His Royal Highness King Harald V of Norway visits Anchorage and Homer next week for the first visit by the king to Alaska. King Harald arrives in Anchorage on Sunday and then visits Homer and Kachemak Bay on Tuesday morning. 

King Harald arrives by helicopter from Anchorage and will arrive at the Homer Harbor with Homer Mayor Beth Wythe. While he will not make any speeches at the harbor, the public is invited to greet him as he arrives at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at Ramp 2 by the old harbor master’s office. King Harald will then take a tour boat to Tutka Bay and stop at Tutka Bay Lodge for lunch. On his tour of Kachemak Bay he will be briefed by scientists on the effects of climate change. The king is traveling with the Norwegian ambassador to the United States and other officials.

King Harald returns to the harbor about 3:50 p.m. and leaves by helicopter for Anchorage. On Tuesday night he has dinner with Gov. Bill Walker at the Crow’s Nest restaurant in the Hotel Captain Cook.

His Majesty’s visit is part of a Pacific Northwest tour from May 21-27 that includes stops in Seattle, Ballard and Tacoma, Wash. In Tacoma he visits Pacific Lutheran University, where he will help celebrate its 125th anniversary and deliver the commencement address at graduation ceremonies. 

King Harald V, 78, is the son of King Olav V and Crown Princess Märtha. He succeeded his father as king of Norway in 1991. King Harald V lived in exile in America as a boy during the German occupation of Norway in World War II, staying in Washington, D.C., with his mother while his father, then the crown prince, lived in exile in London with his father, King Haakon .

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong@homernews.com.