A royal was rushed to hospital in an air ambulance after falling ill over the Easter weekend. It has been revealed that Queen Sonja of Norway was admitted to hospital in her home country after experiencing “breathing difficulties”.
The 87-year-old had been flown to the Royal Hospital in Oslo last night from the royal chalet in Sikkilsalen, where she and King Harald of Norway had been spending the Easter weekend. However, in a statement released by the Norwegian royal palace today, it was announced that she had now left hospital, although would be postponing royal duties for the week ahead.
In an update released yesterday, the palace said: “Her Majesty the Queen was admitted to the National Hospital this evening for examinations due to shortness of breath. The Queen was transported by air ambulance from the Prince’s Cabin in Sikkilsdalen, where the Royal Couple spent the Easter holiday.” Her trip to hospital comes after Sonja had a pacemaker fitted earlier this year with the procedure said to have been successful.
In recent weeks she took part in a state visit to Norway by the President of Iceland, Halla Tómasdóttir, and her husband Björn Skúlason. She was there for the welcome ceremony in the Palace Square as well as for the gala dinner.
Queen Sonja’s husband, King Harrald is Europe’s oldest reigning monarch at age 88. The pair married in 1968 and have two children, Prince Haakon, who is the heir to the throne, and Princess Martha Louise.
Over the past 12 months, the Norwegian royal house has been mired in controversy following the arrest of the stepson of Haakon. In August, Marius Borg Hoiby, 27 was arrested and charged with assaulting an ex-girlfriend and threatening to set fire to her clothes, which he admitted to.
Borg Hoiby has no royal title and is the eldest son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit – a product of a brief relationship the future Norwegian Queen had before she met and married Crown Prince Haakon.
Mette-Marit was born a ‘commoner’ and was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis – a chronic lung condition – back in 2018, which has forced her in recent months to take an extended sick leave. When her diagnosis was announced, she noted that her “working capacity will vary” as she moves forward and that she would have to take on less official engagements if her health worsened.
Another point of controversy for the Norwegian royal house has been Princess Martha Louise, who stepped back from any official royal duties after marrying a so-called “shaman” – Durek Verett.
Harald, 88, himself has also faced health challenges in the last year, with a serious infection seeing him admitted to hospital during a visit to Malaysia, as well as having to have a pacemaker fitted. The monarch now uses crutches, but has said he has no plans to step down from his position as King, and the oldest European monarch.
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