OSLO, Aug 27 (Reuters) – The health of Norway’s King Harald, 89, has deteriorated while in hospital and his condition is now “very serious”, the royal court said on Thursday.
Europe’s oldest living monarch and Norway’s ceremonial head of state since 1991, Harald was taken to hospital on August 17. The palace said he was being treated for a bacterial infection in his blood.
Crown Prince Haakon and Harald’s wife, Queen Sonja, have both cancelled all planned events, the palace said in a statement.
Members of Harald’s family, including the crown prince and the queen, were seen arriving at the Oslo University Hospital where the king is being treated, Norwegian media reported.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere on Thursday cancelled a trip to Germany due to the king’s condition and said in a statement to the media, “The whole nation is with us as we send warm thoughts to the king and the rest of the royal family.”
The speaker of Norway’s parliament, Masud Gharahkhani, broke off an official visit to Iceland and was heading back to Norway, while the Committee of Foreign Relations and Defence said its members would return home from South Korea.
The Lutheran Church of Norway’s College of Bishops, in Rome for a rare visit with the pope, announced it would return home as soon as possible, according to media reports.
In 2024, the king said he would reduce the number of official activities in which he takes part out of consideration for his age, but he ruled out abdication, saying his oath as king was for life.
(Reporting by Louise Rasmussen; Editing by Terje Solsvik, Timothy Heritage and Hugh Lawson)
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