King Harald and Her Majesty Queen Sonja have received the coronavirus vaccine. The announcement was made in a statement from the Royal Court on January 13th 2021 which confirmed that Harald and Sonja, both aged 83, had been given the jab.
The statement says: “His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen have today been vaccinated against the coronavirus. The royal couple will receive the next vaccine in three weeks.”
The King’s 88 year old sister, Princess Astrid, has also received the vaccination.
There has been no news about Crown Princess Mette-Marit receiving the vaccine. Her Royal Highness is in a high risk group due to a lung disease. She has done almost no events for the royal family since the outbreak of the virus. It is expected that the Crown Princess will also take the vaccine soon.
At the end of November, it became known that King Harald and Queen Sonja had tested negative for the coronavirus, after an employee at the Palace had been diagnosed with the infection. Queen Sonja had had close contact with the person in question, but neither the queen nor the king was infected. At the time, it was also reported that 14 employees at the court had been quarantined.
It was later stated from the Palace in Oslo that the Royal Court has routines that are in line with rules and recommendations from the authorities related to infection control, including the practice of distance regulations, the use of face masks, intensified cleaning and hand hygiene, as well as the use of home offices.
In March 2020, the royal couple was quarantined after a state visit to Jordan. This led, among other things, to the king having to lead the weekly cabinet over the phone, due to the quarantine.
During the opening of an art exhibition in 2020, Queen Sonja said that it has been sad not to be able to meet people during the coronavirus pandemic.
