King Harald V of Norway, 89, has been hospitalized for over a week due to a rare blood condition called haemolytic anaemia, and his condition has worsened to an "extremely serious" level. The royal family has gathered at his bedside, with Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon, and other members of the family present. This comes after King Harald was treated with cortisone for his condition and had scaled back his royal duties due to multiple health problems in recent years. His son, Crown Prince Haakon, has been serving as regent while he is on leave.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-27,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
King Harald V of Norway has died at the age of 89 after a brief stay in hospital. He was being treated for haemolytic anaemia, a rare blood disorder, at Oslo University Hospital. The royal palace announced his death on Friday morning, stating that he had passed away peacefully at 6:35 am.
Harald was Europe's oldest monarch and had been on the throne since January 17, 1991. He modernized the Norwegian royal house but refused to abdicate despite his advanced age. His son, Crown Prince Haakon, automatically becomes King Haakon VIII following his father's death.
The Norwegian Royal Family rushed to Harald's bedside on Thursday as his health deteriorated after contracting an infection. Members of the public gathered outside the Royal Palace in Oslo to pay their respects and mourn the loss of the popular king.
King Charles III of Britain paid tribute to his cousin, stating that he was "profoundly sad" to hear of Harald's passing and extending his deepest condolences to the Norwegian royal family.
Harald was born in 1937 in Asker, near Oslo, and went into exile in the United States as a child during World War II. He married his school sweetheart and refused several European noblewomen who proposed to him. After his father's death in 1991, Harald reigned for over three decades, modernizing the royal house and serving as a largely symbolic figurehead.
With his passing, Norway enters a period of mourning, with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre paying tribute to the king's "unwavering faith" in the Norwegian people.
Written for “Death of Norwegian Monarch” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 8 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 2734 · logged 2026-08-27
- Published
King Harald V of Norway is in an "extremely serious" condition in hospital, the country's royal household has said.
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household → publish → hospital
His wife, Queen Sonja, and his son, Crown Prince Haakon, have cancelled all royal engagements and they have gathered at his bedside at Oslo University Hospital with other members of the royal family.
The 89-year-old has been in hospital for over a week receiving treatment for a rare blood condition, haemolytic anaemia.
Having been on the throne since 1991, King Harald is Europe's oldest head of state.
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Harald → cancel → state
Crown Prince Haakon, 53, the successor to the Norwegian throne, has been serving as regent while his father is on leave.
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father → serve → leave
King Harald has been treated in recent weeks with cortisone for haemolytic anaemia, a condition that causes the number of red blood cells in the body to be reduced, and leads to fatigue and shortness of breath.
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number → treat → breath
Members of the royal family were seen arriving at the hospital on Thursday morning, including Haakon's wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit.
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Members → see → wife
King Harald's sister, Princess Astrid is also at the hospital, according to reports in Norwegian media.
uncertain
sister → accord → media
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has cancelled a planned trip to Germany, where he was expected to meet Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday.
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he → cancel → Thursday
"The whole nation is with us as we send warm thoughts to the king and the rest of the royal family," he said in a statement.
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he → send → statement
Members of the public have also begun laying flowers in Palace Square, in front of the palace in Oslo.
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Members → begin → Oslo
The king has had multiple health problems in recent years which have forced him to scale back his royal duties.
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which → have → duties
He was fitted with a pacemaker in 2024 after falling ill on holiday in Malaysia.
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He → fit → Malaysia
The Norwegian royal family has already faced a challenging year in 2026.
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family → face → 2026
Crown Princess Mette-Marit received a lung transplant in June after she had been diagnosed with a rare form of pulmonary fibrosis in 2018.
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she → receive → 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.
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son → come → rape
He had denied the most serious charges and is to appeal the sentence.
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He → deny → sentence
Høiby, 29, was four when his mother married Crown Prince Haakon and is not himself a royal figure.
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mother → marry → Haakon
Also earlier in the year, documents were released revealing Mette-Marit's frequent contact with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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documents → release → offender
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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she → apologise → him
