Queen Sonja of Norway was rushed to a hospital with breathing difficulties on Monday, April 21.
An official statement revealed that the 87-year-old royal was admitted to the Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, and received medical attention.
The Queen, the wife of Norway's head of state King Harald, had a pacemaker installed in January this year.
Highlights
- Queen Sonja of Norway was rushed to a hospital on Monday evening.
- She was experiencing breathing difficulties and underwent medical examinations.
- Queen Sonja is married to King Harald, who had a forbidden romance with her for years before their decades-long marriage.
Queen Sonja of Norway was rushed to a hospital on Monday evening
Image credits: Per Ole Hagen/Getty Images
The royals spent the Easter holidays with family at the royal cabin in Sikkilsdalen in central Norway. Sonja was airlifted from the royal chalet to the hospital on Monday evening.
“Her Majesty the Queen was admitted to the National Hospital this evening for examinations due to shortness of breath,” read an official statement. “The Queen was transported by air ambulance from the Prince's Cabin in Sikkilsdalen, where the Royal Couple spent the Easter holiday.”
Medical examinations revealed that the situation had been “normalised,” the palace said. Sonja was discharged from the hospital but would be stepping back from royal duties for about a week.
The 87-year-old royal was airlifted from the royal cabin in Sikkilsdalen, where the family was spending the Easter holidays
Image credits: Rune Hellestad/Getty Images
In January, Sonja was admitted to hospital after experiencing cardiac fibrillation, a rapid and irregular heartbeat.
She underwent a “successful” procedure to have a pacemaker installed, the palace said in a health update at the time.
In March this year, King Harald also had a pacemaker successfully inserted after contracting an infection during a private holiday in Malaysia.
Earlier this month, both Sonja and King Harald—known as Europe's oldest monarch at 87—appeared to be in good spirits as they welcomed the President of Iceland, Halla Tómasdóttir, and her husband Björn Skúlason for a visit.
Sonja was part of the welcome ceremony that took place at the Palace Square and had attended a gala dinner at the Royal Palace during the visit.
The palace announced on Tuesday that Sonja was discharged from the hospital
Image credits: Tore Sætre/Wikimedia
The Queen and King of Norway have been married for nearly six decades.
They experienced love at first sight but had to fight for their love because she was the daughter of a merchant, while Harald’s father, King Olav, forbade him from marrying anyone but a lady of royal descent.
“The story is like something out of a fairytale,” said the producers of Harald and Sonja, a series that tells the story of their nine-year battle for love. “Society took time to accept the new Crown Prince and Princess, but love would win in the end.”
They met at a dinner party back when Harald was a cadet in the Norwegian Military Academy and Sonja was studying English, art history, and French at the University of Oslo.
Queen Sonja and King Harald had a forbidden romance, secretly dating for years before tying the knot
Image credits: Per Ole Hagen/Getty Images
Harald dated the commoner for about nine years, and they broke up several times due to fierce opposition from King Olav.
“We just kept waiting and hoping they'd all finally back down,” Harald said in a 2015 interview.
Years into their romance, Harald put his foot down and gave his father an ultimatum, saying he would either marry Sonja or stay alone for the rest of his life, thus putting the future of the Norwegian monarchy in jeopardy.
Ultimately, the couple tied the knot in 1968, with King Olav himself walking his daughter-in-law down the aisle as her father had passed away years before.
They became parents to daughter Princess Martha Louise and son Crown Prince Haakon.
“Harald and Sonja had to wait nine years for the society to accept the undeniable love they have and had for each other,” said Vibeke Idsøe, the director of the series.
“While friends got married, had children and pursued their dreams, they had to wait for blessings from political, royal and social forces,” Vibeke continued.
Netizens wished her a speedy recovery following the news of her hospitalization
