Swiss president ‘greatly saddened’ by death of Norwegian king

Swiss President Guy Parmelin has expressed his condolences to the Norwegian Royal Family and the people of the Scandinavian country following the death of King Harald V. Parmelin was “deeply saddened” by the King’s death, he wrote on X. Harald V, who died on Friday morning at the age of 89, “will be remembered for his steadfast leadership and devoted service to his country”, Parmelin wrote. The King’s health, which had been steadily deteriorating, had also moved Norwegians living in Switzerland. “The news is on everyone’s minds at the moment,” Beate Norma, chair of the Norwegian Club in Switzerland (Norgesklubben Sveits), told the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA on Tuesday. Twenty years have passed since the Swiss government received the Norwegian royal couple, King Harald V and Queen Sonja, in Bern. Moritz Leuenberger, who held the rotating Swiss presidency that year, emphasised the similarities between the two countries, describing them as “fellow farmers” who cultivated their ...