RismadarVoice Reporters
August 28, 2026
Norway’s King Harald V has died at the age of 89 after being hospitalised with a rare blood condition, the Royal Palace of Norway has announced.
The palace said Harald died peacefully at Oslo University Hospital at 6:35 a.m. on Friday, August 28.
His death makes Crown Prince Haakon the new monarch. He will reign as King Haakon VIII, succeeding his father after 35 years on the Norwegian throne.
Harald had been admitted to hospital on August 17 with haemolytic anaemia, a condition in which red blood cells are destroyed more rapidly than they are replaced. The condition can cause symptoms including fatigue and shortness of breath.
The king had experienced several health problems in recent years and had a pacemaker fitted. His official schedule had also been reduced, although he had repeatedly ruled out abdicating, saying he had made a lifelong oath before Norway’s parliament.
Harald became king in January 1991 following the death of his father, King Olav V. He was Norway’s first king born on Norwegian soil since the 14th century and presided over decades of economic prosperity largely supported by the country’s oil and gas wealth.
Born in February 1937 near Oslo, Harald spent part of his childhood outside Norway after Nazi Germany invaded the country during the Second World War. His mother took him and his sisters first to Sweden and later to the United States, while his father and grandfather, King Haakon VII, remained in Britain during the occupation.
Harald became widely admired in Norway for his response to the 2011 attacks carried out by Anders Behring Breivik, which killed 77 people. In a speech following the attacks, the king expressed support for freedom and rejected fear.
His death comes amid renewed scrutiny of Norway’s monarchy. Earlier this year, documents reportedly showed Crown Princess Mette-Marit had corresponded with convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Her son, Marius Borg Høiby, who is the stepson of the new King Haakon VIII, was sentenced in June to four years in prison after being convicted of two counts of rape and 32 other charges, including domestic violence.
The Norwegian royal family had visited Harald in hospital before his death, while members of the public gathered outside the palace in Oslo to pay their respects as his condition deteriorated.
