Tea, Titles & Tiaras: Norway Farewells King Harald, and Diana’s Brother Marks His “Least Favourite Day”

Tea, Titles & Tiaras with Emily Darlow

It has been a sombre week in royal circles, with two significant losses, the anniversary of Princess Diana’s death and a funeral decision that has placed the Norwegian royal family in an almost impossible position. Elsewhere, Prince George is preparing for Eton, rumours are swirling about Meghan Markle and Netflix, and Buckingham Palace has discovered that bearskin hats and Dolly Parton are a surprisingly effective combination.

Norway Farewells Its Sailor King

King Harald V of Norway died at Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet at 6.35am on Friday 28 August. He was 89 and had been in hospital since August 17 with haemolytic anaemia, a rare condition in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than the body can replace them. His condition had been described as extremely serious in the days before his death and his family had gathered at his bedside.
His son, the former Crown Prince Haakon, immediately acceded to the throne and will reign as King Haakon VIII.
At the time of his death, Harald was Europe’s oldest reigning monarch and one of its most popular. He became king in 1991 following the death of his father, Olav V, and reigned for 35 years. Born in 1937 near Oslo, he was the first Norwegian prince born on Norwegian soil since King Olav IV in 1370.
His early life was shaped by war. When Nazi forces invaded Norway in 1940, the young prince fled with his family, first to Britain and then to the United States, where they stayed as guests of President Franklin Roosevelt at the White House.
He was also an accomplished sailor who represented Norway at three Olympic Games: Melbourne in 1956, Tokyo in 1964 and Mexico City in 1968. It suited a monarch known for his understated manner, courage and commitment to public life.
King Charles, speaking from Balmoral, described Harald as “a dear cousin and a cherished friend”, adding that he and Camilla were “deeply saddened” by the news. The state funeral will be held at Oslo Cathedral on Wednesday 9 September, with King Charles expected to be among the European royals attending.

When Family Grief Meets Public Scrutiny

The presence of one family member in the funeral procession has raised questions that cannot be separated from the seriousness of his crimes.
On Monday 31 August, the Norwegian royal family accompanied King Harald’s coffin from the Red Salon to the Palace Chapel, where it will remain until the state funeral. Leading the formal procession were the new King Haakon and his daughter and heir, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra. Walking with them was Marius Borg Høiby, Queen Mette-Marit’s 29-year-old son from a relationship before her marriage.
Marius is currently under electronically monitored house arrest at Skaugum. In June, the Oslo District Court convicted him of two counts of rape, one count of domestic violence against a former girlfriend and several other offences, sentencing him to four years in prison. He denies the most serious offences and has appealed the rape and domestic abuse convictions, meaning the verdict is not yet final.
Police attorney Oda Karterud confirmed: “The prosecution has found reason to grant Høiby’s requests for an exit in connection with the death.”
Marius is not a royal, holds no title and has no place in the line of succession. He was four when his mother married Crown Prince Haakon and was raised alongside his stepsiblings. When the allegations emerged, Haakon acknowledged both the family’s love for Marius and concern for the women involved.
Allowing Marius to attend the funeral will attract criticism, some of it entirely justified, even if others understand the instinct to gather a family together after a death.
The procession was led by the Crown of Norway, followed by the sword of the kingdom and then the family accompanying Harald’s coffin to the chapel. It was an intensely personal moment conducted under the gaze of a public entitled to ask difficult questions.

Diana’s Brother Marks the Day He Dreads

The Oslo procession took place on the 29th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death, a date Earl Spencer has marked each year since her burial at Althorp by lowering the Spencer family flag over the home where she grew up and where she is buried.
This year, he shared photographs on Instagram with six words: “31 August. My least favourite day.”
He has described the anniversary as the day he finds most difficult and says time has not made it easier. While preparing the eulogy for Diana’s funeral in 1997, he searched his address book from A to Z for someone else who might give the speech. He found no one, and the eulogy he delivered became one of the defining moments of the funeral.
His book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, will be published on 22 September. Diana’s sisters spoke at the funeral; nearly three decades later, her brother is preparing to tell his story in full.

Buckingham Palace Clocks On for Dolly

Dolly Parton died in Nashville on Tuesday 26 August after a brief battle with cancer. She was 80, and the Coldstream Guards Band marked her death by playing her 1980 hit “9 to 5” during the Changing of the Guard outside Buckingham Palace. It was not a crossover anyone had on the royal bingo card, but red tunics, bearskin hats and Dolly turned out to work remarkably well together.
The Royal Family shared footage of the performance. Parton also had a connection to Queen Camilla’s literary charity, the Queen’s Reading Room, through her Imagination Library program, which has distributed more than 300 million books to children since 1995.
The Reading Room remembered her as “an unwavering advocate for the joy and importance of reading” who gave millions of children the chance to discover imagination, possibility and a lifelong love of books.
The Palace guards have form when it comes to musical tributes, having played Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” in 2018, Tina Turner’s “The Best” in 2023 and Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” following Ozzy Osbourne’s death in July. Dolly belongs comfortably in that company, although “9 to 5” may be the first selection to make the guards’ working conditions sound like the subject of an HR complaint.

Eton Beckons, Along With the Tailcoat

William and Kate left Balmoral this week ahead of a major change for the family, with Prince George due to start at Eton on 4 September. They returned to Windsor to prepare for the move, including the uniform requirements of a tailcoat, pinstriped trousers, waistcoat, white bow tie and, on formal occasions, a top hat. Most parents worry about labelling socks; the Waleses apparently need to find somewhere sensible to write George’s name inside a top hat.
Their return comes as the Sussex family is also settling in the area, after Harry and Meghan arrived reportedly to the Cotswalds with Archie and Lilibet. With two Wales children beginning at new schools and the Sussexes starting a new chapter in England, Windsor may be a little busier than usual this September.

Meghan, Netflix and Four Carefully Chosen Words

The question circulating through Netflix conversations this week is whether Meghan Markle will appear in the second season of The Gentlemen.
Asked directly at a Q&A event, a Netflix executive replied: “I can’t say no.” This was neither confirmation nor denial, but it did ensure that every entertainment desk had something to do for the afternoon. The executive’s publicist later clarified that the remark was not intended to confirm an appearance, while several outlets have reported that a role for Meghan is being discussed but nothing has been settled.
The first season of Guy Ritchie’s series, released in 2024, was a major success for Netflix, and an appearance by Meghan would attract the sort of publicity money cannot reliably buy. Whether she wants that attention after returning to Britain and seeking a lower profile for her family is another matter.
Netflix will tell us when it is ready, unless a cast member is photographed having coffee with Meghan first. Until then, the answer remains the entertainment industry’s favourite: possibly, with excellent publicity.

This week brought farewells to a king and a country music legend, another painful anniversary for Diana’s family and difficult questions for Norway’s new monarch. George is off to Eton, Meghan may be heading back to television, and the Palace guards have proved there is room for Dolly Parton in royal tradition. Until next week, keep the tea piping hot and the tiaras polished.