Royal Marines pay tribute to late King of Norway at his funeral in Oslo

The late king, who died on 28 August, maintained a dedicated 45-year relationship with the British Armed Forces as an Honorary Colonel in the UK Royal Marines and an Honorary General in the British Army.

He met with UK Commando Forces leadership every year and maintained a sharp, active interest in the corps.

The Royal Marines provided a marching detachment of one officer and 21 other ranks who marched out and lined the route of the funeral procession. The funeral was attended by the Prince of Wales, representing HM The King, and the Princess Royal attended in a private capacity as godmother of the new King Haakon VIII.

King Harald V’s father, King Olav V, was appointed an honorary admiral in the Royal Navy in 1958, and in 1961 he and his son, the then Crown Prince Harald, were hosted onboard the Royal Navy Aircraft Carrier HMS Hermes, during her wider regional engagement visit to Oslo.

In March 1981, Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II appointed the then Crown Prince as an Honorary Colonel in the Royal Marines.

This appointment led to his deep affiliation with the Royal Marines and signified the relationship between the Corps and Norway, that had developed over the years of shared operations and training exercises in Arctic and mountain warfare.

His honorary appointment in 1981 was the first involving a member of a foreign Royal household in the history of the Royal Marines.

Shortly after his appointment, the then Crown Prince paid his first visit to the Royal Marines in October 1981.

His three-day visit began with CTCRM Lympstone, where he inspected his Guard of Honour provided by CTCRM and HQ and Signal Squadron of 3rd Commando Brigade, watched trainees on the Tarzan and Assault courses, visited the sick bay to speak to patients and attended a Corps dinner night at which he was presented with a sword by the Acting Commandant General on behalf of the Corps.

On the second day he was taken to Jennycliff by helicopter where he was shown a demonstration of a Viking ship along the shore, before witnessing a cliff assault by C Company of 40 Commando and 1st Raiding Squadron Royal Marines.

The trip was concluded with a visit to RM Bickleigh where the Honorary Colonel was able to watch 42 Commando’s training and presentation of jungle warfare, before his departure. His visit gave an opportunity for conversation between the Crown Prince and numerous Royal Marines who had visited Norway on exercise during the winter.

Later, as King of Norway, King Harald V made further visits to Royal Navy and Royal Marine vessels and bases, cementing this close friendship. One of which, was in June 2015 where he attended the official Review of the Royal Yacht Squadron at Cowes, Isle of Wight in celebration of the bicentenary of the Royal Yacht Squadron. Frigate HMS Northumberland provided security for the event and hosted King Harald V of Norway, alongside The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Henrik of Denmark and the former King of Spain, Juan Carlos.

In November 2018, the Royal Navy and Royal Marines participated in Exercise Trident Juncture – the largest collective defence exercise NATO had undertaken in a decade, with 65 warships and thousands of participants. This included HMS Northumberland, that was visited by King Harald V in 2015, spearheading the Royal Navy’s surface contribution to the exercise, with her sister ship HMS Westminster.

X Company 45 Commando spent 6 November 2018 hosting King Harald V at Vaernes Camp in Norway. The company had been deployed onboard US \assault ship USS Iwo Jima, before beginning the shore-based phase of the exercise, where they had the honour of hosting King Harald V. During his visit, King Harald V received a brief overview of the Royal Marine’s participation in Exercise Trident Juncture, before toasting the Royal Marines in celebration of their 354th birthday.