King Harald V of Norway
Crown Prince Haakon takes over for his sick father
The royal couple Harald and Sonja (left) with the crown prince couple Mette-Marit and Haakon at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo in 2019.
© imago/Matrix
King Harald V of Norway is on sick leave with cold symptoms. His son, Crown Prince Haakon, represents him.
King Harald V of Norway (84) is ill. “His Majesty the King has symptoms of a cold and is on sick leave for the next few days. All necessary examinations and tests are being carried out”, the royal family said in a press release on Friday. It also says that Crown Prince Haakon (48) has no symptoms and has tested negative for Corona. The palace is silent on whether King Harald and Queen Sonja (84) also tested negative.
Any corona concerns are justified, because on Thursday afternoon Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt tested positive for Covid-19, just a few hours after meeting the king, queen and crown prince in the royal palace. This is reported by the Norwegian daily Aftenposten.
“I wish His Majesty a speedy recovery. I had a great chat with Crown Prince Haakon this morning and I am grateful that the Crown Prince is conveying my warmest regards to King Harald. As I said yesterday, like everyone else, I am afraid of infecting someone and I am I sincerely hope that I didn’t infect King Harald, Queen Sonja or Crown Prince Haakon yesterday,” the newspaper quoted a statement by the Foreign Minister on Friday.
Crown Prince Haakon takes over the representation
Harald’s son, Crown Prince Haakon, has meanwhile taken over his father’s official duties as a representative. He headed the State Council on Friday.
King Harald is double vaccinated and boosted. He has been on sick leave several times in recent years, including in 2020 when he underwent surgery for a new heart valve.