Harald V of Norway
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Harald V, styled His Majesty The King (born February 21, 1937), acceded to the throne as Norwegian Monarch on January 17, 1991. The son of the then Crown Prince Olav and of Princess Märtha of Sweden, Harald was born at the Crown Prince Residence at Skaugum, Asker, near Oslo.
Harald was the first Norwegian-born prince since the birth of Olav IV in 1370. As he is a descendant of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, he is also in the line of succession to the British throne (currently placed 60th).
King Harald has two sisters, Princess Ragnhild, Mrs. Lorentzen (born 1930), living in Brazil, and Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner (born 1932), living in Oslo.
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Childhood and education
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After the royal family fled the Nazi invasion of 1940, Harald and his mother and sisters lived in Washington, DC during World War II (his father Olav and grandfather King Haakon residing in London with the exiled government and parliament). Prince Harald returned to Norway along with his family at the war's end in 1945.
In the autumn of 1955 Harald began studies at the University of Oslo. Later he enrolled at the Norwegian Military Academy, graduating in 1959. In 1960 he entered Balliol College, Oxford where he studied history and economics.
Adult life
Harald married a commoner, Sonja Haraldsen, in 1968, a marriage which sparked much public controversy. The couple have two children, Princess Märtha Louise and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon, heir to the Norwegian throne.
An avid sailor, Harald represented Norway in the yachting events in the Olympic Games several times during his Crown Prince years, and carried the Norwegian flag at the opening parade of the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. With his sailing crew he has won World Championship bronze, silver and gold medals, in 1988, 1982, and 1987, respectively.
King Harald is the head of the Church of Norway.
The King is the Colonel-in-Chief of The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales' Own Yorkshire Regiment). He is a Four-star General, an Admiral and the Supreme Commander of the Norwegian Armed Forces. His Majesty the King's Royal Guard are considered the King's lifeguards, they guard the Royal residences including the Royal Palace and the Royal Mausoleum at Akershus Castle.
Twice during recent years King Harald has been in absence as ruler owing to hospitalization and reconvalescence: in December 2003 to mid-April 2004 due to urinary bladder cancer, and in April to early June of 2005 due to aortic stenosis (for details see "The King's health", below). Crown Prince Haakon served as regent on both occations.
The King's health
On 1 December 2003 King Harald was announced to be suffering from cancer of the bladder. A successful operation took place on December 8 at Norway's National Hospital, Rikshospitalet, in Oslo: his bladder was removed and a new one constructed. The King was then on sick leave from all official duties. Crown Prince Haakon was regent during King Harald's illness and convalescence. The King resumed his duties on April 13, 2004.
The King was once known to be a chain-smoker, but quit that habit entirely when he was diagnosed with cancer.
On 1 April 2005 Harald underwent successful heart surgery, an aortic valve replacement, correcting his aortic stenosis. It had been known for some time that he had this condition; however, until early 2005 it had only been of a moderate degree. During the three-hour operation at Rikshospitalet the doctors also performed a coronary bypass procedure on the King. On 10 April it was announced that the King had also undergone a pericardiocentesis to treat a complication of surgery, a pericardial effusion (an accumulation of fluid around the heart).
After the two operations in the spring of 2005 King Harald remained on sick leave for almost two months, Crown Prince Haakon again substituting as the country's regent. The King returned to work on 7 June, a date which carried particular significance in 2005, with Norway celebrating the centennial of the dissolution of the 1814–1905 union with Sweden.
External links
- Official Website of the Norwegian Royal Family (http://www.kongehuset.no/default.asp?lang=eng)
- Summary biography of the King (http://www.reisenett.no/facts/government/king_harald.html)
- The Royals (http://www.aftenposten.no/english/royals/) – Regularly updated news coverage of the Norwegian royal family (Aftenposten)