OSLO — Norway’s king will remain in a hospital for a few more days for treatment and observation after being admitted during a vacation on the Spanish island of Tenerife, his doctor said Wednesday.
The royal palace announced on Tuesday evening that King Harald V, who turned 89 last weekend, had been taken to the hospital while he and Queen Sonja were on vacation. His personal doctor, Bjørn Bendz, traveled to Tenerife on Wednesday.
Bendz said in a statement released by the palace that the king’s general health is good and that he is responding well to treatment of a skin infection on one of his legs. He said Harald will remain in the hospital for a few more days.
The doctor noted that it’s always serious when people nearing 90 are admitted for treatment to an infection and said it’s important to get a good overview of Harald’s health before he is discharged, “even though his condition is stable now.”
Two years ago, the king fell ill during a private vacation with the queen in Malaysia and received a temporary pacemaker there. Harald returned aboard a medical airplane to Norway, where he was fitted with a permanent pacemaker.
Harald has been Norway’s monarch since 1991. His hospitalization in the Canary Islands comes at a turbulent time for the Norwegian royal family.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit — who is married to the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon — has faced renewed scrutiny in recent weeks over her contacts with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Meanwhile, Mette-Marit’s son from a previous relationship is currently on trial in Oslo for multiple alleged offenses, including charges of rape.
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