King Harald V of Norway dies at 89
The monarch had been hospitalized for a bacterial infection in the blood
BarcelonaThe oldest monarch in Europe, Harald V of Norway, has died at the age of 89. Harald V was admitted last Monday to Oslo National Hospital to be treated for a bacterial infection. The Norwegian king had been suffering for a long time from hemolytic anemia, a blood disease that accelerates the destruction of red blood cells. The monarch's health had worsened considerably in recent years: he was already hospitalized in February in Tenerife during a vacation with Queen Sonja for a leg infection and dehydration. He was also admitted to a hospital in Malaysia in 2024 due to an infection. Prince Haakon Magnus will be the new king of Norway, a position he has already held on several occasions as regent due to his father's poor health.
was hospitalized in February in Tenerife during a vacation with Queen Sonja for a leg infection and dehydration. He was also admitted to a hospital in Malaysia in 2024 due to an infection. Prince Haakon Magnus will be the new king of Norway, a position he has already held on several occasions as regent due to his father's poor health.
Harald V's reign began in 1991, when he succeeded Olaf V of Norway and became the third king since the country gained independence from Sweden in 1905. The monarch was a descendant of Queen Victoria I of the United Kingdom, Charles XV of Sweden, and Christian IX of Denmark. During the Nazi occupation of Norway, the then prince settled in the United States thanks to a request from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt himself. Harald grew up in the state of Maryland with his siblings and his mother, Martha of Sweden. After the end of World War II, the family returned to Norway, where Harald graduated in science from Oslo Cathedral School.
In the mid-1950s, rumors emerged of a possible relationship between Harald and Sofia of Greece. The consort queen of Spain admitted to her biographer, Pilar Urbano, that meetings between the princes were forced. "There was an interest in us getting married, but the result of that forced union was nil," said Sofia. Harald V married Sonja Haraldsen, daughter of merchants with no noble ancestry, in August 1968.
The death of the Norwegian king comes in a 2026 loaded with controversy within the royal family. A few weeks ago, an Oslo court sentenced Marius Borg, 28 years old, the son Princess Mette-Marit had before marrying Haakon, to four years in prison for two counts of rape out of the four he was accused of in February. Before the trial, Borg had already been arrested several times by the police.
Family controversies
Princes Haakon and Mette-Marit, who are celebrating their silver wedding anniversary this month, have two children: Ingrid Alexandra, 22, and Sverre Magnus, 20. Following the accusations against Marius Borg, the royal family distanced the next heir to the throne from her half-brother. Princess Mette-Marit has been involved in another controversy related to the Epstein case files, in which her name appears more than 1,000 times. The princess and Epstein had several meetings between 2011 and 2014. Mette-Marit admitted to the BBC this March that she felt "manipulated" and that she took responsibility for "not having investigated his background before having contact with him." The future queen consort had to undergo a lung transplant this June, which has kept her away from the royal household's official activities.
Another controversy linked to Harald V's death is that of the royal sarcophagi. Harald and Sonja of Norway requested 1.8 million euros to pay for their respective tombs, a decision that was criticized by the Norwegian press for the lack of public tender. According to Norway's public procurement regulations, all acquisitions exceeding 120,000 euros require a public tender. In the absence of this, the royal household argued that it was an "artistic work" and, therefore, "an exceptional case." The court ruled in favor of the monarchs and concluded that it did not infringe the law. "The state budget contained a provision that made one think of the Egyptian pyramids. I hope it is well padded, because we will be there for a long time," Harald V quipped at a gala last year. The sarcophagus will be installed in the royal mausoleum, under the church of Akershus Fortress, in Oslo.
Harald V's other daughter, Märtha Louise of Norway, has been married since 2024 to American shaman Durek Verret, a marriage criticized by the Norwegian press for some of Verret's statements, who claimed, for example, that he had resurrected from the dead. Former Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg described the late king's son-in-law as "a person with very strange opinions who promotes conspiracy theories."
