Norwegian royal family rush to bedside of seriously ill King Harald

Norway's royal family have rushed to the bedside of King Harald V, who is in an 'extremely serious' condition. The king, who at 89 is Europe's oldest reigning monarch, has been in hospital in Oslo since August 17 with haemolytic anaemia, which is caused by the rapid destruction of red blood cells. On Thursday, the royal palace said his health condition was 'extremely serious' without providing further details. Queen Sonja and King Harald mark Norwegian Constitution Day at the Royal Palace in Oslo last May © Getty Queen Sonja and King Harald's 53-year-old son and heir, Crown Prince Haakon, have cancelled all royal engagements to join the monarch at Oslo University Hospital. Haakon, his wife Crown Princess Mette-Marit (53) and their two adult children, were seen leaving the hospital in the late afternoon. The Crown Princess's son from a previous relationship, Marius Borg Hoiby, who is under house arrest with an ankle bracelet for a rape conviction, was also seen leaving the hospital after a four-hour visit. Thousands of Norwegians gathered outside the palace in central Oslo, laying bouquets. Jonas Gahr Store, Norway's prime minister, said he was 'deeply affected' by the royal palace's update and cancelled a trip to Germany. 'I stand together with the entire country as we now send our warmest thoughts to the king and the rest of the royal family,' he said. 'I am confident that the king is being well taken care of, and that he is receiving good and compassionate treatment.' The king, who ascended the Norwegian throne in 1991, has had multiple health problems in recent years, forcing him to have a pacemaker fitted and to scale back his official schedule. However, he has always ruled out abdicating, adamant that he took a life-long oath before the Norwegian parliament. Prince Haakon has been serving as regent since his father was admitted to hospital this month. He would make a popular king, polling has shown. But public support for his wife Mette-Marit has declined because of her friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced sex offender. King Harald speaks at a gala dinner in the Royal Palace in Oslo, held in honour of the visiting president of Iceland in April, 2025 © Reuters Documents published in the US in January revealed her sustained and at times intimate correspondence with Epstein between 2011 and 2014, at a time when the American financier had already been convicted. She said she deeply regretted her friendship, and has never been accused of any criminal wrongdoing linked to Epstein. Borg Hoiby was convicted of two charges of rape and 32 other offences this summer. The 29-year-old was sentenced in June to four years in prison. The royals remain popular with the Norwegian public, in large part because of the king's unassuming, modest lifestyle.