King of Norway's health has worsened, palace says

King Harald V of Norway's health has worsened, the palace has said, as he remains in hospital receiving antibiotics for a bacterial infection in his bloodstream.

The monarch has responded to treatment despite the deterioration in his condition, according to the palace, but he will remain at Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, and on leave from royal duties until further notice.

The 89-year-old, who has been on the throne since 1991, was admitted to hospital and put on sick leave a week ago.

His son, Crown Prince Haakon, 53, has been serving as regent while his father is on leave.

King Harald has been treated in recent weeks with cortisone for a rare blood condition, haemolytic anaemia. It causes the number of red blood cells in the body to be reduced, and leads to fatigue and shortness of breath.

In April 2024, Norway's royal household said that King Harald would make a "permanent reduction" to his public engagements "out of consideration for his age". That year, the king had been fitted with a pacemaker after falling ill on holiday in Malaysia.

The Norwegian royal family has already faced a challenging year in 2026.

Crown Prince Haakon's wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, received a lung transplant in June after she had been diagnosed with a rare form of pulmonary fibrosis in 2018.

The transplant came two days after Mette-Marit's son Marius Borg Høiby was sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of two counts of rape. He had denied the most serious charges and his lawyers said he would appeal the sentence.

Høiby, 29, was four when his mother married Crown Prince Haakon and is not himself a royal figure.

Also earlier in the year, documents were released revealing Mette-Marit's frequent contact with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

She later apologised to Norway's king and queen for her three-year friendship with Epstein and admitted to "poor judgement", adding in a national TV interview that she wished she had never met him.

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