King Harald of Norway is in an "extremely serious" condition.

The 89-year-old king - who is the oldest reigning monarch in Europe - has been hospitalised in Oslo for the last 10 days with a bacterial blood infection while receiving cortisone treatment for haemolytic anaemia, a condition caused by a rapid destruction of red blood cells, which leads to shortness of breath and fatigue, but his condition worsened on Monday (24.08.26) and he has subsequently further deteriorated.

The royal palace said: "His Majesty the King's health condition is extremely serious."

Harald's wife, Queen Sonja and their son Crown Prince Haakon - who has been acting as regent amid his father's medical woes - have cancelled all official engagements to gather at the king's bedside at Oslo University Hospital, where other members of the royal family have also been seen arriving on Thursday (27.08.26), including the Prince's wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit and her son Marius Borg Hoiby, and the king's sister, Princess Astrid.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has cancelled a planned trip to Germany.

He said in a statement: "I stand together with the entire country as we now send our warmest thoughts to the king and the rest of the royal family.

"I am confident that the king is being well taken care of and that he is receiving good and compassionate treatment."

Members of the public have been laying flowers in Oslo's Palace Square, in front of the royal palace.

Harald, who took the throne in 1991, has scaled back his official duties in recent years due to health problems.

He was fitted with a pacemaker in 2024 after falling ill during a holiday to Malaysia.

In February this year, while holidaying in Tenerife with his wife, he was admitted to hospital and treated for an infection and dehydration.

The Norwegian royal family has faced a challenging 2026.

In June, the crown princess underwent a lung transplant, eight years after being diagnosed with a rare form of pulmonary fibrosis in 2018.

Mette-Marit underwent her surgery just two days after her son - who was four when his mother married Haakon - was sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty of multiple charges, including two counts of rape. He is currently serving his punishment under house arrest.

And earlier in the year, documents released by the US government revealed the princess had been in frequent contact with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

She apologised to the king and queen for her three-year friendship with the disgraced financier and admitted she had shown "poor judgement".