HELSINKI: Norway is celebrating King Harald's 25th anniversary as monarch of the Scandinavian country with concerts, candlelight processions, children's winter events and a gala performance at the University of Oslo.

A service in the Royal Chapel included the royal family, government officials, family friends and royal visitors from Sweden and Denmark.

Twenty-one-gun salutes were sounded nationwide in honor of the 78-year-old king and his wife Queen Sonja.

Many of Sunday's events are being broadcast by Norwegian TV NRK, and the public is able to congratulate the royal couple online or sign a register at the Royal Palace, open until midnight Sunday.

Harald became king when his father Olav died on January 17, 1991. The Norwegian king has a ceremonial role and is not part of the government.