Norway is mourning King Harald V, who died Friday at 89 after more than three decades on the throne, ending a reign marked by national unity, modernization of the monarchy and an unusually close connection with ordinary Norwegians.
Harald died peacefully at the National Hospital in Oslo at 6:35 a.m. local time, the Royal Palace said. The royal flag was lowered to half-staff following the announcement.
The king had been hospitalized Aug. 17 after undergoing a medical examination. The palace said he had been receiving cortisone treatment for hemolytic anemia, a blood disorder that had caused fluid to accumulate in his body. His condition later deteriorated after he developed a bacterial infection in his bloodstream, Norwegian public broadcaster NRK reported.
Harald was Europe's oldest reigning monarch at the time of his death.
"A whole nation is in mourning," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said, praising Harald's decades of service and his "unwavering faith in the Norwegian people."
