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The state of health of the King of Norway, Harald, 89, who has been hospitalized since Monday, worsened this weekend, the royal palace announced on Sunday.
The dean of European monarchs suffers from hemolytic anemia, a disorder caused by an abnormally rapid destruction of red blood cells, which manifests with fatigue, pallor, and difficulty breathing.
He has been hospitalized since Monday at the National Hospital in Oslo (Rikshospitalet).
"His Majesty the King's state of health worsened over the weekend," the palace indicated in a statement.
"The King is receiving antibiotics to treat a bacterial infection in his blood and has responded well to the treatment," it added.
Harald, who ascended the Norwegian throne in 1991, has been suffering from multiple health problems for several years but has always ruled out abdicating.
In recent days, several members of his family have visited him at the hospital.
According to the newspaper Verdens Gang (VG), his wife, Queen Sonja; his son, Crown Prince Haakon—who acts as regent in his absence—; his daughter-in-law, Princess Mette-Marit; his granddaughter, and his sister visited him on Sunday.
None made any statements upon leaving the hospital.
- Scandals -
The monarch was admitted last Monday for fluid retention caused by his cortisone treatment, which had previously led him to be on sick leave for two weeks.
These health problems come at a time when the Norwegian crown has been going through a storm for several months, especially regarding Crown Princess Mette-Marit, wife of Haakon.
The publication in late January of documents in the United States highlighted her constant and sometimes intimate correspondence with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein between 2011 and 2014, when the American financier had already been convicted.
The Princess has also had to face the legal troubles of her son, Marius Borg Høiby.
Born from a relationship prior to Mette-Marit and Haakon's marriage in 2001, Høiby, 29, was sentenced in June to four years in prison for two rapes and 32 other charges, including violence against an ex-partner, though he has appealed the sentence.
Mette-Marit, 53, was suffering from an incurable lung disease and had to undergo a lung transplant in July.
These cases have tarnished the image of the monarchy, which, however, continues to enjoy popularity, largely thanks to the unifying figure of King Harald.
[Publicidad]