King Harald hospitalised with haemolytic anaemia; Crown Prince Haakon to serve as regent

King Harald of Norway, 89, was admitted to Rikshospitalet, Oslo, on 17 August 2026 with haemolytic anaemia — red blood cells destroyed faster than the body replaces them — and placed on two weeks' sick leave. Cortisone treatment caused fluid accumulation requiring hospital management. Crown Prince Haakon was set to serve as regent, the constitutional mechanism by which Norway's monarchy functions when the sovereign is incapacitated.