The live speech was delivered from the Royal Palace in Oslo on Saturday evening.
Dear father, thank you for being a good father to Märtha and me. Warm and safe, said Haakon in his eulogy for his father.
You were the head of the family.
Haakon then emphasized that his father also had great importance for the Norwegian people, not least during difficult times such as the terrorist attacks against Utøya and the government offices in Oslo.
He cried with us when we lost so many on Utøya and in Oslo.
Occupied country
Then King Haakon spoke about the great change that has taken place in Norway since Harald was able to return to Norway after exile during World War II and the Nazi occupation of Norway.
The King got personal, thanking Harald for the support he gave his family during difficult times.
Haakon VIII sat at a desk, with two lit candles and a photograph of the late king beside him. He was visibly moved when he mentioned that Harald and his mother Sonja would have celebrated their wedding anniversary that day.
But in the speech, which was barely ten minutes long, he then turned back to the Norwegian people.
"Now we will be together in both good and difficult times," said the King, emphasizing that everyone is of equal value in Norwegian society:
We are one people.
“Everything for Norway”
Then the 53-year-old monarch explains why he has chosen the same motto as his father and the previous kings Haakon and Olav:
"'Everything for Norway' means fighting for everyone in Norway to have the opportunity to live a free life. It also means a responsibility to ensure that we as a nation contribute positively to the world," the King said, adding that it may involve difficult sacrifices.
And that means - as an ultimate consequence - being willing to risk everything, including life, for the freedom and independence of Norway, concluded King Haakon VIII, then asked for the people's support to succeed in the great task ahead of him.
May God preserve our country.
