King Harald V of Norway has been discharged from an Oslo hospital after receiving a pacemaker this week, the palace said Thursday.
The 87-year-old—Europe’s oldest monarch—is “doing well” following the procedure, the royal court said in a statement. He will now remain on “sick leave” until April 8 with his 50-year-old son, Crown Prince Haakan, taking over the king’s royal duties during his rest and recuperation period.
Harald was given the permanent pacemaker Tuesday after he became ill with an infection last month during a vacation in Malaysia. He was given a temporary pacemaker “due to a low heart rate,” the palace said, while he was still in the Southeast Asian country on March 2. Harald’s personal physician, Bjørn Bendz, said the temporary device would make his return flight to Norway safer.
The king has been hospitalized multiple times in recent years due to bouts of ill health. Before becoming unwell in Malaysia, Harald was on sick leave at the end of January because of a respiratory infection. He’d been hospitalized the previous month as well for another infection and again in August last year because of a fever. In 2020, he had an operation to replace a heart valve after he’d been taken to hospital due to breathing problems.
