Norway's new king remembers 'my dear father' in first speech

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.

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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.