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KING HARALD

Norway’s King to take two weeks off with ‘non-serious’ condition

King Harald of Norway has been hospitalized due to dizziness, and will take two weeks’ leave from royal duties.

Published: 9 January 2020 11:21 CET
Norway’s King to take two weeks off with 'non-serious' condition
File photo: AFP

The King’s condition is not considered to be serious, the Royal Palace in Oslo said in a statement.

“The King is expected to be discharged by the weekend. The King will take two weeks’ sick leave. In this period, Crown Prince Haakon will be regent,” the statement read.

The 82-year-old King Harald was admitted to Oslo’s Rikshospitalet.

He will not attend an engagement at the men’s European Championships in handball in Trondheim of Friday, as previously planned, newspaper VG reports.

His attendance at the opening of the Johan Sverdrup oil field on Tuesday, where Prime Minister Erna Solberg was present, was also cancelled.

Prior to Christmas, King Harald was briefly laid low with a virus which prevented him from attending parliament on December 20th.

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WORKING IN SWEDEN

Swedish Royal Guards scrap ceremonial helmets over safety concerns

The King’s mounted Royal Guards will no longer be able to wear their iconic ceremonial helmets on parades, after the Swedish Work Environment Authority warned of serious safety concerns.

Published: 7 July 2023 13:53 CEST
Swedish Royal Guards scrap ceremonial helmets over safety concerns

“We take the safety of our employees extremely seriously and we are going to address this immediately,” colonel Stefan Nacksten, head of the Royal Guards, wrote in a statement. 

Employed by the Armed Forces, the Royal Guards are the King’s cavalry and infantry units and are a well-known sight at ceremonies in Sweden, including at the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace of Stockholm every day in summer – a popular spectacle for Stockholmers and tourists alike.

The helmets will no longer be used by Royal Guards on horseback from July 7th, as they do not conform to safety standards for riding helmets, although guards parading on foot will still be permitted to wear them.

They are part of the 1895 parade uniforms and were last modified in 2000. The Armed Forces will now create an entirely new helmet which looks the part, but is also safe for riding.

“We’re working on finding an alternative solution as quickly as possible which meets safety requirements and can also be used during parades,” Nacksten said.

“We’ve been working long-term with this issue but now that it has been assessed [by the Swedish Work Environment Authority] we need to take measures immediately,” he added.

“This is good, and now we’re working to make sure something good comes out of this and we can get a safe riding helmet for parades in place as soon as possible.”

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