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Norway

King Harald resumes his monarchical duties after two-week sick leave

After being sick for two weeks, there was great excitement about what was going to happen to King Harald. The media wondered if the King wanted an extended sick leave or whether he was healthy enough to resume his duties as the monarch after Crown Prince Haakon has been regent for the past 14 days.

One day after an update on King Harald’s health was expected, it has now become known that King Harald is resuming his duties as the monarch. There was no official statement as expected; what happened was that the Royal Court updated the royal calendar which confirmed a whole series of events over the next few days for His Majesty.

The calendar says that King Harald will hold a Council of State on Friday and that he will receive the United Arab Emirates Ambassador, H.E. Mr Abdullah Khalfan Matar S. Al Romaithi, in Farewell Audience. On Monday, King Harald also holds a diplomatic luncheon at the Royal Palace. The Norwegian media has tried to get a complimentary message from the Royal Court; however, they do not want to give any details other than that the King is now healthy.

However, all events that His Majesty will attend are closed to the public. It is not until next Sunday that the King is scheduled to participate as a spectator in the Norwegian Championship in skiing held in Drammen, one hour by car south of the King’s residence in Oslo. Her Majesty the Queen, who cancelled a scheduled opening of an art exhibition earlier this month, will have her first official assignment of the year on Monday, February 3. Then, the Queen will hold a board meeting related to the foundation Queen Sonja Print Award at the Royal Palace.

King Harald was hospitalised on Wednesday, January 8 after a period of illness and has faced a hard time following Ari Behn’s suicide on Christmas Day last year. At that time, the statement from the Royal Court said: “His Majesty King Harald was admitted to the National Hospital today because of dizziness. No serious illness has been found. The King is expected to be discharged before the weekend. The King has cancelled his duties for two weeks. During this period, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon is acting regent.”

On Monday last week, Crown Prince Haakon met the press where he said: “I thank you for your thoughtfulness. The King is in recovery; we expect him to be home from the hospital during this week. After the conditions he is fine. He was dizzy and unwell, which is why he was admitted to the hospital. It has been difficult in recent weeks. We try as best we can to take care of each other.” His Majesty King Harald of Norway was discharged from hospital after a week of treatment last Wednesday.

About author

Senior Europe Correspondent Oskar Aanmoen has a master in military and political history of the Nordic countries. He has written six books on historical subjects and more than 1.500 articles for Royal Central. He has also interview both Serbian and Norwegian royals. Aanmoen is based in Oslo, Norway.