OSLO, Aug 28 (Reuters) – Norway on Friday awaited news from the royal palace on the health of King Harald, the 89-year-old monarch who has been hospitalised for more than 10 days and who was said on Thursday to be in a “very serious” condition.
Crown Prince Haakon spent the night at the Oslo University Hospital by his father’s side, while Queen Sonja was seen arriving there early Friday morning.
There was no immediate update on the king’s health.
A large crowd gathered outside the palace in Oslo on Thursday, with many staying late into the night, laying flowers and spontaneously singing the national anthem.
Europe’s oldest living monarch and Norway’s ceremonial head of state since 1991, Harald was taken to hospital on August 17. The palace said he was being treated for a bacterial infection in his blood.
Members of Harald’s family, including the crown prince, the queen and his grandchildren as well as the king’s older sister Princess Astrid, 94, have all visited him at the hospital in recent days.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere cancelled a trip to Germany because of the king’s condition, while the speaker of parliament, Masud Gharahkhani, broke off an official visit to Iceland and returned to Norway.
Television stations cancelled much of their programming schedule, with public broadcaster NRK switching to around-the-clock coverage of the king.
Opinion polls show widespread backing among Norwegians for the monarchy, with almost two-thirds of respondents voicing their support in a survey in May this year, and with Harald as the most popular individual royal.
While the king has no formal political powers, Harald has comforted the nation in times of mourning, travelling to the scene of natural disasters to meet survivors and addressing victims of attacks.
Harald has ruled out abdication, saying his oath as king is for life.
(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis, Janis Laizans and Dylan Martinez; Writing by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Gwladys Fouche)
