OSLO — King Harald V of Norway, Europe's longest-reigning and oldest monarch, died early Friday morning at Oslo's National Hospital after a two-week battle with a blood disorder. He was 89.

"It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of His Majesty King Harald today," the Royal Court said in a statement, confirming he died peacefully at 6:35 a.m. local time. Under Norway's constitution, no coronation is required for succession: his son, Crown Prince Haakon, 53, became king the moment his father died, taking the regnal name King Haakon VIII. Crown Princess Mette-Marit becomes queen consort.

Harald had been hospitalized since Aug. 17 with haemolytic anaemia, a condition in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than the body can replace them, and was later treated with antibiotics for a bacterial blood infection. Crown Prince Haakon and the royal family kept an overnight bedside vigil Thursday as his condition worsened, according to NPR's reporting on his final days. He had a pacemaker fitted in 2024 and had undergone heart and joint surgeries in recent years, but repeatedly declined to abdicate, citing the oath he swore to Norway's parliament.

Thirty-five years on the throne

Crowned in January 1991 after the death of his father, King Olav V, Harald reigned for 35 years — longer than any other monarch currently on a European throne. Born in 1937 near Oslo, he was the first Norwegian prince born on Norwegian soil since 1370, and as a toddler he fled with the royal family to Sweden, Britain and the United States during the 1940 Nazi invasion, not returning home until June 1945.

He broke royal convention twice: first by marrying a commoner, Sonja Haraldsen, in 1968 after a nine-year courtship that faced public disapproval, and later by publicly pushing the monarchy toward a more inclusive posture. In a 2016 garden-party speech that circulated widely, he told Norwegians the country was made up of people who "believe in God, Allah, the universe and nothing," a line still cited as a hallmark of his reign, per CBS News' look back at his legacy. An avid sailor, he competed in three Olympic Games and skippered Norway's boat to a world championship title in 1987.

"KING HARALD LOVED NORWAY. AND NORWAY LOVED ITS KING."

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said he received the news "with deep sorrow," canceling a planned state visit to Germany to remain in Oslo. Crowds gathered outside the Royal Palace through the day Friday, laying flowers and lighting candles as the palace flag was lowered to half-mast. Leaders including Britain's King Charles III and Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf sent condolences.

The Royal Court has not yet announced funeral arrangements or the length of the official mourning period. King Haakon VIII, who has spent decades preparing for the role alongside his father, now leads a monarchy that polls have consistently shown remains popular with Norwegians even as the country modernized around it.