OSLO.- He rey Harald de Norway87 years old, will soon be returning to his country after a hospital admission in Malaysia due to an infection, the Royal Palace announced today -March 3-.
The medical plane of the Scandinavian airline SAS that was to repatriate the sovereign took off around noon from the airport on the Malaysian island of Langkawi, an AFP photographer noted.
Dean of the reigning sovereigns in Europe, Harald suffered an infection during a private stay on this tourist island in northwest Malaysia and was admitted to the Sultanah Maliha hospital earlier in the week.
Safe return of the king
“The king will shortly be on his way to Langkawi airport for medical repatriation,” the palace said in a statement.
“Upon his arrival in Norway, the king will be admitted to the national hospital” in Oslo and will be on medical leave for two weeks, he added.
On Saturday, the sovereign, who is traveling in the company of his wife – Queen Sonja – was fitted with a pacemaker to have a safer return home, the royal house had announced.
According to the specialized website Flightradar, the SAS airline medical plane must land in Oslo at 11:59 p.m. (10:59 p.m. GMT).
King Harald moves around with crutches and has had numerous health problems in recent years. He suffered heart surgery and various respiratory disorders and infections.
On the throne for 33 years, he ruled out abdicating at the end of January in his first public intervention since the surprise departure from the Danish throne of his distant cousin, Queen Margaret II.
In his absence, Crown Prince Haakon, 50, occupies the regency.
FUENTE: AFP
