OSLO (Reuters) – Norway’s King Harald will undergo surgery this week to replace a heart valve, the royal palace said in a statement on Thursday.
The 83-year-old monarch, who does not have formal political powers, has been head of state since 1991.
The king first had heart surgery in 2005, and the operation scheduled for Friday will replace the artificial heart valve he received 15 years ago, the palace said.
“This time it will not be open heart surgery,” the palace said in a statement. “The king will be awake during the procedure.”
Harald was recently hospitalised due to a shortness of breath, although doctors quickly ruled out any COVID-19 infection.
Born in 1937, the king is a great-great-grandchild of 19th century British Queen Victoria.
(Reporting by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Gwladys Fouche and Frances Kerry)
