Prince William will represent Charles at King Harald's funeral in Oslo on 9 September

Buckingham Palace said the Prince of Wales will attend the state funeral of King Harald V in Oslo on Wednesday, 9 September, representing King Charles. Princess Anne will go in a personal capacity. She is godmother to Norway's new king, Haakon VIII.

Royal officials said William's presence follows the usual rule that a reigning British monarch does not attend the funeral of another head of state. Harald died at 89 on 28 August at Oslo University Hospital after a blood disorder and infection. He had reigned since 1991 and had refused to abdicate. Haakon took the throne the same morning and kept the motto Alt for Norge.

The funeral liturgy will be said at Oslo Cathedral at 13:00 local time by Olav Fykse Tveit, preses of the Church of Norway's bishops' conference, with Oslo bishop Sunniva Gylver and precentor Marcus Andre Berg. After the service the coffin will go in procession to Akershus Fortress for a private burial in the Royal Mausoleum. About 1,900 soldiers will line the route from the palace to the cathedral and on to the fortress. Giant screens are being put up in the city.

Harald has been lying in state in the chapel of the Royal Palace. Thousands have queued. Queen Sonja will lead the family in the cathedral, with Haakon and the rest of the Norwegian house. The foreign ministry will hold a separate tribute at Oslo City Hall for about 450 international guests.

European houses are sending dense delegations. Sweden's party includes King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, Princess Madeleine and Chris O'Neill, and Princess Christina with Tord Magnuson. Denmark will send King Frederik and Queen Mary, Crown Prince Christian, Queen Margrethe and Princess Benedikte. Frederik and Mary postponed a state visit to Belgium to make the date. The Netherlands will send King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, Princess Beatrix and Princess Catharina-Amalia. Beatrix was close to Harald, who was godfather to her son Friso. Maxima is godmother to Prince Sverre Magnus.

Belgium's King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, Monaco's Prince Albert II, and Liechtenstein's hereditary couple are also listed. Japan's Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko are among the non-European royals expected. Every country with a diplomatic mission in Norway was invited except Afghanistan, Myanmar, Russia and Sudan.

The guest list is a map of who Oslo still talks to. Russia is out, in a week when Norway has also seized a Russian ship in Svalbard. Sudan is out, in a week when new files on its army's chemical programme are in two American newspapers. Those exclusions will be noticed in the pews even if no one reads them aloud.

Harald modernised the house, married a commoner, and stayed on the throne while other European monarchs stepped down. The funeral is the last public act of that choice. Haakon will bury his father and then keep governing a country that already transferred the crown on 28 August. William's job on Wednesday is narrower: stand for Charles, sit through the liturgy, and leave the mausoleum to the family.

Oslo will measure the day by the length of the queue and the number of foreign cars at the cathedral steps. The date is fixed. The route is fixed. The names in the nave are now public. That is the state of the funeral three days out.