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Photos: King Harald V of Norway visits Alaska

King Harald V of Norway spent Wednesday, May 27, 2015, at a series of appearances in Anchorage. On Tuesday, about 100 Alaskans cheered King Harald V of Norway in Homer as he stepped out of a limousine at the small-boat harbor there and Mayor Mary Wythe formally welcomed him to town.

A little girl handed him flowers. A 102-year-old shook his hand. A couple of people sported Viking-style horned helmets, and many others waved Norwegian flags to celebrate what appears to have been the first publicly announced visit by any reigning monarch ever to the town on Kachemak Bay.

The king, 78, arrived in Anchorage on a commercial flight Sunday as part of an official visit to the United States. He previously stopped in the Puget Sound area, where he met with government and industry officials and received an honorary degree from Pacific Lutheran University.

On Wednesday in Anchorage, Harald will attend a seminar sponsored by INTSOK, the Norwegian government-industry petroleum partnership, address the Alaska World Affairs Council and visit the University of Alaska Anchorage on the occasion of the signing of a memorandum of understanding between UAA and the Norwegian University of Tromso.

Read more: Norwegian king explores environmental issues in visit to Kachemak Bay

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