OSLO, Norway — Norway’s centuries-old monarchy has entered a temporary period of adjusted leadership after the royal palace confirmed Monday that 89-year-old King Harald V has been hospitalized to treat complications linked to a chronic blood condition.
In an official public statement released shortly after the king was admitted to Oslo’s National Hospital on Monday afternoon, palace officials outlined the sequence of events that led to the inpatient stay. For several weeks, the monarch has undergone cortisone treatment to manage hemolytic anemia, a rare blood disorder that causes premature destruction of red blood cells. The ongoing medication has resulted in problematic fluid buildup throughout his body, a side effect that requires targeted, monitored medical intervention only available in a hospital setting.
The statement also confirmed that King Harald has already been on official sick leave for two weeks, and that the line of succession has been activated for the interim. Crown Prince Haakon, the king’s only son and next in line to the Norwegian throne, will serve as regent, handling all official state duties and constitutional responsibilities during the monarch’s recovery.
This latest hospitalization marks the latest in a string of health incidents for the long-serving monarch over the past three years. The king has a documented history of recurring health issues that have required inpatient care both abroad and at home. Earlier this year, in February, he was admitted to a local hospital during a winter holiday in Spain’s Canary Islands, where he received treatment for an acute skin infection.
Two years prior, while on a private vacation with his wife Queen Sonja in Malaysia, the king experienced a cardiac event that required urgent medical intervention. Local clinicians fitted him with a temporary pacemaker to stabilize his condition before he was evacuated back to Norway on a specialized medical repatriation flight, where he received a permanent pacemaker in a Norwegian hospital.
King Harald has held the position of Norway’s head of state since 1991, when he succeeded his father King Olav V following Olav’s death. At 89, he is one of the oldest ruling monarchs in Europe, and his long reign has spanned more than three decades of social and political change across the Scandinavian nation.