Norway’s King Harald V dies at 89

London: King Harald V of Norway has died at the age of 89 after weeks of mounting concern about his health after he was diagnosed with a blood infection and taken to hospital in Oslo.

The Royal Household of Norway announced that the king had died on Friday morning at 6.35am (2.35pm on Friday, AEST).

“It is with deep grief that we announce that His Majesty King Harald has passed away,” the palace said in a brief statement.

The Norwegian royal family had gathered at the bedside of the nation’s king after news emerged that Europe’s oldest living monarch was in a “very serious” condition in hospital.

Crowds had also gathered outside the royal palace in Oslo and political leaders cancelled trips outside the country to return to the capital and show respect for Harald, who reigned for 35 years.

His granddaughter, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, returned to Norway in June from her university studies in Australia at a time of growing concern over the king’s health.

Harald was immensely popular with the Norwegian public despite scandals in the wider family, including one member’s conviction for rape and another’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein .

While support for the monarchy has declined in recent years, Harald gained a “grade” of 9.2 on a scale of 1 to 10 in a survey by Norstat for Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) in February .

His son, Crown Prince Haakon, is also popular, as is Princess Ingrid Alexandra, who is next in line to the throne.

Harald was taken to hospital on August 17 and treated for a bloodstream bacterial infection, according to the Royal House of Norway, which said his condition deteriorated last weekend.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere cancelled a ​trip to Germany one day before the king’s death, in a sign of the concern about his health.

“The whole nation is with us as we send warm thoughts to ‌the king ⁠and the rest of the royal family,” he said in a statement on Thursday.

The Speaker of Norway’s parliament, Masud Gharahkhani, ended an official visit to Iceland and returned to Norway. Members of the College of Bishops of the Lutheran Church of Norway also planned to return to Oslo from an official visit to Rome.

Haakon, who has been acting as Regent, visited his father at Oslo University Hospital with his wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, and other members of the family in the days before the king’s passing.