Norway's King Harald, a reformer who emerged from the shadow of his well-loved father over more than three decades on the throne, has died aged 89, the royal palace said on Friday (August 28), Reuters reports.
Oslo Palace lowered the flag to half mast on Friday (August 28) after Norway's King Harald died aged 89, the royal palace said.
"King Harald passed away peacefully at Oslo University Hospital on Friday 28 August, 0635 (local time, 0435 GMT)," the royal palace said on its website.
Harald, who was Europe's oldest living monarch, was taken to hospital on August 17. The palace said he was being treated for a bacterial infection in his blood.
A great-great-grandchild of Britain's Queen Victoria, Harald acceded to the throne in 1991 and slowly introduced modern touches that brought a ceremonial post seen mainly as a symbol of national independence into the 21st century.
