Norway’s King Harald has died aged 89, the palace said on Friday, his 53-year-old son Crown Prince Haakon automatically succeeding him on the throne.“It is with deep sadness that we announce that His Majesty King Harald passed away today. King Harald passed away peacefully at Oslo University Hospital on Friday, August 28 at 6.35am,” it said in a statement.The flag at the royal palace in Oslo was lowered to half mast.Europe’s oldest reigning monarch, King Harald had been in hospital in Oslo since August 17 suffering from haemolytic anaemia, a condition caused by an abnormally rapid destruction of red blood cells which leads to fatigue and shortness of breath.The royal family had rushed to his bedside on Thursday as the palace announced that Harald’s condition was “extremely serious”.His wife Queen Sonja, Haakon and his wife Mette-Marit and their adult children spent much of Thursday at his bedside, with media reporting that Haakon kept vigil overnight.