Prince William Pivots From Eton Dropoff to King Harald's Funeral As He Steps in for King Charles

It's been a week of milestones for Prince William, who dropped Prince George off at Eton College for his first day of boarding school on September 8 before stepping into a more somber role. The Prince of Wales represented his father at another royal's funeral for the first time on September 9, flying to Norway to attend the services for King Harald V.

Fresh off saying goodbye to his eldest child at Eton, William stepped in for The King—who traditionally does not attend funerals of other royals or world leaders—alongside numerous royal families from around the world. He was joined by Princess Anne, who attended in a personal capacity as godmother of Norway's new monarch, King Haakon.

In 2025, the Prince of Wales attended Pope Francis's funeral on behalf of King Charles, and although he filled in for Queen Elizabeth by flying to the United Arab Emirates in 2022 to pay his respects after the death of Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, this is the first time Prince William has attended a royal funeral as a representative of The King.

King Harald died at the age of 89 on August 28, leaving his son Haakon to take the throne alongside his ailing wife, Queen Mette-Marit.

The Norwegian queen, who suffers from pulmonary fibrosis and recently went through a lung transplant, recently missed her husband's swearing-in ceremony before parliament, but was able to attend Wednesday's funeral.

Along with Prince William and Princess Anne, other royal representatives at the funeral included everyone from Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands to Japan's Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko. King Carl Gustaf of Sweden and King Frederik of Denmark took a prominent role in the ceremony, saluting King Harald's coffin from behind King Haakon during the funeral.