King Harald on the road to recovery

King Harald is healthy enough to follow the set schedule at Christmas after a period of illness.

– The King’s program will go ahead as planned over the Christmas season, says Sven Gjeruldsen in the communications department at the Palace to NTB.

This means that he both will participate in the Christmas service at Holmenkollen Chapel on Christmas Day and will hold the New Year’s speech to the people, which is sent on NRK every 31 December.

King Harald (82) was reported sick last week with a viral infection and did not participate, among other things, in the Extraordinary Cabinet meeting on Wednesday when Frps Sylvi Listhaug and Terje Søviknes were appointed new ministers. He isnow on the road to recovery.

Christmas with Märtha
The royal couple will spend Christmas Eve with Princess Märtha Louise at Kongsseteren, which is their private property at Voksenkollen in Oslo.

This year, the Crown Prince family will celebrate Christmas at the family’s cottage in Uvdal in Buskerud.

In recent years, the Crown Prince family has alternated between celebrating Christmas at Kongsseteren, Skaugum and the family’s cottage in Uvdal.

Health Challenges
In December 2003, King Harald was diagnosed with bladder cancer. On December 8 of that year, the tumor was removed in what the doctors described as a very successful operation.

After the operation, the king was on sick leave for several months, and just a short year after being declared well he was again affected by illness. This time there was a heart valve that failed, and the king had to go through two major operations at the National Hospital.

On a Friday in November 2017, the king was admitted to the National Hospital with an infection, but was out again the following Monday and in fine shape, the Castle then reported.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today