Norway’s King Harald V dies, succeeded by son

Norway’s King Harald V has died at the age of 89, after being hospitalised with a rare blood condition.

The death of Europe’s oldest reigning monarch was announced on Friday by the Royal Palace of Norway.

“King Harald passed away peacefully at Oslo University Hospital on Friday, Aug 28 at 6:35 a.m,” the palace said in a statement.

His son, Crown Prince Haakon, automatically succeeds him and is expected to reign as King Haakon VIII.

Royal family members had visited the king on Thursday, and crowds gathered outside the palace and laid flowers for the king after officials warned that his condition had turned “extremely serious”.

Harald was hospitalised on August 17, suffering from haemolytic anaemia, a condition caused by an abnormally rapid destruction of red blood cells which leads to fatigue and shortness of breath.

Harald, who ascended the Norwegian throne 35 years ago, has had multiple health problems in recent years, forcing him to have a pacemaker fitted and to scale back his official schedule.

But he had always ruled out abdicating, arguing that he took a lifelong oath before the Norwegian parliament.