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King Harald and Queen Sonja in Denmark© Getty

King Harald pictured for the first time with family since hospitalisation

The Norwegian palace has released a new portrait of King Harald and Queen Sonja and their family

Danielle Stacey
Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
March 28, 2024
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King Harald V of Norway has been pictured for the first time since being discharged from hospital

The monarch, 87, posed for a new portrait with his family, including his wife, Queen Sonja, 86, and their son Crown Prince Haakon and his wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, both 50.

Standing beside their parents and grandparents are Haakon and Mette-Marit's children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 20, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 18. 

"The royal family wishes everyone a really good Easter," the Instagram caption read. 

Norway royal family at Easter© Simen Løvberg Sund / The Royal Court
Norway's royal family posed for a portrait before Easter

The Norwegian royal family are celebrating the holiday at  Bygdø Royal Farm – the king's summer residence on the northwestern part of the Bygdøy peninsula in Oslo. 

Harald fell ill with an infection while on his private holiday in Malaysia, it was confirmed by the palace on 27 February. He was flown back to Norway to have a permanent pacemaker fitted on 12 March and was discharged from Rikshospitalet in Oslo two days later.

The king is still on sick leave until 8 April while he continues his recovery from his procedure, with his heir Crown Prince Haakon acting as regent until that date. 

Harald has experienced ill-health in recent years, having been put on "sick leave" back in January due to a respiratory infection. He was also hospitalised for infections in May and December last year, and treated for a fever last August. In October 2020, he also had an operation to replace a heart valve. 

But unlike Queen Margrethe of Denmark, 83, who abdicated 52 years into her reign on 14 January, Harald has ruled out making the same choice.

During a visit to Faktisk.np, a non-profit fact-checking website, in January, Harald stated: "I stand by what I have said all along. I have taken an oath to the Storting, [parliament] and it lasts for life."

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Harald succeeded his father, King Olav V, to the throne on 17 January 1991. He and his wife, Queen Sonja, who have been married since 1968, also have a daughter, Princess Martha Louise.

Princess Martha Louise and Durek Verrett© Getty
Princess Martha Louise and Durek Verrett

The princess stepped back from royal duties in 2022 to focus on her alternative medicine business with her fiancé, a shaman, Durek Verrett. Martha Louise will marry Durek on 31 August 2024 at Hotel Union in Geiranger, Norway.

Martha Louise has three daughters – Maud, Leah and Emma – from her marriage to author and playwright, Ari Behn, who died by suicide in 2019. 

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