Europe’s Oldest Monarch, Norway’s King Harald V dies at 89

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New-Delhi: Europe’s oldest living monarch, Norway’s King Harald V died at the age of 89, after he was taken to hospital last week for treatment for a rare blood condition.

“King Harald passed away peacefully at Oslo University Hospital on Friday 28 August, 0635 (local time, 0435 GMT),” the royal palace said on its website.

Harald was taken to hospital on August 17. The palace said he was being treated for a bacterial infection in his blood.

Harald is succeeded as monarch by his son Haakon. He leaves his wife of 57 years, Queen Sonja, two children, and five grandchildren. His granddaughter Ingrid Alexandra now becomes heir to the Norwegian throne.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said, “a whole nation is in mourning” after his death, with the people of Norway “left with a deep sense of gratitude for a long life in the service of Norway.”

The prime minister added: “For ‌more than three decades as monarch, Harald V demonstrated an unwavering faith in the Norwegian people. He helped us to see the best in ourselves – and in one another.”

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Harald, Norway’s ceremonial head of state since 1991, was Europe’s oldest reigning monarch. He had been being treated in Oslo’s University hospital since 17 August for haemolytic anaemia, a condition caused by an abnormally rapid destruction of the body’s red blood cells.

The king had suffered numerous recent health problems, He went under an operation for bladder cancer in 2003 and having a pacemaker fitted in 2024, but always ruled out abdicating, saying he had taken a lifelong oath before the Norwegian parliament.

Harald, born February 21, 1937, was the youngest of three children but the only boy. He was the first royal heir to be born in Norway in almost 570 years. At the time, the Norwegian Constitution stipulated that only male heirs could inherit the title.

Harald attended a state school for his early education, He finished his secondary education at Oslo Cathedral School before completing his one-year mandatory military service at the Norwegian Cavalry Officers’ Training School. He went on to study social science, history and economics at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

His marriage in 1968 to a commoner broke with tradition and followed a stand-off with his father that ended only after Harald threatened never to marry rather than give up Sonja.

Harald’s son Haakon, 53, will be Norway’s fourth king.

Also Read: Veteran Broadcasting Legend Larry King Dies At 87

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