A year full of drama

King Harald: “Sometimes life is hard”

(Bild: picturedesk.com/Lise Åserud / NTB)

The crown princess seriously ill, her son a criminal and himself saved by an emergency operation in Malaysia - King Harald looks back on a very difficult year. At the banquet for the Norwegian parliamentarians, the 87-year-old put his situation in a nutshell.

"Sometimes life is simply very difficult, everyone can experience that, including our family," the monarch admitted in his speech. The last few months have been marked by strokes of fate: In spring, Harald fell seriously ill during a trip to Malaysia and had to be treated in hospital. He received a pacemaker on the spot, but after returning to Oslo another operation was necessary to insert a permanent pacemaker.

Arrested twice
And the worries didn't stop. On the contrary, things got worse: in the summer, Marius Borg Høiby (27), the eldest son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit (51), hit the headlines: He was arrested twice for violent crimes, and rumors about his party life and drug use spread quickly.

Mette-Marit back in treatment
He is under investigation for assault and damage to property, among other things. Høiby's lawyer Øyvind Bratlien has said that his client denies the allegations. Høiby is Mette-Marit's son from a previous relationship and therefore Crown Prince Haakon's (51) stepson. He belongs to the royal family, but is not an official member of the royal family.

A hard blow for Mette-Marit, who is in poor health herself. Her chronic pulmonary fibrosis is once again giving her a hard time, and after a trip to Germany she has now had to go on sick leave due to the side effects of her medication.

"Family with joys and challenges"
King Harald did not directly address the scandal surrounding Høiby in his speech, but said: "The royal family is a team that works well together. We are also a family - with the joys and challenges that, as we all know, can come with it." 

Despite the turmoil, the monarch expressed his gratitude for the sympathy the Norwegian royal family has received during this difficult year "We are grateful for all the warmth and care we have received during this special and challenging year," Harald said in his speech at the annual banquet organized by the royal family for the members of the Norwegian Stortinget.

King Harald is the oldest monarch in Europe. He has been on the Norwegian throne since 1991.