The health of 89-year-old King Harald has deteriorated sharply: in the palace they started talking about his critical condition

The Norwegian Royal Chancellery said the health of King Harald, who is being treated in hospital for a bacterial blood infection, has become “very serious.” For this reason, the country's Prime Minister canceled his visit to Germany, and the Speaker of Parliament interrupted his trip to Iceland.

The oldest sitting monarch in Europe is back in the hospital — and this time the news from Oslo sounds more alarming than usual, xrust emphasizes. Norway's Royal Chancellery said Thursday that 89-year-old King Harald's condition had worsened and was now considered «very serious.»

Harald, who has occupied the throne since 1991 and is formally considered the ceremonial head of state, was hospitalized on August 17. Doctors diagnosed him with a bacterial blood infection, a condition that is considered dangerous in itself among people his age.

The whole country has paused

The scale of the reaction of the Norwegian authorities is more eloquent than any official formulations. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre canceled a work trip to Germany and said the entire country's thoughts are with the royal family. Speaker of Parliament Massoud Gharakhani interrupted his visit to Iceland and is returning home, and the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of Parliament hastily canceled his trip to South Korea. Even the college of bishops of the Norwegian Lutheran Church, on a rare visit to the Pope in the Vatican, announced an imminent return.

Crown Prince Haakon and the king's wife, Queen Sonja, have canceled all planned events. According to Norwegian media, family members were seen arriving at Oslo University Hospital, where the monarch is being treated.

Not the first alarm for the king's health

For Norwegians, Harald's hospitalization is almost common news: he has been hospitalized with infections with alarming regularity in recent years — in Malaysia in 2024, in Tenerife, Spain in February 2026, not to mention undergoing heart surgery in 2020. But the current case stands out because of the tone of official communications: the palace usually uses words like «stable» or «satisfactory» condition, and the word «very serious» in the mouth of the royal office is a rarity, indicating that the situation is being taken seriously even by the standards of the monarch's long history of illnesses.

Harald has repeatedly emphasized that he does not intend to abdicate the throne following his Danish relative Margrethe II, who unexpectedly handed over the throne to her son in 2024. “I remain true to what I have always said: I took the oath to the Storting [parliament], and it is valid for life,” the king said, explaining why he was only reducing the number of official events, but was not going to leave his post.

For the Russian reader who is not too immersed in the intricacies of the Scandinavian monarchies, it is worth explaining: unlike Russia, where the issue of succession of power has long been not associated with the figure of one person, in Norway, as in other European monarchies, a serious illness of the king automatically triggers the procedure of temporary regency — duties The heads of state are transferred to Crown Prince Haakon, who has already often replaced his father at public events in recent years.

What's next

The palace has not yet clarified the forecast or announced the timing of a possible discharge. Given the king's age and the nature of the infection, doctors will have several days of observation before they can talk about improvement. The next official statement is expected as new information becomes available from the treating physicians.

Sources:
reuters.com
nrk.no
royalcourt.no

Xrust The health of the 89-year-old King Harald has deteriorated sharply: in the palace they started talking about his critical condition