King Harald V had one more party up his sleeve. Before his death on Aug. 28, the Norwegian monarch had started planning a joint 90th birthday celebration with Queen Sonja, a three-day affair scheduled for February 2027 that promised to bring a glittering lineup of European royals to Oslo. Now, it has been called off.
© LISE AASERUDThe plans were shared by the Norwegian outlet Dagbladet, which obtained a save-the-date letter the palace had sent out in late June, weeks before the king's health took its final turn. The letter asked guests to keep Feb. 19 through 21 free, and said a formal invitation would follow shortly. The outlet said it couldn't confirm whether those formal invitations went out before the king's death.
The palace didn't reveal further details. Apart from a gala dinner hosted at the Royal Palace on Saturday, Feb. 20, nothing about the weekend was ever made public, though setting aside three full days suggests several events were in the works. The guest list hinted at something grand. Dagbladet reports that one of the letters was sent to Iceland's president, Halla Tómasdóttir, and her husband, Björn Skúlason. The royal couple planned to host Nordic heads of state, European royal houses and other key representatives.
The shared celebration was a sentimental choice. Harald would have turned 90 on Feb. 21, 2027, and Sonja would reach that milestone a few months later, on July 4. Instead of marking the two birthdays separately, the two decided to celebrate jointly, a fitting gesture for a couple that has been married for almost 58 years.
© LISE ASERUDWhat we know of the Queen's birthday
Queen Sonja's 90th birthday is still ahead, leaving room for the same celebration to be scaled down or pushed back to July. The palace hasn't shared any plans. When Dagbladet asked whether the festivities would go ahead in her honor, the Royal House replied: "Following King Harald's passing, it is not natural to go into detail about the plans that were made. Activities that had been planned during King Harald's reign have generally been canceled, and the Royal House's official program has been rescheduled."
A lavish party for a landmark birthday would have been true to form.
© ODD ANDERSENNorway's king and queen have long marked their milestone birthdays in style, most recently for their joint 80th in May 2017, when royals from across Europe converged on Oslo for two days of festivities, including a gala dinner at the Royal Palace and a banquet at the Oslo Opera House. "After almost 50 years of marriage, we are still in this together. We share experiences, we face worries and also joys," said Harald at the time.
Nearly a decade later, that toast reads as the closest thing to a final word on the celebration that will now never happen.
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