Fears grow for Norway’s King Harald as his condition becomes ‘very serious’

Norway is anxiously awaiting news of King Harald V after the 89-year-old monarch’s health deteriorated in hospital, prompting his family to gather at his bedside and cancel their official engagements.

The Royal Palace announced on Thursday, August 27, that the king’s condition was now “extremely serious,” without providing further details.

Queen Sonja and Crown Prince Haakon, 53, who has been serving as regent while his father is ill, called off their scheduled engagements and went to Oslo University Hospital, where Harald is being treated.

Norwegian media reported that other members of the royal family also arrived at the hospital. Images showed Queen Sonja, Haakon, Crown Princess Mette-Marit and their adult children visiting the king, while members of the public gathered outside the Royal Palace in Oslo to leave flowers and await updates.

Mette-Marit’s son from a previous relationship, Marius Borg Hoiby, was also seen at the hospital. Hoiby is under house arrest and wearing an ankle bracelet after being convicted of rape in June, a conviction he has appealed.

The seriousness of the situation was reflected beyond the royal household. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store cancelled a planned work trip to Germany on Thursday after learning of the latest update.

“I stand together with the entire country as we now send our warmest thoughts to the king and the rest of the royal family,” he said, adding that he was confident Harald was receiving good and compassionate medical care.

Norway’s bishops also cut short a study visit to Rome, where they had met Pope Leo, and returned to Norway, according to the Christian newspaper Vart Land.

A dramatic change in the palace’s updates

Caroline Vagle, a royal reporter for Se og Hor magazine, described the palace’s latest announcement as “dramatic.”

She told AFP that the royal household had traditionally been cautious when discussing the king’s health, even during previous hospital stays and medical treatment. The latest statement, she said, had created an entirely different atmosphere around his illness.

“King Harald is a much-loved king,” she said, as concern spread across Norway.

The latest development came only days after the Royal Court said Harald was stable and had responded to treatment for a bacterial infection in his blood.

The king has been receiving treatment for haemolytic anaemia, a disorder in which red blood cells are destroyed more rapidly than normal. The condition can cause fatigue, paleness and breathing difficulties.

On August 24, the palace said Harald’s health had deteriorated over the weekend and that he was receiving antibiotics for the bacterial infection. At that stage, officials said he had responded to the treatment and that his condition was stable.

That changed sharply with Thursday’s announcement that his condition had become very serious.

Harald has been in hospital since August 17

King Harald was admitted to hospital on August 17 after complications related to treatment for haemolytic anaemia.

The palace had previously explained that he had been treated with cortisone for the blood disorder in the preceding weeks. The treatment had caused fluid to accumulate in his body, requiring hospital care.

He was initially placed on sick leave for two weeks, with Crown Prince Haakon taking over as regent during his absence.

The latest hospitalization is part of a series of health problems that have affected the Norwegian monarch in recent years.

Earlier this month, Harald underwent what the palace described as a planned medical check-up and follow-up appointment.

In February, he was taken to hospital while on holiday with Queen Sonja in Tenerife. At the time, his condition was described as satisfactory after he received treatment for an infection and dehydration.

He had experienced another serious health scare two years earlier while on holiday in Malaysia. That illness eventually led to him having a pacemaker fitted.

Despite his recurring health problems, Harald has repeatedly ruled out abdication.

He has previously said that he made a lifelong commitment when he swore an oath to the Storting, Norway’s parliament, before becoming king.

“I stick by what I’ve always said, that I swore an oath to the Storting (Norwegian Parliament) and it is for life,” he said.

The royal family gathers in Oslo

Both of Harald’s children reportedly rushed to Oslo University Hospital as news of his worsening condition emerged. Crown Prince Haakon has been carrying out his father’s constitutional duties as regent, while Harald remains in hospital.

Harald’s daughter, Princess Märtha Louise, also went to the hospital.

Her arrival came at an especially difficult time for the 54-year-old princess. Her husband, Durek Verrett, recently underwent a successful kidney transplant after previously requiring dialysis several times a week.

Verrett is believed to have received treatment at the same hospital where his father-in-law is being cared for.

Following the transplant, Märtha Louise and Durek said they were “incredibly relieved and deeply grateful” to the organ donor.

“The new kidney has given Durek a second chance, and that is something we will never take for granted,” they said.

With Durek recovering, attention has now turned to Harald as concern over the king’s condition intensifies.

A difficult period for Norway’s royal family

Harald’s health crisis follows several turbulent months for the Norwegian royal family.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit has faced intense scrutiny over her past links to Jeffrey Epstein after material from the Epstein Files revealed that she stayed at the convicted financier’s Palm Beach mansion in 2013, after his conviction for soliciting sex from girls as young as 14.

One email also suggested that Mette-Marit remained in contact with Epstein just months before his death.

Mette-Marit, 53, who was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018, later issued an apology, saying the emails did not represent the person she wanted to be.

Harald publicly defended his daughter-in-law during the controversy.

“We must remember that the Crown Princess has not done anything illegal,” he said. “Unlike some others in Norway, she broke the connection very early. So I think we should give her credit for that.”

The controversy came during the same period that Queen Sonja was hospitalized after experiencing heart problems.

A statement from the Norwegian Royal House said she had been admitted to the National Hospital with heart fibrillation and heart failure and would remain there for several days for examinations and observation.

Sonja was subsequently discharged and described as being in much better form. The 89-year-old queen had a pacemaker fitted the previous year after experiencing cardiac fibrillation, a rapid and irregular heartbeat.

Harald’s long reign

Harald became Crown Prince of Norway in 1957 following the death of his grandfather.

He married Sonja in 1968, and 23 years later became king after the death of his father, King Olav.

Harald ascended the throne in 1991 and has remained Norway’s monarch for more than three decades. He is Europe’s oldest reigning monarch.

Now, with Crown Prince Haakon acting as regent and the royal family gathered around the king in hospital, the country is waiting for further news about the monarch’s health.