Østrem sits on a bench at the palace in Oslo, where piles of flowers, candles and drawings seem to be constantly growing. People come and go as only hours remain until the funeral.
"Harald gave so much for so many years. I was at the coffin in the Palace Chapel yesterday, after queuing for three hours," says Østrem's neighbor Sigmund Norderhos, a retired bank employee.
Both emphasize that King Harald has been a warm and unifying force and has shown the best of Norway during his time as monarch.
Many people seem to share that image. It's as if a proud seriousness has settled over the Norwegian capital. Oslo residents cross with dignity between double riot fences, give way to police and place roses at the curbs. Along the main street, Karl Johan, traffic signs are being dismantled while giant screens and torch holders in purple and gold have taken their place.
Being Norwegian
King Harald's funeral begins in the cathedral at 1 p.m. But before that, his family gathers for a private moment by the coffin in the Palace Chapel.
At 12 o'clock the gates to the palace will open, a 21-gun salute will be fired and the solemn procession will begin. It will be long, and in addition to the royal family, foreign royals and presidents will take part in the funeral procession, which will mostly be on foot. Exceptions will be made for the two queens, Mette-Marit, who recently received a lung transplant, and 89-year-old widow Sonja, who will travel by car, according to the Norwegian court.
The security effort is enormous as hundreds of thousands of spectators are expected to turn out. Among them are student Ella Løver and project manager Vidar Hansen, who took the train from Horten south of Oslo to honor the king.
It is important to us, they emphasize, adding that Harald, in a speech in 2016, defined what it means to be Norwegian.
The king then said, among other things, that his compatriots may have been born in Norway or have immigrated from other countries, that Norwegians believe in "God, Allah, Everything and Nothing" and may be attracted to people of the same sex.
“Must accept”
The funeral service will be led by the highest representative of the Church of Norway, Olav Fykse Tveit. It will begin with a minute's silence throughout the country. Speaker of the Storting, Masud Gharahkhani, and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre will be among the speakers.
After the ceremony, the coffin is taken to Akershus Fortress on the waterfront in the middle of Oslo. It is there, in the crypt under the castle church, that Harald is laid to rest. After that, King Haakon VIII and his family return to the castle where they will go out onto the balcony. Then the flag on the castle is raised to full mast once again.
When he is buried, we have to accept it and move on. . . This is like the last night of King Harald's reign, says Hilde Østrem by the sea of flowers.
Facts: King Harald V
The then Prince Harald was born on the Skaugum farm in Asker on February 21, 1937, as the son of Crown Prince Olav and Swedish-born Crown Princess Märtha, who never became queen before she died in 1954.
Harald's father, Crown Prince Olav, who later became King Olav V, was born in Great Britain and came to Norway after the dissolution of the union with Sweden in 1905, when Olav's father became King Haakon VII of Norway.
After graduating from high school in Oslo, Harald trained in the military, but also spent a few years at Oxford where he studied political science, history and economics from 1960 to 1962.
He showed an early interest in sports and has competed in sailing, including in three Olympics.
In 1968 he married the future Queen Sonja and had children Märtha Louise and Haakon.
In 1991, Harald became King of Norway after the death of his father.
Source: The Royal House and NTB
Haakon was born on July 20, 1973 in Oslo as the second child of King Harald and Queen Sonja.
Graduated from Kristelig Gymnasium in Oslo in 1992 and graduated from the Naval Academy in Bergen in 1995.
Holds a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master's degree from the London School of Economics with a specialization in international trade and Africa.
He is a general in the army, an admiral in the navy and a general in the air force. With the royal title, he becomes, according to the constitution, supreme commander - supreme commander.
Married Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby in Oslo Cathedral in 2001.
The couple has two children: Ingrid Alexandra, born in 2004, and Sverre Magnus, born in 2005. Haakon is also the stepfather of Marius Borg Høiby.
Haakon became king when his father died on August 28. He has adopted the same motto as his father: "Everything for Norway".
Source: The Royal House and NTB
