The Norwegian royal family has given an update on the health of King Harald (87), who is currently being treated in a hospital in Malaysia: “His Majesty the King was implanted with a temporary pacemaker today at the Sultanah Maliha Hospital in Langkawi,” the palace said.
The pacemaker was therefore “implanted due to a low heart rate”. “The decision was made this morning and the procedure was successful,” the royal family said in the statement. “The king is doing well, but he still needs rest. The procedure will make the journey home safer,” Bjørn Bendz, the king’s doctor, is also quoted as saying. The monarch is expected to travel home via medical transport in the next few days.
On February 27, just six days after his 87th birthday, the Norwegian royal family announced on their official website that the monarch had to be admitted to a hospital in Malaysia. The brief statement said: “His Majesty the King fell ill while on holiday in Malaysia and is hospitalized there with an infection. The King is being well cared for by both Malaysian and Norwegian medical staff.”
Just a few weeks ago he had to take a break due to a respiratory infection; his son Prince Haakon (50) represented him during this time. The Norwegian king also had previous health problems. In May last year he had to be treated for several days in a clinic in Oslo because of an infection. It was the third time in just a few months that Harald V. was in the hospital. He had to be treated for an infection in August and December 2022. And even before that, the monarch’s health continued to cause problems: in 2005 and 2020 he was operated on to replace a heart valve. In recent years, Harald has also suffered from knee problems, among other things.
