King Harald V of Norway has been admitted to the National Hospital, the Royal House has confirmed.
The news was revealed in a statement this evening, translated into English: “His Majesty the King was admitted to the National Hospital this afternoon after a medical examination.”
The House confirmed that the King is being “treated with cortisone for the blood disease hemolytic anemia in recent weeks.”
This has led to “fluid accumulation in the body that requires treatment in hospital.”
“The King is on sick leave for two weeks,” the House said. “His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is Regent during this period.
“We will return to the consequences this will have for the Royal House’s official program.”
It is not the first time Norway’s King has been in hospital this month.
King Harald V of Norway has been admitted to the National Hospital, the Royal House has confirmed
|
GETTYThe 89-year-old monarch previously visited hospital 10 days ago, with the House confirming Harald attended a “planned checkup and follow-up with a doctor, and he was driven in his own car.”
Harald, who is the oldest reigning monarch in Europe, was also hospitalised in February, days after his 89th birthday, while on a private holiday with Queen Sonja in Tenerife.
After doctors treated him for an infection and dehydration, Harald remained at Hospiten Sur for two days before returning to Norway.
In 2024, during a seperate visit to Malaysia, the King’s heart rate dropped to dangerously low levels, resulting in a medical emergency.
He was subsequently fitted with a temporary pacemaker before he flew back to Norway, where he was implanted with a permenant one instead.
King Harald, born in 1937, became Crown Prince in 1957 after his grandfather, King Haakon VII, died.
He later married Sonja in 1968, before ascending to the throne in 1991, following the death of his father, King Olav.
Being on the throne for more than 35 years, Harald is the third-longest reigning monarch in Europe, behind King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, who became King in 1973, and Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein, who has reigned since 1989.
The Norwegian Palace has become accustomed to medical concerns in recent months.
Queen Sonja, who also turned 89 this year, was rushed to the National Hospital in May.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit underwent a lung transplant procedure in June after she was diagnosed with chronic pulmonary fibrosis in 2018.
Her husband, Crown Prince Haakon, has currently assumed regal responsibilities while his father undertakes the necessary time off.
When she was placed on the transplant list, Professor Are Holm, a respiratory specialist at Oslo University Hospital, revealed the list is reserved for patients with just “one year left to live”.
The operation took place in June, and the Norwegian Palace announced last month that the crown princess had been discharged from hospital after undergoing the “life-saving” operation.
Dr Holm said Mette-Marit’s condition is “as good as can be expected” following the procedure.