Sawt Falasteen - Norway, in mourning, enters new era under King Haakon VIII

The palace said the monarch's speech -- his first as regent -- would be broadcast at 7:00 pm (1700GMT).

Flags flew at half-mast as scores of Norwegians flocked to the Royal Palace in Oslo, adding flowers to the mountains already on the ground after more than 20,000 people paid their respects Friday.

The late king enjoyed massive support, despite the slew of scandals that dogged his family in the final stretch of his 35-year reign.

"He has always struck me as someone with a great deal of integrity and simply a genuinely good person," 34-year-old Martin Lillebo told AFP.

Lillebo, who had come to lay flowers with his wife and two young children, noted that Harald, who ascended the throne in 1991, was the only monarch he'd known.

He was "king for pretty much exactly as long as I've been alive."

Tributes also poured in from European monarchies and world leaders, including US President Donald Trump who hailed the memory of "a strong, proud, and greatly respected man".

King Haakon held audiences at the palace on Saturday with the leaders of the Church of Norway, parliament and supreme court.

The palace also announced that King Haakon would receive Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store for a viewing of the late king's casket, which was brought to the palace from Oslo University Hospital Friday evening.

Store was seen speaking informally to mourners outside the palace earlier Saturday, weaving through the crowds and shaking hands.

A national period of mourning has been declared in Norway. No date has been set for the late king's funeral.

King Haakon will swear an oath of allegiance in parliament on Tuesday.

- New era -

City halls across Norway put out condolence books on Saturday for the public to write personal messages.

Oslo Mayor Anne Lindboe, who had called off her own wedding on Friday due to the king's death, was the first to write a message in Oslo's City Hall.

"Dear King Harald, you didn't need a crown to be a king. Thank you so much for everything you have done for our city. We will never forget you," she told reporters she had written.

One of the first members of the public to write a message after the mayor, Unni Zetterquist Thorsen, 68, told AFP she had thanked the late king for his "patience and strength through difficult times in Norway".

King Haakon and his wife, Queen Mette-Marit, are not expected to be crowned in a ceremony -- Norway abolished coronations in 1908.

But, like his father and grandfather before him, the new king could choose to have his reign blessed during a ceremony at Trondheim Cathedral, where Norwegian monarchs were crowned between 1814 and 1906.

King Harald was widely seen as the embodiment of an open and tolerant Norway, and praised for leading a monarchy that was modern and modest.

In a post to social media, the palace noted that King Harald, who was Europe's oldest reigning monarch, would have celebrated his and Queen Sonja's 58th wedding anniversary on Saturday.

- Scandals -

Harald had been in hospital in Oslo since August 17, suffering from haemolytic anaemia, a condition caused by an abnormally rapid destruction of red blood cells that leads to fatigue and shortness of breath.

The regent faced mounting health problems in his final years, forcing him to scale back his official schedule.

But he always ruled out abdicating, adamant that he had taken a lifelong oath before the Norwegian parliament.

The past year has been a turbulent one for the Norwegian royal family.

Queen Sonja, also 89, was briefly admitted to hospital in May due to heart problems.

New King Haakon's wife Mette-Marit is under scrutiny for her ties to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In June, Mette-Marit's son from a relationship prior to her marriage to Haakon, Marius Borg Hoiby, was sentenced to four years in prison for two rapes.

Suffering herself from a serious lung disease, Mette-Marit, 53, underwent a lung transplant in July.

J.AbuShaban--SF-PST