Milan, Aug. 28 (LaPresse) – King Harald V of Norway has died at the age of 89. The royal household announced this. “It is with profound sadness that we announce that His Majesty King Harald passed away peacefully at the National Hospital on Friday, August 28 at 6:35 in the morning,” the Norwegian royal household said in a statement. The monarch had been hospitalized since August 17. At the time, the Royal House had announced that “in recent weeks” the king had been “undergoing cortisone treatment for hemolytic anemia, a blood disorder”, which had “caused a buildup of fluid in the body” that required “hospital treatment”. On that occasion, it was decided that the king would remain on sick leave for two weeks, during which Crown Prince Haakon would serve as regent. Following his father’s death, his son Haakon becomes the new king. The government will meet with the new sovereign at an extraordinary meeting to be held in the coming hours. Harald was Europe’s oldest monarch. The August 17 announcement had been the first news concerning his health since he fell ill in February during a stay in Tenerife. In 2024, during a trip to Malaysia, he was hospitalized because of an infection; the trip was private, but after his hospitalization the king’s personal physician was sent to the hospital and the monarch was subsequently repatriated on an SAS medical aircraft and fitted with a pacemaker. Much loved by the people, the sovereign modernized the royal household but refused to follow in the footsteps of other elderly monarchs who have abdicated in recent times. His son now automatically becomes King Haakon VIII. Like other European royal households, Norwegian monarchs play a predominantly symbolic role, enjoying celebrity status while actual power in this democracy of 5.5 million people rests with an elected Parliament. Harald had been crowned king in January 1991 following the death of his father, King Olav V, who was born in the United Kingdom and had reigned during an economic boom fueled by oil and gas.
Norway: King Harald V has died
Milan, Aug. 28 (LaPresse) – King Harald V of Norway has died at the age of 89. The royal household announced this. “It is with profound sadness that we announce that His Majesty King Harald passed away peacefully at the National Hospital on Friday, August 28 at 6:35 in the morning,” the Norwegian royal household said in a statement. The monarch had been hospitalized since August 17. At the time, the Royal House had announced that “in recent weeks” the king had been “undergoing cortisone treatment for hemolytic anemia, a blood disorder”, which had “caused a buildup of fluid in the body” that required “hospital treatment”. On that occasion, it was decided that the king would remain on sick leave for two weeks, during which Crown Prince Haakon would serve as regent. Following his father’s death, his son Haakon becomes the new king. The government will meet with the new sovereign at an extraordinary meeting to be held in the coming hours. Harald was Europe’s oldest monarch. The August 17 announcement had been the first news concerning his health since he fell ill in February during a stay in Tenerife. In 2024, during a trip to Malaysia, he was hospitalized because of an infection; the trip was private, but after his hospitalization the king’s personal physician was sent to the hospital and the monarch was subsequently repatriated on an SAS medical aircraft and fitted with a pacemaker. Much loved by the people, the sovereign modernized the royal household but refused to follow in the footsteps of other elderly monarchs who have abdicated in recent times. His son now automatically becomes King Haakon VIII. Like other European royal households, Norwegian monarchs play a predominantly symbolic role, enjoying celebrity status while actual power in this democracy of 5.5 million people rests with an elected Parliament. Harald had been crowned king in January 1991 following the death of his father, King Olav V, who was born in the United Kingdom and had reigned during an economic boom fueled by oil and gas.