King Harald V died peacefully in hospital at 06:35 local time (04:35 GMT) on Friday, aged 89, after receiving treatment for a rare blood condition since last week, according to the palace. The death of Europe's oldest monarch, who was viewed as a reformer who embraced inclusivity, prompted an outpouring of emotion from ordinary Norwegians who had held him in high esteem throughout his reign.
Crowds amassed outside the palace in Oslo, some visibly in tears, laying tributes including a candle inscribed with the word "thanks." The new king, Haakon VIII, met government ministers for an extraordinary council of state meeting shortly after the announcement, where he formally declared his title and motto.
Haakon is the fourth king to head Norway's modern monarchy, restored in 1905 after the country gained independence from Sweden. As crown prince, he worked closely with his father during royal duties and in recent years was handed increasing responsibility, often acting as regent while Harald was ill or absent.
King Harald wrote of his son in his biography The King Tells: "I am so lucky that Crown Prince Haakon is the one who will carry this forward."
Historian Trond Norén Isaksen told the BBC that Haakon will be a different type of king to his father. "King Harald... [was] very charismatic, he [had] a great sense of humour, which everyone appreciates, and Haakon is a bit more reserved, a bit more like his mother. But in recent years he has also become a bit more relaxed and opened up a bit and showed a bit more of his sense of humour... he has been pulling enormous weight for many years given his parents have become older and his wife has been ill."
Haakon is a great-great-great-grandson of Britain's Queen Victoria. His daughter Ingrid Alexandra, 22, now becomes crown princess and heir to the Norwegian throne.