King Harald of Norway, 86, has been admitted to the Rikshospitalet University Hospital, in Oslo, to be treated for an infection and will remain sick for a few days, as reported by the Royal House of the Nordic country on Monday. “The king has been diagnosed with an infection that requires treatment and that is why he will be in the hospital for a few days. His condition is stable,” it stated in a brief statement.
The sick leave will prevent the monarch from being this Monday at the celebrations of the Day of Liberation from the German occupation, in which he will be replaced by his son Crown Prince Haakon. This is a new hospitalization after those suffered by the sovereign in the last year.
The Royal House, however, keeps a reception on the king’s agenda on the 11th with the president of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, on an official visit to Norway.
In the last year, the monarch has been admitted to the hospital three times for the same reason. The last time was in December 2022. And the same thing that happened last summer, in August. Then the royal house explained that “he has been diagnosed with an infection that must be treated with intravenous antibiotics, for which he will remain hospitalized for a few days.”
On May 6, the day of the coronation of Carlos III, the octogenarian monarch did not attend the ceremony. Instead, he was the heir. Despite his failing health, Harald of Norway refuses to abdicate in favor of his son. “Until now, I think we have managed the work quite well together. I see it as if we were a team. We distribute the work to achieve the best possible result. I think we will continue to do so for years to come,” he said.
The Norwegian king underwent surgery for the last time in 2021 for a ligament in his knee, and a year earlier his heart valve implanted in 2005 had been replaced, two years after a bladder tumor was removed.
