An airplane carrying Norway’s King Harald V departed Malaysia on Sunday, a day after he was implanted with a pacemaker. The monarch was hospitalized for an infection during a private vacation on the northern resort island of Langkawi. He underwent surgery at the Sultanah Maliha Hospital to implant a temporary pacemaker due to a low heart rate.
Norwegian media outlets reported that King Harald traveled to Malaysia with his wife, Queen Sonja, to celebrate his 87th birthday. A Scandinavian Airlines medical evacuation plane, which took off from Oslo, arrived in Langkawi to transport the monarch back to Norway.
The same plane departed from Langkawi on Sunday headed for Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, from where it is scheduled to travel onward to Norway. The Norwegian royal house confirmed that the monarch has left Malaysia and is expected to arrive in Oslo early Monday.
Upon arrival in Norway, King Harald will be admitted to the hospital Rikshospitalet and will remain on sick leave for the next two weeks. During this time, Crown Prince Haakon will assume the monarch's duties.
The transport back to Norway for the king is estimated to cost 2 million Norwegian kroner ($190,000), which will be covered by the defense budget. King Harald has faced health challenges in recent years, including a heart valve replacement surgery in October 2020.
Despite his health issues, King Harald has expressed no intention to abdicate the throne. His duties as Norway’s head of state are ceremonial, and he holds no political power. He ascended to the throne in 1991 following the death of his father, King Olav.
