Sick in Malaysia Concern for Norwegian King Harald V.
February 28, 2024, 9:01 pm Listen to the article
This audio version was artificially generated. More information | Send comments
Europe's oldest monarch has been facing health problems for months. Now Norwegian King Harald V has to return to the hospital. The 87-year-old man is infected with an infection at his holiday home on a Malaysian island. Now his personal doctor is taking care of him.
Norwegian King Harald V is hospitalized on the Malaysian resort island of Langkawi with an infection. The 87-year-old is doing a little better, the palace said. His personal doctor had arrived in Langkawi. Crown Prince Haakon confirmed the improvement after a phone call with his father. “He needs some rest now. So it looks like things are getting better,” he said.
Harald, Europe's oldest monarch, fell ill while on vacation with his wife Sonja. Malaysian news agency Bernama reported that Harald was being treated at the island's Sultanah Maliha Hospital. The report cited an unnamed source as saying the monarch was staying in the hospital's royal suite. The hospital declined to comment.
Crown Prince Haakon said his father was in good spirits. The hospital is very good. “We don't know when he'll come home. We'll have to decide that later.” News agency NTB reported that Haakon and his wife Mette-Marit would travel to southern Norway as planned. The first official date after Harald's planned return from vacation was a State Council meeting at the end of next week.
At Sultanah Maliha Hospital on the Malaysian resort island of Langkawi, King Harald would be suitably accommodated in the royal suite.
(Photo: AP)
The Royal Palace in Oslo announced on Tuesday that the 87-year-old had contracted an infection, but gave no further details. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said that if the king had to go to hospital, whether in Norway or abroad, it would be a cause for concern. “We must do everything we can to help bring the king home as quickly and healthily as possible,” he added.
King Harald has been increasingly struggling with health problems in recent months. He uses crutches and has been hospitalized several times since August. He was last sick in January due to a respiratory infection. However, he has always emphasized that he does not want to resign like his cousin Margaret II of Denmark, who retired in mid-January. Harald assured in mid-January that he would keep his oath when he took office in 1991, as he always said. “This applies to your entire life.”