King Haakon VIII of Norway has paid warm tribute to his late father, Harald V, in his first speech to the nation since taking the throne.

“Thank you for being such a good dad,” he said in an at-times emotional televised address, seated at a desk in Norway’s royal palace, beside a picture of the late king, two lit candles and a bowl of white roses.

Harald, 89, who was seen as a moderniser and “people’s king” during his 35-year reign, died in hospital on Friday morning after being treated for a rare blood condition.

“Now it is my turn,” his 53-year-old son said, adding that a “major task” awaited him and that he wished to be “present and attentive” going forward.

Haakon stressed national unity in the speech, saying the royal family believed in a “society built on law and justice, where everyone is of equal value”.

He said Harald had been a good father to himself and his sister, Princess Märtha Louise, as well as a “warm and funny grandfather” to his six grandchildren and a “loving and caring husband” to his widow, Queen Sonja.

The new king appeared to choke back tears as he noted that Saturday would have been their 58th wedding anniversary.

Harald brought the family together “with a natural authority”, of which he might not have been aware himself, his son recalled.

He had “always stayed true” to his “values and commitments”, the new king stressed.

“He constantly reminded us in the family that each of us must do things in our own way. Find our own style. Be ourselves,” Haakon said.

He also remarked on the “powerful and moving experience” of seeing thousands of Norwegians gather outside the royal palace in the capital Oslo with “flowers, tributes and candles”.

“We are in mourning, yet at the same time it brings comfort and strength that so many are grieving together with us,” he said.

Norwegians have been laying flowers outside the royal palace in Oslo since news broke that Harald had died on Friday. A national period of mourning has been declared, with no date yet given for his funeral.

Among them was Norway’s Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, who laid flowers outside the palace and signed a book of condolences after greeting the new king, said the country was “united in grief and gratitude”.

Haakon will swear an oath of allegiance in parliament on Tuesday and will later participate in a consecration service with his wife, Queen Mette-Marit – a stripped-down version of a coronation, which Norway no longer holds.

He assumes his new role at a difficult time, as the royal family has faced health challenges and scandals this year.

Mette-Marit came under scrutiny when it was revealed that she had had a three-year friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, for which she publicly apologised.

She later received a lung transplant, after suffering from pulmonary fibrosis since 2018. Doctors will not declare her stable until next year, meaning her husband must balance his new official duties with her care.

Her son from a previous relationship, Marius Borg Høiby, was convicted in June of rape and other offences and sentenced to four years in prison. He is appealing.

Høiby is not a member of the royal family, but was raised with them since he was four years old, when Haakon married his mother.

Haakon’s sister, Märtha Louise, has also courted controversy for remarrying an American self-styled shaman in 2024, their business activities ultimately leading her to step back from royal duties.

Without directly referencing these controversies, Haakon said during his speech: “Our family has experienced the importance of standing together in order to remain steadfast both within ourselves and for one another even during difficult times.”

He said he, along with Mette-Marit and Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, would “always strive to understand the life situations of different people”.

He added: “No one who lives in this country knows what we will face together, but what we do know is that we will stand by one another through both good days and difficult ones.”

Although Harald remained popular until his death, a poll for newspaper Aftenposten earlier this year suggested that support for the monarchy had dropped from 72% in 2024 to 54%.

However, Norwegian royal experts told the BBC that the new king, while facing questions about the turbulence surrounding his family, was respected, hard-working and, they believed, able to move forward despite the challenges.