The King is Dead, Long Live the King
I hate going to the office on Fridays. It is the perfect day to work from home. Finish up things a little early, don't spend close to an hour commuting back home and begin your weekend by 15:00.
But today I had some meetings that required in-person attendance, and I had to go to the office. I am so happy I did, because today the King died.
I had just arrived at the office when I discovered I had somehow forgotten my laptop at home. I went to our local IT department to borrow a spare laptop, and as I was setting it up a colleague came and quietly said "The King is dead."
The room got quiet as everyone took in the news. We knew it was coming. The King had been ill for some time, and yesterday the news broke that his family had rushed to the hospital, the Prime Minister had flown in from duties abroad and the Bishops who had been attending something in Rome too came home. But still, when it finally happened... it was surreal.
I imagine it is hard to understand if you've not grown up living in a monarchy, but it is important to understand that to many of us, the King has been a constant. Political parties gain and lose majorities, the Prime Minister is elected and eventually loses the position. But the King, he is always there. Every New Year he gives a speech. Every Seventeenth of May he waves from his balcony at the hundreds of children marching past to celebrate our national day. I cannot remember the previous King, so my entire life the King has been Harald V.
But it's more than just being there. The Dictator Ben Ali of my father's home country was there all the time too. His face plastered on every government building and hanging on the wall in every store. Where Ben Ali was feared, King Harald was beloved.
So when he died, it was as if we all lost a common grandfather. A kind grandfather who loved all his children, no matter the choices they made in life, who respected everyone. This is beautifully illustrated in his speech given on the anniversary of his 25th year as King in 2016.
The King's 2016 Speech with English subtitles
The most quoted—justifiably so—part of the speech is this:
Norwegians believe in God, Allah, Everything and Nothing.
Norwegians like Grieg and Kygo, Hellbillies and Kari Bremnes.
In other words, Norway is you. Norway is us. When we in our national anthem sing; “Yes, we love this country,” we must remember that we also sing about each other. For it’s we who make up the country. Therefore, our national anthem also is a declaration of love to the Norwegian people.
After lunch a small gathering from work got together to go up to the castle, which is located in downtown Oslo and just a ten minute walk from our office, to pay our respects. On our way there we joined a crowd of thousands doing the same. It was a sad event bringing us together, but I am very happy I got a chance to attend. The passing of a King happens only two or three times in one's lifetime, and it deserves a bit of our time to reflect on how much this one person has meant for us.
King Haakon has big shoes to fill, but everything I have heard of him from people who have met him (who are quite a few, as our royal family prides itself on being close to the common man) is that he is very much the man his public image portrays him as: a good person, who does his duty and cares about Norway.
Today was a day I will long remember.
--Amir
