Oslo — The health of Norway's King Harald V, Europe's oldest reigning monarch, has taken a turn for the worse over the weekend, according to a statement from the royal palace. The 89-year-old sovereign, who has been hospitalized since Monday, is battling a bacterial infection in his blood, a complication arising from his ongoing treatment for haemolytic anaemia.
In a brief update, the palace said: "The King is receiving antibiotics for a bacterial infection in his blood and has responded to this treatment." However, the statement also confirmed that his condition had "deteriorated" during the weekend, prompting concern among the royal family and the Norwegian public.
King Harald was admitted to Oslo University Hospital on Monday due to fluid retention, a side effect of the cortisone therapy he is receiving for the blood disorder. Haemolytic anaemia, the underlying condition, is characterized by an abnormally rapid destruction of red blood cells, leading to symptoms such as fatigue, paleness, and shortness of breath. The king has been placed on sick leave for two weeks, and his official visit to the central region of Trøndelag, scheduled for 1-2 September, has been cancelled.
Family at the bedside
Several members of the royal family have visited the king in hospital. According to the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang, Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon, and Crown Princess Mette-Marit were seen at the hospital on Sunday, as was the king's sister, Princess Astrid. None of them made statements upon leaving.
Crown Prince Haakon, who has been acting as regent in his father's absence, has assumed official duties during this period. The king's health has been a recurring concern in recent years; he has undergone a pacemaker implantation and has had to scale back his public engagements. Despite these challenges, Harald has consistently ruled out abdication, citing the lifelong oath he took before the Norwegian Parliament upon ascending the throne in 1991.
This latest hospitalization comes after a particularly turbulent year for the Norwegian royal family. In February, the king was admitted to a hospital in Tenerife, Spain, for an infection and dehydration while on a private trip with Queen Sonja. The queen, also 89, was briefly hospitalized in May due to heart problems.
A family under scrutiny
The king's health struggles unfold against a backdrop of intense public scrutiny of the royal household. Crown Princess Mette-Marit has faced questions over her past correspondence with the late US financier Jeffrey Epstein, documents of which were released in January. The letters, exchanged between 2011 and 2014, revealed a sustained and at times intimate relationship with Epstein, who had already been convicted of sex offences by then.
Adding to the family's difficulties, Mette-Marit's son from a previous marriage, Marius Borg Høiby, was sentenced in June to four years in prison for two rapes and 32 other charges, including violence against a former partner. He has appealed the verdict. The Crown Princess herself, who suffers from a chronic lung disease, underwent a lung transplant in July.
As King Harald remains under medical care, the Norwegian public and observers across Europe will be watching closely for further updates. The palace has not indicated when the king might be discharged, but his resilience and determination to continue his duties have been a hallmark of his reign.
