King Harald V of Norway, 89, is in “extremely serious” condition in an Oslo hospital, the Norwegian Royal Palace said Thursday, August 27, 2026 — a marked escalation from earlier updates.
Harald was taken to Rikshospitalet, part of Oslo University Hospital, on August 17 after a medical examination that afternoon. He was being treated for haemolytic anaemia, a blood disorder in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than the body can replace them. The cortisone treatment he received for the condition caused fluid retention that required hospital care, the palace has said. His condition worsened over the following days, and on Thursday the Royal House announced: “His Majesty the King’s health condition is extremely serious.”
Key facts
- Condition: “Extremely serious,” the Royal Palace said on August 27
- Hospital: Rikshospitalet, Oslo University Hospital
- Admitted: August 17, 2026, after a medical examination
- Diagnosis: Haemolytic anaemia; cortisone treatment caused fluid retention
- Acting regent: Crown Prince Haakon, 53, since August 17
- Reign: King since 1991; Europe’s oldest reigning monarch
Family at his side
Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit are at Harald’s bedside at the hospital, and the palace says his elder sister, Princess Astrid, is also among family members who have gathered there. Reports also named Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus among those at the hospital. Queen Sonja and Crown Prince Haakon have cancelled all of their scheduled royal engagements, and the wider royal household has called off its official program while the family remains with the King.
Norwegian state broadcaster NRK aired special coverage of the King’s health this week. According to wire service reporting, one NRK reporter told viewers the public should “prepare for the worst” — a personal assessment from the broadcast, not an official prognosis from the palace or the King’s medical team.
Who is running the country
Crown Prince Haakon, 53, has been acting as regent since August 17, carrying out the King’s constitutional duties while his father is unable to. That role is provided for in the Norwegian constitution for periods when the monarch is incapacitated by illness. It does not make Haakon king — Harald remains Norway’s reigning monarch, and no succession event has taken place. Haakon, as the King’s eldest child, is next in the line of succession. His regency duties are largely formal and ceremonial, carried out on the advice of the government.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre canceled a planned trip to Germany after the palace’s Thursday announcement. He said the news deeply affected him and that his thoughts, and the country’s, are with the King and the royal family.
A long reign, and past health scares
Harald has reigned as King of Norway since 1991 and is Europe’s oldest reigning monarch. He has faced a string of health issues in recent years — he received a permanent pacemaker in 2024 and was hospitalized in Tenerife, Spain, in February 2026 for an infection while on holiday — and has said in the past that he does not intend to abdicate. Those earlier episodes are separate from his current hospitalization.
There is no indication of when Harald might be released from the hospital, and the palace has not said what comes next. Plainly Now will update this story as the Royal House releases further information.