Norwegians have gathered in their thousands to pay their respects to King Harald V, Europe’s oldest reigning monarch, who has died, aged 89, in Oslo. He was succeeded immediately by his son, King Haakon VIII.

The new king thanked “the government and Norwegian people for their support and sympathy for the royal family at this time”. A period of national mourning was announced as crowds left wreaths and messages outside the royal palace in Oslo.

Flags around the country were lowered to half mast and church bells rang out at midday. “An era has ended. A new one begins. The king is dead. Long live the king,” the prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, said after meeting Haakon.

The new king, whose wife, Mette-Marit, has recently come under scrutiny over scandals including a much-criticised association with the late US child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, formally notified the government of his father’s death on Friday morning.

Haakon, 53, told the cabinet at an extraordinary council of state that he would take the name Haakon VIII, as expected. He also chose as his personal motto: “Everything for Norway”.

The new king will swear an oath of accession in parliament within the next few days. Coronation ceremonies were abolished in Norway more than a century ago, but Haakon could choose to have his reign blessed at a consecration ceremony.

The palace had said on Thursday that Harald’s health had deteriorated and that the king, who was seen as a unifying figure and a force for stability amid a string of recent family scandals, was in an “extremely serious” condition.

Støre said earlier that he had received the news “with deep sadness”, adding: “A whole nation is in mourning, and ⁠the people of Norway are left with a ​deep sense of ‌gratitude for a ‌long life in the service of Norway.”

Royalty around Europe sent their condolences, with Spain’s royal family hailing Harald’s “responsibility, dignity, humility and tireless dedication”, and Denmark’s King Frederik and Queen Mary saying he was “loved like few others”.

King Carl XVI Gustaf, of Sweden, said: “Throughout the years, King Harald has been a good friend to me, my family, and to Sweden … I ​wish ​my dear godson Haakon, ​who now succeeds his father as head ​of state, ‌success and ​good ​fortune.”

Belgium’s royal family recalled Harald’s “humour, humanity and sincerity”, while Britain’s King Charles mourned the loss of his “dear cousin”, paying tribute to a “towering figure” who guided his country with “warmth and humility”.

Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said Norway had “lost a great figure who stood for prudence and unity”, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, expressed “deep sadness”.

Norway’s ceremonial head of state since 1991, Harald was being treated in Oslo’s University hospital for haemolytic anaemia, a condition caused by an abnormally rapid destruction of the body’s red blood cells.

He had had numerous health problems – an operation for bladder cancer in 2003 and a pacemaker fitted in 2024 – but always ruled out abdicating, saying he had taken a lifelong oath before the Norwegian parliament.

His death comes amid a turbulent period for Norway’s royal family. Documents published in the US in January showed that Mette-Marit corresponded with Epstein between 2011 and 2014, long after he was convicted.

The files appeared to contain almost 1,000 mentions of Mette-Marit, including intimate exchanges. They drew fierce public criticism, with Støre accusing her in unprecedented comments of “poor judgment”.

Mette-Marit subsequently released a statement via the royal household expressing her “deepest regret for my friendship with Jeffrey Epstein” and apologising for “the situation that I have put the royal family in, especially the king and queen”.

Marius Borg Høiby, 29, Mette-Marit’s son from a previous relationship, has also been in the spotlight after being sentenced in June to four years in prison for two rapes and 32 other charges, including violence against a former partner. He has appealed.

The scandals have affected public support for Norway’s monarchy, with a poll in February finding support down to 54% from 72% in 2024. Several polls found nearly half of the population felt Mette-Marit could not become queen.

Harald was seen as the Norwegian monarchy’s great moderniser, revamping the crown estates and changing the way the court is run. He married Sonja, a commoner, in 1968 and welcomed two others, Mette-Marit and Ari Behn, as the spouses of his children.

A great-great-grandchild ‌of Britain’s Queen Victoria, he succeeded his father, Olav V, at the age of 54 after studying at Oxford and representing his country in sailing events at the Tokyo, Mexico City and Munich Olympics. He was widely appreciated in Norway for his unassuming lifestyle and commitment to national unity.

In an emotional speech in 2011 after the far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 in two terror attacks, he told his subjects that “freedom is stronger than fear” and as “a father, grandfather and spouse, I can only begin to sense some of the pain you feel. As king of the nation, I feel for every one of you.”

In a widely praised 2016 speech, he lauded diversity, tolerance and LGBTQ+ rights, saying Norwegians came from Afghanistan and Pakistan, believed “in God, in Allah and in nothing”, and included “girls who love girls, boys who love boys and girls and boys who love each other”.

Mette-Marit, 53, who has a serious lung disease and had a transplant in July, was a single mother to Høiby, who was four years old when her engagement to Norway’s crown prince was announced in late 2000.

The marriage, which marked the first time in modern European history that a direct heir to a throne had brought a stepson into a royal family, caused huge controversy in Norway but was strongly backed by King Harald and Queen Sonja.

Mette-Marit acknowledged having what she described as a rebellious youth and prior drug use, holding an emotional press conference a week before the wedding in which she expressed regret for her choices and strongly condemned drug use.