Norway’s King Harald, Europe’s oldest living monarch, has died at 89, the royal court said on Friday.
The monarch had been receiving treatment for a rare blood condition, hemolytic anemia, at Oslo University Hospital since mid-August.
What the palace said about King Harald’s death
“It is with deep sadness that we announce that His Majesty King Harald passed away today. King Harald passed away peacefully at Oslo University Hospital on Friday, August 28 at 6:35 a,m.,” the palace said in a statement.
His condition worsened over the last few days, and his wife, Queen Sonja, and son, Prince Haakon, canceled all their engagements to be at his bedside.
Harald, who had been monarch since 1991, will be succeeded by Prince Haakon.
Haakon automatically becomes King Haakon VIII, succeeding his father as Norway’s head of state. The Norwegian monarch has a largely ceremonial and representative role.
Harald had suffered a series of health problems in recent years and had increasingly scaled back his official duties. However, he repeatedly ruled out abdicating, saying the oath he had taken on becoming king “lasts for life.”
How will King Harald be remembered?
Born in 1937, Harald became Norway’s first prince to be born in the country in more than 500 years. As a child, he fled Norway with his mother and sisters following the Nazi invasion in 1940, spending much of World War II in the United States.
Harald succeeded his father, King Olav V, in January 1991 and went on to modernize the Norwegian monarchy during more than 35 years on the throne. He was widely praised for his response to the 2011 far-right terrorist attacks that killed 77 people and later drew attention for speeches stressing tolerance, diversity and LGBTQ+ equality.
The king’s death comes after a turbulent period for Norway’s royal family.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Haakon’s wife, has faced scrutiny over her past correspondence with the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Her son from a previous relationship, Marius Borg Hoiby, was sentenced in June to four years in prison after being convicted of two rapes and dozens of other offenses, including violence against a former partner. He has appealed the verdict.
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