Östrem sits on a bench by the palace in Oslo, where piles of flowers, candles and drawings seem to be growing by the minute. 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 queueing for three hours," says Östrem's neighbour Sigmund Norderhos, a retired bank employee.
Both emphasise that King Harald has been a warm and unifying force and has shown the best of Norway during his time as regent.
Many people seem to share that opinion. It's as if a proud seriousness has settled over the Norwegian capital. Oslo residents cross between double riot fences with dignity, give way to police and place roses at the kerbs. 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 royalty and heads of state will participate in the funeral procession, which will mostly travel on foot. Exceptions will be made for the two queens, Mette-Marit, who recently had 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 Löver and project manager Vidar Hansen, who took the train from Horten south of Oslo to honour the king.
It is important to us, they emphasise, 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 will be taken to Akershus Fortress. It is there, in the crypt under the castle church, that King Harald will be laid to rest. After that, King Haakon VIII and his family will return to the castle where they will go out onto the balcony and wave. Then the flag on the castle will be raised to full height again.
When he is buried, we must accept it and move on. . . This is like the last evening of King Harald's reign, says Hilde Östrem 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 Denmark 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.
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 completed his education at 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, the 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
