King Harald V, the monarch of Norway who has reigned since 1991, finds himself in a critical health condition as he battles a bloodstream bacterial infection. The 89-year-old king is currently hospitalized at Oslo University Hospital's Rikshospitalet, receiving antibiotics to combat the infection. Despite the deterioration of his condition, the palace reports that King Harald V has responded positively to treatment. Consequently, he will continue to remain in the hospital and be on leave from royal duties until further notice. The king's son, Crown Prince Haakon, aged 53, is stepping up as regent during this period. In recent weeks, King Harald V had been undergoing cortisone treatment for a rare blood condition, haemolytic anaemia, which reduces the number of red blood cells in the body, causing fatigue and shortness of breath. The Norwegian royal family has faced numerous challenges this year, including King Harald's decision to reduce his public engagements due to age-related concerns in 2024 and his subsequent pacemaker implantation following an illness during a holiday in Malaysia. This difficult year has also seen Crown Princess Mette-Marit undergo a lung transplant in June, two days after her son Marius Borg Høiby was sentenced to four years in prison for rape charges. Meanwhile, revelations of Mette-Marit's frequent contacts with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have caused controversy, leading to an apology from the crown princess to King Harald and Queen Sonja for her three-year friendship with Epstein and her admission of poor judgment. Høiby, not a royal figure himself, was only four years old when his mother married Crown Prince Haakon.