King Harald V of Norway has been admitted to the hospital, leading to a temporary shift in the country’s royal duties. The palace confirmed the 89-year-old monarch is now on sick leave for two weeks, during which time Crown Prince Haakon will assume the role of regent. This development comes as the King battles haemolytic anaemia, a blood disorder characterized by the premature destruction of red blood cells, a condition that has required recent medical attention.
For several weeks leading up to this hospitalization, King Harald had been undergoing treatment with cortisone. The palace statement indicated that this medication resulted in fluid retention within his body, necessitating hospital care to manage the side effects. His reign as King of Norway began on January 17, 1991, following the passing of his father, King Olav. He married Queen Sonja in 1968, and together they have been at the helm of the Norwegian monarchy for over three decades.
This recent health issue for King Harald is not an isolated incident within the Norwegian royal household. The past several months have seen a series of significant health challenges affecting multiple senior members of the family. In May, Princess Astrid, the King’s sister, required hospital admission due to heart failure. Shortly thereafter, Queen Sonja also faced her own health battle, being hospitalized with heart problems during the same month.
The most extensive of these recent medical events involved Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who underwent a successful lung transplant in June. She had been diagnosed in 2018 with a rare form of pulmonary fibrosis, a condition that progressively scars the lungs and impedes breathing. While she was discharged from the hospital in mid-July, her recovery is expected to be a lengthy process, with no official engagements planned for her over the next six months. These successive health issues have placed a considerable burden on the royal family, requiring adjustments to their public schedules and duties.
Beyond the medical concerns, the family has also confronted legal troubles involving Mette-Marit’s son, Marius Borg Høiby. In June, Høiby was sentenced to four years in prison. The conviction stemmed from two counts of rape and other related offences, adding another layer of complexity to the challenges facing the Norwegian royal household in recent times. The combined effect of these personal and public difficulties has undoubtedly tested the resilience of the monarchy, even as the country looks to its institutions for stability.
