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Norway’s King Harald taken to hospital in Spain

By Thomson Reuters Feb 24, 2026 | 2:48 PM

OSLO, Feb 24 (Reuters) – Norway’s King Harald, 89, was taken to hospital on Tuesday ​on the Spanish island ‌of Tenerife, suffering from an infection and dehydration, the royal palace said in a statement.

The king, who ‌was ​on a private ⁠holiday with his ⁠wife Queen Sonja, was reported to be in good condition, the palace said.

Harald, Europe’s oldest ​living monarch, has been Norway’s ceremonial head of state ⁠since 1991.

“I wish ⁠our king a speedy ​recovery,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere ​told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK ‌while on a visit to Ukraine.

The king’s personal physician will travel to Tenerife to assist ⁠the local health service, the palace said.

Harald was hospitalised in 2024 for ⁠an ‌infection while on holiday ⁠in Malaysia, and received ​a ‌temporary pacemaker at a ​hospital there. ⁠He was later transferred to Norway where a permanent device was implanted.

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik and Gwladys Fouche; Editing by ​Nerijus Adomaitis)