King Haakon VIII has ascended the throne in Norway following the death of his father, King Harald V.
The late King, a cousin of King Charles III, died today at 89 after a brief stay in hospital.
Harald was being treated for haemolytic anaemia, a disorder that causes red blood cells to be destroyed at an abnormally fast rate.
The new monarch, 53, who was the former Crown Prince, is now officially His Majesty King Haakon VIII.
He shares two children with his wife Mette-Marit, 22-year-old Princess Ingrid Alexandra and 20-year-old Prince Sverre Magnus.
With Ingrid now second in line to the throne, she would be the first female monarch in Norway for more than 600 years if she were to become queen – the last being Queen Margaret I, who died in 1412.
Mette-Marit, 53, faced intense scrutiny following the release of the Epstein Files, which revealed she stayed at paedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s Palm Beach residence in 2013 – after he was convicted for soliciting sex from girls as young as 14.
One email released suggested she was still in contact with the billionaire financier just months before his death.
The new queen claimed this year that she had been misled by the late sex offender as she sought to contain the fallout.
