King Harald V of Norway is receiving antibiotics for a bacterial blood infection after his condition worsened over the weekend, adding a new complication to a hospital stay that began Monday. The 89-year-old monarch has responded well to the treatment and will remain at the National Hospital in Oslo on sick leave indefinitely, with Crown Prince Haakon continuing as regent.
The infection follows weeks of cortisone therapy for haemolytic anaemia, a blood disorder causing abnormally rapid destruction of red blood cells. The steroid treatment led to fluid retention requiring hospitalisation, and the king was admitted after a medical examination earlier this week.
The latest setback comes after Harald was briefly hospitalised in February for an infection while on the Spanish island of Tenerife.