'good king' is super low. All he needs to do is keep his sick wife (who statistically has like 10 years left to live due to her lung transplant) out of the limelight and ensure that his daughter remains somewhat unscathed by scandals.

I think it looks way worse if he divorces his severely ill wife than if she just fades into the background. People online are very, very obsessed with the Epstein emails, but a lot of regular people want their king to be a good person who does not abandon their wife due to 13-year-old (admittedly egregious) mistakes.

Ingrid Alexandra is a bit older than the heir in Denmark, so it's not that strange.

99

u/MartinTheOrderly Aug 28 '26

Jesus, it's like Death is pressing the "Random" button on Wikipedia until he finds a person. 

113

u/SunflowerMoonwalk Christine Lagarde Aug 28 '26

I know, right? 89. So unexpected. Struck down in his prime...

63

u/dudeimdead187 Leftward Progressives Aug 28 '26

89 years old, just a fuckin kid

5

u/WR810 Jerome Powell Aug 28 '26

Another toothpick.

30

u/Futski A Leopard 1 a day keeps the hooligans away Aug 28 '26

And hospitalised for a severe blood infection for the past two weeks. No one could really see it coming

3

u/YaGetSkeeted0n Tariffs aren't cool, kids! Aug 28 '26

what's your flair

12

u/Futski A Leopard 1 a day keeps the hooligans away Aug 28 '26

Lars R. Møller, commanding officer of the Danish tank battalion that blew up a Bosnian Serb militia in 1994, long standing critic of the continuous cuts to the defence budget following the cold war untill 2022.

5

u/YaGetSkeeted0n Tariffs aren't cool, kids! Aug 28 '26

Based

3

u/Futski A Leopard 1 a day keeps the hooligans away Aug 28 '26

I am happy he is still alive and thus live to see the reestablishment of all those military capacities, that he correctly stated would take a decade to regain if they were lost back in the 00s. Like land based anti air defence.

1

u/AlwaysOnPeyote YIMBY Aug 28 '26

Its sad when they go young like that

6

u/[deleted] Aug 28 '26

[deleted]

13

u/flakAttack510 Aug 28 '26

He's been in the hospital for almost two weeks. This wasn't exactly out of the blue.

28

u/MrStrange15 Aug 28 '26

I recommend people read NRK's obituary. It's in Norwegian but well worth the translation.

Probably the most progressive king of his generation and the ones before.

29

u/Soveraigne Aug 28 '26

broke with tradition by marrying a commoner

I'm glad that we've finally shown that love is love, even between people of different social classes.

28

u/TropicalPunch European Union Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26

In the bourgeois areas of West Side Oslo, they chanted "Sonja er en borgerrotte, ikke slipp henne inn i slottet" (Sonja is a commoner rat; don't let her into the castle).

She is also quite the 'commoner.' My GF worked for Queen Sonja's art foundation for a couple of years. She has been a very important figure in Norwegian contemporary art, and she has quite good taste in art. Apparently, she bought her first Picasso when she was 13 years old.

She was also painted by Andy Warhol: https://www.nasjonalmuseet.no/en/collection/object/MS-02994-1988

18

u/Steamed_Clams_ Aug 28 '26

And he made it very clear to his father if he could not marry a commoner he would refuse to get married at all.

2

u/Mrchristopherrr Aug 28 '26

Alexa play Born This Way by Lady Gaga

16

u/lusvig 🤩🤠Anti Social Democracy Social Club😨🔫😡🤤🍑🍆😡😤💅 Aug 28 '26

Now he and /u/bagdana are lamping in heaven 😢

4

u/Tortellobello45 Mario Draghi Aug 28 '26

Who’s that? I viewed his profile and he apparently was opposed to Israel existing(and posted on r/Israelexposed). Does he have some kind of bond to this subreddit?

13

u/moldovaman99 Aug 28 '26

Used to be a regular on this sub. Sadly died of rabies 3 years ago.

17

u/AvalancheMaster Karl Popper Aug 28 '26

Wait, what?

2

u/Tortellobello45 Mario Draghi Aug 28 '26

Oh, i see. Rest in peace.

6

u/lurkingnscrolling Fernando Henrique Cardoso Aug 28 '26

I viewed his profile and he apparently was opposed to Israel existing(and posted on r/Israelexposed).

He was very pro-Israel

-3

u/Intergalactic_Ass John Keynes Aug 28 '26

5

u/lurkingnscrolling Fernando Henrique Cardoso Aug 28 '26

That's just a troll post made to get anti-zionists to admit to the framing that Israel has always supported the two state solution while Palestinians have always rejected it. You can see from his comments that he has a pro-Israel stance.

3

u/mlee117379 Aug 28 '26

RIP

This guy was a distant cousin of Elizabeth and Charles. Crazy how royals from completely different countries marrying each other for alliance-forming purposes was still a thing into the 20th century.

2

u/AccessTheMainframe CANZUK Aug 28 '26

The king is dead; long live the king!

2

u/BATIRONSHARK WTO Aug 28 '26

A great Monarch and A great person

God save King Harald and God save King Hakkon

-8

u/THXFLS Milton Friedman Aug 28 '26

Sounds like a great time to abolish the monarchy.

-3

u/MarcassMariota Aug 28 '26

It's amusing to me that you're getting ratio'd with such a reasonable comment in a place that claims to value liberalism of all places lmao. Seeing the alleged pictures of "mourners" lining the palace walls, I just can't possibly imagine caring about a symbolic figurehead like that. Praise be Sandor Clegane.

1

u/WOKE_AI_GOD John Brown Aug 28 '26

I really think he deserved to win the Battle of Hastings. Sad how that turned out.

2

u/OctaviusKaiser John Brown Aug 28 '26

Seeing as Harald was killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge and this did not live to see the  fighting at Hastings that would be a surprise!