7 April 2024

Norway: King Harald on sick leave for two more weeks

The Norwegian Royal Court announced on Thursday 4 April 2024 that King Harald, who was scheduled to return to his duties next week after having been on sick leave since late February, will be on sick leave for two more weeks. This blog article might be a bit outdated as it has already gone 3 days since the announcement, but I have been on vacation in Tanzania the last two weeks, and as I have written about the king's health developments previously, I thought I should include the latest announcement as well, at least for the record:

His Majesty The King on sick leave for two more weeks

His Majesty The King is undergoing rehabilitation following his hospitalisation earlier this winter and still needs more time before returning to his constitutional duties. Therefore, His Majesty will be on sick leave for two more weeks until Monday 22 April.

During this period, His Royal Highness The Crown Prince will act as regent.

His Majesty's official engagements will largely be taken care of by members of the Royal Family:

  • His Royal Highness The Crown Prince Regent, Her Majesty The Queen and Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess host a reception at the Royal Palace for recipients of the King’s Medal of Merit on 9 April.
  • Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess attends the presentation of Nasjonalforeningen for folkehelsen's research awards 2024 on 15 April.
  • Her Majesty The Queen visits 'Drive' in Melhus, as well as Skaun municipality on 16 April.

Crown Prince Haakon's planned official visit to the West Coast of the US will proceed as scheduled from 15 to 19 April. The Norwegian Government will, in accordance with the Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway, conduct the administration of the realm during this week.

04.04.2024

The Constitution of Norway Article 41 says that "If the King is absent from the realm unless commanding in the field, or if he is so ill that he cannot attend to the Government, the person next entitled to succeed to the throne shall, provided that he has attained the age stipulated for the King's majority, conduct the Government as the temporary executor of the Royal Powers. If this is not the case, the Council of State will conduct the administration of the realm."

The king and the crown prince take their constitutional responsibilites very seriously, so it is not often that the government (the Council of State) act as regent, at least they usually make sure that one of them is home to preside over the Council of State on Fridays. The Crown Prince is scheduled to visit San Francisco and Seattle from 15 to 18 April. I don't know the details of the visit yet, so it is too early to say if the crown prince will manage to return to Norway early enough on Friday 19 April to preside over the Council of State. If not, the Council of State will take place at the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday 18 April instead.*

Earlier articles on the King's hospitalisation in Malaysia and at the National Hospital, Norway:

* Correction: I was almost correct. The Royal Court has now updated the list of official engagements, and it shows that the Council of State will indeed take place at the Prime Minister's Office, but not on Thursday 18 April 2024 as I expected, but on Friday 19 April 2024 at 11 a.m.

Updated last time on Monday 8 April 2024 at 3 p.m. (corrected added).

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