OSLO (AFP)
Thousands of people gathered outside Norway's royal palace to pay their respects to King Harald, who died Friday aged 89 after a reign of three and a half decades.
Harald's 53-year-old son immediately succeeded him on the throne, announcing he would reign under the name King Haakon VIII.
Haakon takes over a monarchy long hailed for its modernity and modesty.
The new king arrived at the palace with his 22-year-old daughter Ingrid Alexandra -- the new crown princess -- to formally inform the government of his father's death.
In a statement, Haakon thanked "the government and Norwegian people for their support and sympathy for the Royal Family in this time".
"An era has ended. A new one begins. The king is dead. Long live the king," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said in a speech shortly after meeting the new monarch. "We will remember King Harald for his love for his people, for his humour and warmth, and for his unwavering faith in us."
Europe's oldest reigning monarch, King Harald had been in hospital in Oslo since August 17, suffering from haemolytic anaemia, a condition caused by an abnormally rapid destruction of red blood cells that leads to fatigue and shortness of breath.
Store said Harald, who ascended to the throne in 1991, was "a king of his time and for his time," noting that he accompanied Norway through decades of enormous change during which the country "grew richer, we became more numerous, and we became more diverse".
The thousands of Norwegians who massed outside the palace in Oslo laid down mountains of flowers, cards, cuddly toys and Norwegian flags, and many hugged and held each other.
The government announced a period of national mourning until the king's funeral, the date of which is yet to be set. The palace lowered its flag to half-mast in the morning after Harald's death was announced, but it was raised again after Haakon arrived for the meeting with the government.
Tributes poured in from leaders around the world, including those of UAE, France, Germany, India, Italy, Jordan, and Ukraine, as well as the royal houses of Europe. Britain's King Charles III spoke in a statement of his "profound sadness" at losing his "dear cousin".
Harald faced mounting health problems in his final years, forcing him to scale back his official schedule. But he ruled out abdicating, arguing that he took a lifelong oath before the Norwegian parliament.