The health of King Harald V of Norway once again places the monarchy of the Scandinavian country in a position of maximum vulnerability. The 89-year-old sovereign has been admitted to the National Hospital in Oslo since August 17, after his medical condition experienced a worrying worsening during this last weekend that forced a new official statement to be issued from the Royal Palace.
The origin of this new crisis is found in the cortisone treatment that the monarch had been receiving for weeks to combat hemolytic anemia, which caused a serious accumulation of fluids. Added to this clinical picture is a bacterial infection in the blood, a severe systemic complication that, according to local specialists, is usually linked to immunosuppressive treatments, although the Royal Family has confirmed that the patient is stable and responds favorably to antibiotics.
The seriousness of the situation has caused a rapid chain reaction among the country’s main authorities, who have not been slow to send messages of encouragement.
The Norwegian Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, has publicly acknowledged that the medical scenario has become more serious, while the President of Parliament, Masud Gharahkhani, has conveyed his best wishes to the royal family in these moments of extraordinary unrest for all citizens.
Given the physical incapacity of the head of state, Crown Prince Haakon has assumed the duties of regent, while Harald’s entire official agenda for the month of September has been completely cancelled. During this critical Sunday, the hospital center has been a constant coming and going of members of the dynasty, including Queen Sonia, the crown princes, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Princess Astrid, the monarch’s only sister.
A medical history full of setbacks
This new entry adds to a worrying list of health problems that have diminished the vitality of the dean of European sovereigns in recent times. At the beginning of this year, the king had to be hospitalized for an infection and dehydration during a vacation in Tenerife, and months later he suffered another severe crisis in Malaysia that culminated in his emergency repatriation and the implantation of a permanent pacemaker.
Frailty is not exclusive to the sovereign, since health has become a particularly sensitive issue for the entire leadership of the Norwegian royal family. Queen Sonia, also 89, had to be temporarily removed from her duties this spring due to heart failure, while Crown Princess Mette-Marit is currently facing a long rehabilitation after undergoing a complex lung transplant in mid-June.
Recent scandals and unwavering loyalty
Added to the physical problems is the psychological pressure of the recent scandals that have shaken the foundations of one of the most valued monarchies in Europe. The institution has seen its image damaged by the conviction of Marius Borg, son of the crown princess, for various crimes, including rape, as well as by Mette-Marit’s own controversial past friendships, such as the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, reasons that, according to analysts, reinforce Harald’s ironclad refusal to abdicate so as not to further weaken the Crown.
Despite these circumstances, the sovereign maintains enviable levels of popularity, based on historical gestures that marked his youth and consolidated his figure.
Harald revolutionized the European courts by starring in a morganatic marriage after nine years of courtship in the shadows with Sonia Haraldsen, even threatening to renounce the throne if he was not allowed to marry the young commoner, demonstrating a determination that today seems to remain intact in the face of his own health problems.
