Harald V

Harald V, born on February twenty-first, nineteen thirty-seven, is the reigning King of Norway, having ascended to the throne in nineteen ninety-one. A member of the House of Glücksburg, he is the third child and only son of King Olav V and Princess Märtha of Sweden. Harald's early life was marked by the upheaval of World War II, as the royal family went into exile due to the German occupation. He spent part of his childhood in Sweden and the United States before returning to Norway in nineteen forty-five.

His education included studies at the University of Oslo, the Norwegian Military Academy, and Balliol College, Oxford. A passionate sportsman, Harald represented Norway in sailing at the Olympic Games in nineteen sixty-four, nineteen sixty-eight, and nineteen seventy-two, later becoming the patron of World Sailing. Following the death of his grandfather, King Haakon VII, in nineteen fifty-seven, Harald became crown prince as his father took the throne.

In nineteen sixty-eight, he married Sonja Haraldsen, a union that initially faced controversy due to her commoner status. Together, they have two children: Märtha Louise and Haakon, the latter being the heir apparent due to the male-preference primogeniture in place at the time of his birth. As his father's health declined in nineteen ninety, Harald assumed the role of regent, taking on most royal duties until his father's passing.

Since becoming king, Harald has faced health challenges, with Crown Prince Haakon acting as regent on five occasions between two thousand three and two thousand twenty-six. As of two thousand twenty-four, he holds the distinction of being Norway's oldest-reigning monarch, surpassing his father, and following the death of Elizabeth II in two thousand twenty-two, he is now the oldest-reigning monarch in Europe.