PROFILE: Norway’s new King Haakon VII takes throne, faces royal scandals

King Haakon VII has ascended to the throne of Norway following the death of his father, King Harald V, who was 89 years old. According to MyJoyOnline Ghana, King Harald V passed away peacefully at 06:35 local time on Friday at the national hospital in Oslo. He had been taken to hospital the previous week for treatment for a rare blood condition.

King Harald V was Norway's first king born in Norway since the 14th Century and had been on the throne for 35 years. MyJoyOnline Ghana described him as a popular and reforming figure who modernised the monarchy, broke with tradition by marrying a commoner, and served as a unifying figure at Norway's most difficult moments, such as the 2011 bomb and gun attacks on Oslo and the island of Utøya.

King Haakon VII, who is 53 years old, automatically succeeded to the throne and will hold an extraordinary council of state with the government. The Norwegian monarch serves a largely symbolic role, with real power resting with an elected parliament. Global News reported that King Harald V was Europe's oldest monarch and had refused to abdicate, unlike other aging monarchs.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria, Punch, Global News, The Peninsula Qatar, MyJoyOnline Ghana — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.