Norwegian King's blunt response when asked if he will abdicate like Queen Margrethe II
By Jo Abi|
King Harald of Norway says he will not follow in the footsteps of Queen Margrethe of Denmark by abdicating.
"No, I stand by what I said all along," King Harald, 86, said while speaking to Norway's fact-checking media company Faktisk.no on Tuesday.
"I have taken an oath to the Storting (the Norwegian parliament) and it lasts for life."
King Harald succeeded his father, King Olav V, in 1991 following his death. Upon his ascension he adopted the motto: "We give our all for Norway."
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He has remained monarch for the past 32 years and continuing his duties despite his ailing health.
King Harald follows in the footsteps of the late Queen Elizabeth who also held the belief her role as monarch was for life. She died in September 2023 upon which her eldest child Charles became King.
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Queen Elizabeth ascended the British throne upon the death of her father George VI died in 1952 at the age of 56 after failing to recover from a lung operation.
?The next in line to the Norwegian throne is King Harald and Queen Sonja's son, Crown Prince Haakon, 50.
Crown Prince Haakon has been married to Crown Princess Mette-Marit? since 2001 and the couple share two children จC Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 16 and Prince Sverre Magnus, 18. The prince is also stepfather to the princess' son Marius Borg Hoiby.
King Harald was treated for an infection in hospital in May 2023 and underwent a leg operation in 2022. He also contracted coronavirus twice during the pandemic.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit, 50, has also been suffering from her own health problems and was absent from the royal family's Christmas portrait.?
The royal was also on sick leave for two weeks in September 2023.
Her condition has never been confirmed however it is thought to have been linked to chronic pulmonary fibrosis, a condition that causes scarring on the lung. She was diagnosed with the condition in 2018.
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?Queen Margrethe of Denmark surprised royal followers by announcing she would abdicate during her New Year's Eve 2023 address. The royal cited ongoing health issues as one of the reasons for her difficult choice.
Her eldest son Frederik was proclaimed King on January 14 alongside wife Mary who is now Queen.?
