Norway's King Harald dies at age 89 after bacterial infection

King Harald V of Norway died on 28 August 2026 at Oslo University Hospital. He was 89 years old. Doctors said he had a bacterial infection in his blood. He had been in hospital since 17 August and died at 6:35 in the morning.

Harald was Europe's oldest reigning monarch and had been king for 35 years. He was known as a modern and popular ruler. As a child, he lived in exile in the United States because Nazi forces occupied Norway. Later, he chose to marry his school sweetheart instead of a noblewoman, which was unusual for a royal family.

His son has automatically become King Haakon VIII following his father's death.