King Harald of Norway dies aged 89

{"text":[[{"start":7.05,"text":"King Harald of Norway, Europe’s oldest reigning monarch, has died at the age of 89, at a moment of deep turmoil for the Scandinavian country’s royal family."}],[{"start":16.85,"text":"Harald, who became king in 1991 and was the first monarch born in Norway for almost 600 years, died on Friday after a short hospital stay for haemolytic anaemia, a condition in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than they can be replaced."}],[{"start":34.1,"text":"“It is with deep grief that we announce that His Majesty King Harald has passed away,” Norway’s Royal Court said in a statement. “King Harald died peacefully at Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet Friday 28 August at 6:35 AM.”"}],[{"start":48.650000000000006,"text":"His death is likely to prompt an outpouring of grief in Norway, where the monarchy has long enjoyed broad public affection."}],[{"start":56.2,"text":"Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said: “A whole nation is in mourning . . . For more than three decades as monarch, Harald V demonstrated an unwavering faith in the Norwegian people. He helped us to see the best in ourselves — and in one another.”"}],[{"start":71,"text":"Harald will be succeeded by Crown Prince Haakon, 53, a popular figure who has acted as regent several times in recent years during his father’s bouts of ill health."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":81.8,"text":"But Haakon will inherit one of the deepest crises for Norway’s royal family since the second world war, after his wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, faced critical questions from the public and politicians over her friendship with the deceased child sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein."}],[{"start":98.1,"text":"Marius Borg Høiby, Mette-Marit’s son from a previous relationship, was convicted in June of two counts of rape and sentenced to four years in prison. He is appealing against the conviction."}],[{"start":109.85,"text":"Mette-Marit’s health has also drawn public attention. She received a lung transplant only days after her son’s conviction, drawing sympathy from a public otherwise consumed by the crisis around the royal family."}],[{"start":122.85,"text":"Harald was the first Norwegian monarch born on the country’s soil since the 14th century. Norway had re-established its monarchy after independence in 1905 with the accession of his grandfather, a Danish prince who became King Haakon VII. Harald was born in 1937, the youngest of three children of the future King Olav V and Crown Princess Märtha, and their only son."}],[{"start":148.35,"text":"After the German invasion in 1940, Harald fled Norway with his mother and two older sisters, first to Sweden and then to the US at the invitation of President Franklin D Roosevelt."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":160.7,"text":"Harald attended two military colleges in Norway before studying politics, economics and history at Oxford university’s Balliol College."}],[{"start":169.79999999999998,"text":"A keen sailor, Harald represented Norway in three Olympic Games and won a world championship in 1987 and a European championship in 2005."}],[{"start":180.99999999999997,"text":"He married Sonja Haraldsen, a commoner from western Oslo, in 1968 and together they had two children, Märtha Louise in 1971 and Haakon in 1973."}],[{"start":194.64999999999998,"text":"Recent royal controversy has also centred on Märtha Louise’s second marriage to Durek Verrett, a US self-described shaman who sold a medallion he claimed could help protect against Covid-19 and accused the king of failing to understand racism."}],[{"start":210.39999999999998,"text":"For many Norwegians, the episode sat uneasily with memories of Harald’s 2016 speech marking 25 years on the throne, in which he embraced a broader definition of national identity, including Norway’s increasingly multicultural population and diverse sexual identities."}],[{"start":228.29999999999998,"text":"Even as revelations about Mette-Marit’s relationship with Epstein affected the public’s opinion about the monarchy, Harald’s personal popularity remained high. A February poll for state news outlet NRK gave him an average rating of 9.2 out of 10 as a representative of the royal family."}],[{"start":250.7,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1787912807_5401.mp3"}